author

 
 

Meta

Mark Schilling
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 18, 2015
Kinoshita and World War II
Director: Keisuke Kinoshita Language: Japanese (subtitles in English)
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 11, 2015
Is Japanese cinema sinking into a self-censorship swamp?
One great thing about living in Japan is the consideration, or omoiyari, people here commonly show for others. My newspaper delivery guy climbs the 25 steps to my front door and deposits a copy of The Japan Times in my mailbox every morning, rain or shine. His colleagues in the U.S. — my home country...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 11, 2015
Misono Universe: Screaming from the gutter to the stars
Amnesia is one of those medical conditions that might have been invented for the movies. For scriptwriters, it's a godsend — one bump on the hero's head and the story is rolling.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 11, 2015
Bokutachi no Kazoku (Our Family)
Director: Yuya Ishii Language: Japanese (subtitled in English)
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 4, 2015
Present For You: Baffling but pioneering stop-motion film
Stop-motion animation, in which objects are photographed frame by frame to achieve the illusion of motion, is nearly as old as the movies.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 4, 2015
Bannou Kanteishi Q: Mona Lisa no Hitomi (All-Round Appraiser Q: The Eyes of Mona Lisa)
Director: Shinsuke Sato Language: French, Japanese (subtitled in English)
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 28, 2015
Back to the love hotel for ex-pink film director
Interviews with people you know well can turn awkward if you try to be the probing questioner instead of the coffee-shop companion. No such worries with 61-year-old Ryuichi Hiroki, the former pink film (i.e., soft pornography) director who made his commercial and critical breakthrough with the erotically...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 28, 2015
Killers
Directors: Timo Tjahjanto, Kimo Stamboel Language: Japanese, Indonesian, English (subtitles in English)
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 21, 2015
Sayonara Kabukicho: Life and love in Shinjuku's red-light district
Ryuichi Hiroki has become a victim of his own success, though his studio employers probably don't see it that way. This one-time maker of so-called pink films (i.e., soft pornography), who became internationally celebrated for intimate indie dramas like "Vibrator" from 2003 and "Yawarakai Seikatsu (It's...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 21, 2015
Eclipse Series 42: Silent Ozu — Three Crime Dramas
Director: Yasujiro Ozu Language: Japanese (subtitles in English)
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 14, 2015
A longer look at the problems of 'Unbroken'
Why can't "Unbroken" — Angelina Jolie's hit World War II drama — catch a break in Japan? There are presently no plans to release the film here in theaters, on DVD or online, even though it has a strong Japan focus as well as a major role for popular local rock musician Miyavi (whose real name is...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 14, 2015
Thermae Romae 2
Director: Hideki Takeuchi Language: Japanese (subtitled in English)
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 7, 2015
100 Yen Love: Punching your way out of an old paper bag
Boxing films share a similar arc, typically climaxing in a big bout that decides everything — at least everything relevant to the hero's fate. This does not always means triumph, as fans of the "Rocky" series know, but even in defeat the hero usually inspires respect and sympathy, at the very least...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 7, 2015
Yamamoto Isoroku (Isoroku)
Director: Izuru Narushima Language: Japanese (subtitled in English)
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 1, 2015
What if 'The Interview' had been made in Japan?
It couldn't happen here — that was my first takeaway from the massive cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment prompted by the Seth Rogen and James Franco comedy "The Interview." In the film, the two heroes journey to North Korea ostensibly to interview its real-life leader, Kim Jong Un, but in fact,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 1, 2015
The Vancouver Asahi: Angels are not in the outfield for immigrants
Of making baseball films there is no end. The sport provides an endless supply of ready-made narratives: from a fight to win the pennant ("Damn Yankees") or to simply win ("Major League"), to a player's struggle with illness ("Pride of the Yankees"), or an oversized ego ("Mr. Baseball").
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 1, 2015
Nyotaiju Gun Woman (Gun Woman)
Director: Mitsutake Kurando
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 24, 2014
Top 10 films of 2014: made in Japan, for Japan
Are Japanese films in decline? Not at the box office, where they still beat the Hollywood competition (with the huge exception this year of "Frozen"), but what about international festival invitations, awards and critical buzz? The answer depends on your perspective. For overseas festivals specializing...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 17, 2014
Hill of Freedom: 'Looking for lost love in a Seoul back alley'
Speaking in another language makes you a different person, especially, I've noticed, if you happen to be a non-native fluent in Japanese. The mild-mannered Aussie transforms into a slangy tough-guy, rolling his r's and living in his own mental version of a yakuza movie. And the frank-talking American...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 17, 2014
Ju-on: Owari no Hajimari (Ju-on: The Beginning of the End)
Director: Masayuki Ochiai Language: Japanese (subtitled in English)

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'