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July 17, 2024
 

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Mark Schilling
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 9, 2014
Fukada's young castaways on adulthood's shores
Born in Tokyo in 1980, Koji Fukada released his first film in 2004, but his breakthrough was 2010's "Kantai (Hospitalité)," a witty black comedy about a mysterious stranger who talks his way into a job at a small Tokyo printing shop and is soon insinuating himself into the lives of the shop's proprietor...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 9, 2014
'Hotori no Sakuko (Au Revoir l'Eté)'
Compared to his avant-garde French new-wave peers, Eric Rohmer seemed to direct in a lighter, more conventional key: All those casually chic young heroines photographed in the more attractive parts of France, all those stories about their various love troubles. Also, from a Hollywood perspective, his...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 9, 2014
'Kagi Dorobo no Method (Key of Life)'
Director: Kenji Uchida
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 2, 2014
Our movie highlights of the coming year
Another year, another raft of unmissable movies. Here are the most hotly anticipated releases for JT film critics Mark Schilling, Kaori Shoji and Giovanni Fazio — get them in your diary now.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 2, 2014
'Seventh Code'
One of the more baffling and maddening aspects of the pop music scene here for a lot of foreign observers, especially those who write about it for the English-language media, is the long-continuing and now overwhelming popularity of girl idol groups, whether or not their names end with "48." For the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 26, 2013
Mark Schilling's 2013 Top 10: Farewell to Ghibli's anime masters
Japanese films did quite well both commercially and critically in 2013, with Hayao Miyazaki's final feature animation, "Kaze Tachinu (The Wind Rises)," thumping the Hollywood competition at the local box office. But the industry's over-reliance on sure-thing manga, TV shows and novels for source material...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 26, 2013
Second opinion: Our Top 3 films in cross-review
Regular JT film critics Mark Schilling, Kaori Shoji and Giovanni Fazio got together at the Uplink theater/restaurant in Shibuya to talk about each other's No. 1 films for 2013: "Cloud Atlas" (Fazio), "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" (Shoji) and "Kaguya-hime no Monogatari (The Tale of Princess Kaguya)"...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 26, 2013
'Mugiko-san to (With Mugiko)'
One reason for the lasting popularity of "Tokyo Monogatari (Tokyo Story)," the 1953 Yasujiro Ozu masterpiece about a momentous visit by an elderly couple to their adult children in Tokyo, is that all too many of its viewers can see themselves in the film's selfish son and daughter who don't have time...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 26, 2013
'11.25 Jiketsu no Hi (11.25: The Day Mishima Chose His Own Fate)'
Director: Koji Wakamatsu
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 19, 2013
'Matsuri no Uma (The Horses of Fukushima)'
The earthquake, tsunami and reactor meltdowns of March 2011 may have faded from the world's consciousness, but for many Japanese filmmakers, both young and old, it has been a life- and career-defining event. Documentary makers, especially, have gone north by the dozens to film the aftermath and interview...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 19, 2013
'Strawberry Night'
Director: Yuichi Sato
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 12, 2013
Young, dead and dealing with the consequences
A veteran director of feature episodes in the classic "Ultraman" tokusatsu (special effects) series, Kazuya Konaka may not be the most obvious choice for a drama about teen suicide, but a look at his filmography, including 1998's "Nazo no Tenkosei (The Dimension Travelers)" and 2008's "Tokyo Shojo...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 12, 2013
'Seki Seki Ren Ren (Deep Red Love)'
Japan's suicide rate is nearly twice that of the U.S. and three times that of the U.K., with the number of people taking their own lives each year only recently dipping below 30,000. It is also the leading cause of death among Japanese in their teens and 20s. Why this should be so in a society so orderly,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 12, 2013
'Mononoke-hime (Princess Mononoke)'
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 7, 2013
Re-examining Yasujiro Ozu on film
Yasujiro Ozu once had a reputation for making films only other Japanese could understand.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 7, 2013
Tracing the unhurried history of iconic director Yasujiro Ozu
Dec. 12, 1903: Yasujiro Ozu is born in Tokyo's Fukagawa district, the second of five siblings. His father is a prosperous fertilizer wholesaler from Matsusaka, Mie Prefecture. Ozu lives in Matsusaka with his brothers and sisters from 1913 to 1924.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 5, 2013
'Hajimari mo Owari mo Nai (No Beginning, No End)'
When I first saw a trailer for Shunya Ito's "Hajimari mo Owari mo Nai (No Beginning, No End)," an all-but dialogue-free film starring dancer/actor Min Tanaka, I thought it might be a 95-minute performance piece — and thus better reviewed by a dance critic than by me.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 5, 2013
'Shijushichinin no Shikaku (47 Ronin)'
Director: Kon Ichikawa
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 28, 2013
Yamashita and Maeda reunite for slacker dramedy
Nobuhiro Yamashita has used a variety of sources for his films since his 1999 feature debut "Donten Seikatasu (Hazy Life)," including his own experiences as a struggling indie director. But the inspiration for his latest, "Moratorium Tamako (Tamako in Moratorium)," is out of the ordinary by any standard:...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 28, 2013
'Moratorium Tamako (Tamako in Moratorium)'
Japanese college students may be the nation's leisure class, known more for their partying and playing than studying, but their seemingly carefree minds are often clouded by worries about a post-graduation job. Even serious students — yes, they do exist — have to sweat through arduous and...
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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Exploring Japanese culturevia Tohoku’s festivals
Exploring Japanese culturevia Tohoku’s festivals

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