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July 17, 2024
 

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Mark Schilling
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 20, 2011
'Three Points'
Japan's indie film sector, never terribly robust financially, is now fighting for its life. Technically, of course, it has never been easier to make indie films. The problem is the lack of theaters willing to screen them and fans willing to see them. Even one-time indie stalwarts such as Sion Sono, Ryuichi...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 13, 2011
'Okike no Tanoshii Ryoko: Shinkon Jigoku-hen (The Oki Family's Fun Trip: Newlywed Hell)'
What is marriage, anyway? Whatever it is for you personally, it traditionally starts with that brief delirium of carefree joy and erotic delight called a honeymoon. But these days, with more couples marrying after years of living together, honeymoons are becoming just another excuse for a trip, exotic...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
May 1, 2011
Kyoto comedy theater returns — and with English subtitles
Foreign tourists to Kyoto often end up in a bubble of tour buses and traditional culture shows (five minutes of bunraku, five minutes of flower arranging, etc.), while those looking to break out and entertain themselves like the locals can run into language barriers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 29, 2011
'Kantai (Hospitalite)'
When Koji Fukada's "Kantai (Hospitalite)" won the Best Picture Award in the Japanese Eyes section of last year's Tokyo International Film Festival, I wasn't surprised: It's brand of black comedy is funny in smart, original ways. Many reviewers have since compared it favorably with Yoshimitsu Morita's...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 22, 2011
'Gantz: Perfect Answer'
Reviewing a two-part movie is an awkward business. For part one, I end up writing a midterm progress report, with no thumbs up or down for whole shebang. Part one may be bad, but prejudging part two would be wrong.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 15, 2011
'Dancing Chaplin'
Comic W.C. Fields once said of Charlie Chaplin: "He's the best ballet dancer that ever lived, and if I get a good chance I'll kill him with my bare hands." Fields, who started his career as a vaudeville juggler, knew something about movement. He was also, perhaps only half-jokingly, envious of Chaplin's...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 8, 2011
'Koko Debyu (High School Debut)'
I was on my way to a screening of Tsutomu Hanabusa's teen romcom "Koko Debut (High School Debut)" when the March 11 earthquake struck. Luckily, the Oedo subway train I was riding made it, slowly, to the next station and, instead of catching this adaptation of a hit girls' comic by Kazune Kawahara, I...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 1, 2011
'Kigeki Konzen Tokkyu (Cannonball Wedlock)'
Hollywood screwball comedies have long been favorites of Japanese filmmakers, with many listing such genre masters as Frank Capra, Howard Hawks and Billy Wilder as influences. Screwball comedy heroines, however, are usually self-centered, hard-headed types, while the local feminine ideal on screen is...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 25, 2011
'Kamifusen (Paper Balloon)'
Omnibus films must have a unifying theme, however loose or gimmicky; otherwise, they're a collection of shorts. And while there's nothing wrong with shorts as such, when packaged as a feature film, they are, as all distributors know, box-office suicide.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 24, 2011
Laughs, tears at comedy film fest
The third Okinawa International Movie Festival held its opening ceremony on Tues., March 22, after going through a traumatic week in Japan and coming out of it dramatically changed.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 18, 2011
Japan's film industry faces quake fallout
The Japanese entertainment industry is reacting to the massive disaster caused by the March 11 earthquake much the way it reacts to any major national tragedy — by observing jishuku (self-restraint).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 18, 2011
'Manzai Gyangu (Manzai Gang)'
Manzai acts — comedy duos consisting of a boke (goofball) and tsukkomi (straight man) — are ubiquitous on Japanese television, but the form has relatively few foreign fans.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 11, 2011
'Rakugo Monogatari (Rakugo Story)'
Rakugo, which might be described as traditional Japanese sit-down comedy, once had a certain snob appeal among foreigners here. If you could boast that your hobby was rakugo, as either a fan or participant, you were saying you had summited the Mount Fuji of the Japanese language. (The Everest to me was...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 4, 2011
'Wasao'
Japan is now a country with more dogs and cats (23 million in 2009) than children under 16 (17 million, same year). As both a parent and a dog owner here, I understand why: Kids are enormously expensive to raise in Japan and, given the current grim employment situation, often live off Mommy and Daddy's...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 25, 2011
' Taiheiyo no Kiseki — Fokkusu to Yobareta Otoko (Oba: The Last Samurai)'
Japanese mass-audience movies about the country's military during World War II are usually melodramatic, sentimental or blatantly nationalistic. But their pure-hearted tokkotai (suicide squad) pilots flying to certain death are hardly representative of the typical Japanese soldier who, as the war entered...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 18, 2011
'Gakko wo Tsukuro (Let's Create a School)'
The Japanese audience has long loved period dramas, including ones based on the lives of real people, generally men wearing topknots. And usually, at some point, the swords come out, as in the story of the 47 ronin (masterless samurai) who in 1703 attacked a shogunate official in revenge for his role...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 11, 2011
'Yogashiten Koan do Ru (Patisserie Coin de Rue)'
The Japanese foodie movie is an offshoot of the gurume (gourmet) boom of the 1980s bubble years. Back then, urban trendies began exploring the farther reaches of French cuisine, expense be damned — or as Juzo Itami's seminal foodie movie "Tampopo" (1985) comically examined, obsessing over the perfect...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 4, 2011
'Tsumetai Nettaigyo (Cold Fish)'
...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 28, 2011
'Byakuyako (Into the White Night)'
Mysteries are hot in the Japanese movie business now, but they have long been hard sells abroad. This may seem strange, since the mystery genre in Japan, from novels to films, has been heavily influenced by foreign models — starting with the genre's father, Edgar Allen Poe.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 26, 2011
Yakuza movie lines without honor or humanity
Japanese movies, like their Hollywood counterparts, have produced plenty of 名台詞 (meiserifu, famous lines) over the years, in just about every genre. But when I was researching a book on ヤクザ映画 (yakuza eiga, Japanese gangster movies), I realized that this particular genre had generated...
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
China’s economic growth comes in worse than expected
Pedestrians in the Wangfujing shopping area in Beijing on July 11, 2024. China's economic growth in the second quarter was lower than forecast, adding pressure on Chinese leaders to lift confidence at the Chinese Communist Party's third plenum this week.
Kansai airports to increase takeoff and landing slots ahead of Osaka Expo
Kansai International Airport in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture. The upper limit on the number of takeoff and landing slots at the airport as well as Kobe Airport in Hyogo Prefecture will be raised in spring next year ahead of the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

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'
By Tomoko Otake

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