author

 
Menu
Search
 
July 16, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Mark Schilling
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 2, 2020
'Step': Parenthood drama that tugs at the heartstrings
By now there are many films about single fathers, but for me the eye-opener was 1979’s “Kramer vs. Kramer.” In it, Dustin Hoffman plays a workaholic adman who struggles to raise his young son after being abandoned by his wife (Meryl Streep), but resists giving up the boy when she returns to claim...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 26, 2020
'Not Quite Dead Yet': A feeble take on two days of death
Ghosts that haunt the living for laughs have been Hollywood staples going back to at least “Topper.” In this 1937 comedy, a feckless young couple (Cary Grant and Constance Bennett) die in a car crash and, as ghosts, decide to bring fun to the life of their stuffy older pal, Cosmo Topper (Roland Young)....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 19, 2020
'Extro': A Japanese mockumentary that works
I was once an extra for film being shot in the dead of winter in Nagano Prefecture, playing a member of a media pack running down a snow-covered slope to an ambulance. To stand out, I kept a step behind the others through retake after frigid retake. Naturally, I was edited out.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Mar 13, 2020
How the Japanese film industry is coping with the COVID-19 crisis
From cinema closures to business as usual, the film industry in Japan is employing its own methods to keep people safe and still watching films across the country.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 12, 2020
'A Life Turned Upside Down: My Dad's an Alcoholic': An addict's tale with honesty on tap
Honoka Matsumoto stars as a daughter working through issues stemming from her father's alcoholism in a film based on manga artist Mariko Kikuchi's autobiographical web comic.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 7, 2020
What ‘Fukushima 50’ can teach us about crises
Author and journalist Ryusho Kadota on how the nation's handling of the 3/11 triple disaster bodes for its ongoing response to COVID-19.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 5, 2020
'Fukushima 50': A disaster film with real-life roots
Ken Watanabe and Koichi Sato star in the first film dramatization of the meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 27, 2020
'First Love': A heartfelt throwback to the golden age of yakuza flicks
Masataka Kubota plays a doomed boxer who takes on the yazuka in Takashi Miike's newest film.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 20, 2020
'Shape of Red': A torrid but ultimately unsatisfying affair
Kaho plays a frustrated housewife who engages in a passionate tryst with a former boyfriend in Yukiko Mishima's latest film.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Feb 19, 2020
How to navigate social media and a social city with Netflix's 'Followers'
Artist and director Mika Ninagawa launches new streaming about the lives of Tokyo's bright young things and their quest for recognition
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.
Bloodied Trump survives assassination attempt at political rally
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded and evacuated by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump was rushed off stage at the rally after shots rang out.
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.
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.
Amid same-sex marriage ban, LGBTQ couples opt for 'photo weddings'
A lesbian couple, consisting of a 35-year-old woman (left) and 40-year-old woman, cover their faces with bouquets as they pose for wedding photos in Yokohama on Nov. 1.
China and Russia conduct joint Pacific military patrol
The Russian corvette Gromkiy enters the Chinese port of Zhanjiang as part of a joint China-Russia naval exercise on Saturday.
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.
How to tweak your diet when temperatures spike
Most people think of hydration as a strictly liquid-based concept, but eating foods with high water content is an essential part of making it through a Japanese summer unscathed.

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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Exploring Japanese culturevia Tohoku’s festivals
Exploring Japanese culturevia Tohoku’s festivals

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER