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Mark Schilling
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 13, 2020
'37 Seconds': A woman's journey of self-discovery
In Hikari's debut feature, first-time actor Mei Kayama plays a woman determined to become a manga artist, but who must overcome her lack of life experience, her physical disability and her contolling mother.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 6, 2020
'Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku': A musical take on an otaku romance
This film adaptation of a web comic by single-named artist Fujita has the central couple dancing and singing their way to love.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 30, 2020
'We Make Antiques! Kyoto Rendezvous': Kansai caper revisits old tricks
Kiichi Nakai and Kuranosuke Sasaki reprise their roles as scammers in Masaharu Take's sequel to 2018's 'We Make Antiques!'
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 23, 2020
'Romance Doll': A mature take on guys and dolls
The premise for Yuki Tanada's film about a sex doll designer gets laughs, but also offers sharp insights into human issues.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 22, 2020
'Romance Doll' shows there's a fine line between sex and love
Yuki Tanada's latest film, an adaptation of one of her own novels, looks at the use of dolls as substitutes for humans in relationships.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 16, 2020
'Bad Poetry Tokyo': Indian director's first feature reveals major talent
Anshul Chauhan's woman-in-crisis drama has won prizes at festivals in Japan and abroad, despite the director having never attended film school.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 9, 2020
'Complicity': Heartfelt film serves up food for the soul
Indie director Kei Chikaura's first feature — and winner of the Audience Award at Tokyo Filmex — avoids cliches in its realistic portrayal of Japan-China understanding.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 3, 2020
15 minutes with rising star Ryota Katayose
Ryota Katayose is facing a busy year, with television and film projects and a tour with his group in the offing
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Dec 20, 2019
Takashi Miike shows his softer side at Macao film festival
Japan's master of the ultra-violent, darkly comedic and low-budge yakuza flick, Takashi Miike, discusses the ideas of love and boxing which are prevelant in his latest film, 'First Love.'
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / 2019 in Review
Dec 19, 2019
2019 saw just a few glimmers of hope in an otherwise mediocre year for Japanese film
The year predictably saw new iterations of long-running anime favorites top the box office, but the year's truly interesting films lay much further down the financial rankings.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 12, 2019
'Tora-san, Wish You Were Here': A film favorite lovingly remembered
With 48 feature installments from 1969 to 1995, the "Tora-san" series not only set a Guinness World Record, but kept its Shochiku production studio afloat for decades.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 5, 2019
'Talking the Pictures': Talking up the magic of silent films
Masayuki Suo's comedy celebrates a bygone era of Japanese silent films and live narrators.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Nov 29, 2019
Eclectic offerings at Hawaii International Film Festival
Hikari's '37 Seconds' takes the main prize at the festival, which presented a varied program of films focusing on the Asia-Pacific region
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 28, 2019
'The Sower': Revealing the roots of a family's grief
The debut feature by painter-turned-filmmaker Yosuke Takeuchi was inspired by Vincent Van Gogh, as well as by events in Takeuchi's own life.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 21, 2019
'The 47 Ronin in Debt': Samurai revenge plot by the numbers
Yoshihiro Nakamura's 'The 47 Ronin in Debt' aims to humanize 'Chushingura,' Japan's best-known samurai story, by weaving in period financial figures
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 14, 2019
'He Won't Kill, She Won't Die': Dark, but just not quite dark enough
Keiichi Kobayashi's quirky romantic drama mixes adolescent love with themes of death and darkness
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 7, 2019
'Little Miss Period': That time of the month, brought to life
Menstruation rarely plays a central role in feature films, which makes Shunsuke Shinada's latest feature, which involves a giant period mascot harassing women, something of an anomaly.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 31, 2019
Nobuhiko Obayashi: A life spent working among Japan's movie greats
As the Tokyo International Film Festival stages a retrospective of his work, filmmaker Nobuhiko Obayashi talks of a past working with movie greats, such as Akira Kurosawa
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 30, 2019
'The First Supper': An old-fashioned look at the family unit
Shiro Tokiwa delves deep into what makes a family tick in 'The First Supper,' using filming technique associated with Japanese cinema in the 1950s
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 23, 2019
Yoji Yamada and Tora-san: The resurrection of a Japanese film institution
The latest installment in Japan's long-running 'Tora-san' series opens the Tokyo International Film Festival as the series marks its 50th installment on its 50th anniversary

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