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July 16, 2024
 

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Mark Schilling
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 18, 2010
'Outrage'
Takeshi Kitano went to the Cannes Film Festival this year hoping to snag the big prize that had so far eluded him: the Palme d'Or. He left with little more than a stack of negative reviews from the international media for his competition entry, "Outrage." One panel of critics, for the trade magazine...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 11, 2010
'Kokuhaku'
Japanese films featuring school ijime (bullying) are as common as cherry trees in Ueno Park, and for good reason. When I was teaching at a boys' high school in Kodaira, western Tokyo, I would sometimes see signs of ijime, such as the returnee kid whose natively fluent English inspired titters from his...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 4, 2010
'Koko no Mesu'
Hollywood once used permanent sets for the dozens of Westerns it cranked out annually — the frontier town, ranch house and corral all in one convenient location, built to last. I sometimes imagine something similar for Japan's endless procession of hospital dramas. They all seem to use one generic...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 28, 2010
'Railways'
The Japanese have a love affair with trains, especially the ones that trundle through the more picturesque parts of the country. One sure way to draw tourists to your rural prefecture is an ancient steam locomotive that chugs through a pretty middle-of-nowhere. For many visitors, it's not the destination,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 21, 2010
Globally minded director goes native
It's sad but true that Japanese directors with big reputations abroad are often odd men (or women) out back home.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 21, 2010
'Haru tono tabi (Travels with Haru)'
Masahiro Kobayashi is a unique figure in the Japanese film business. His knotty, idiosyncratic films, starting with the 1996 film "Closing Time," have never made much at the box office in Japan, though they have become favorites of foreign festival programmers. Four have screened at Cannes, including...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 14, 2010
'Zatoichi: The Last'
The "Zatoichi" series has long been an entry point for non-Japanese into Japanese films. Guys from Bonn to Buenos Aires who nod off after 10 minutes of Yasujiro Ozu's "Tokyo Monogatari" ("Tokyo Story") devour the 25 episodes of the original series of films (1962-1973), as well as the 1989 revival directed...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 7, 2010
'Shodo Girls — Watashitachi no Koshien (Calligraphy Girls — Our Koshien)'
Some actors can transcend whatever crappy movie they happen to be in. Christopher Walken, for example, was notorious for appearing in straight-to-video sludge but also for making his scenes watchable in that weird, cool Walken way. He created a world oblivious to the depressing reality around him.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 30, 2010
'Zebraman 2: Zebra City no Gyakushu'
Who wouldn't want to be a superhero? The hero of Takashi Miike's 2004 action comedy "Zebraman" certainly would. Ichikawa (Sho Aikawa) is a nerdy teacher whose life is one big zero — until he dresses up like a 1970s superhero and takes to the streets of Yokohama at night, looking for citizens in...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 23, 2010
'Bushido Sixteen'
Women warriors have been a feature of Japanese films for decades, from Meiko Kaji's revenge-bent heroine in "Shurayuki Hime" (Lady Snowblood, 1973) — a major inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" — to Haruka Ayase's sword-wielding shamisen player in "Ichi" (2008).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 16, 2010
'Darling wa Gaikokujin (My Darling is a Foreigner)'
Plenty of Japanese films feature foreigners, from extras in club scenes to main characters, such as Iain Glen's title hero in Masahiro Shinoda's WWII thriller "Spy Sorge" or Bae Doona's Korean exchange student in Nobuhiro Yamashita's high school comedy "Linda, Linda, Linda."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 9, 2010
'Yukai Rhapsody (The Accidental Kidnapper)'
Hollywood constantly remakes and reworks its old product — "Avatar" references everything from "Dances with Wolves" to the Tarzan movies — but sometimes it falls out of love with stories, even ones once widely popular.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 2, 2010
There's always a missing piece
The daughter of actor/director Eiji Okuda and sister of actress Sakura Ando, 28-year-old Momoko Ando has a deeply international background, including a nine-year stay in Britain, as well as thorough fluency in English. In person she was also articulate, straightforward, and gracious enough to give The...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 2, 2010
'Kakera (A Piece Of Our Life)'
Sexual orientation is often defined in black-and-white terms: You're either straight or gay — or kidding yourself. Author Gore Vidal has famously objected to this binary classification, claiming that there's no such thing as homosexuality, only homosexual acts.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 19, 2010
'Hana no Ato (After the Flowers)'/'Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora'
Women have been wielding swords in Japanese period actioners for decades now, from the days when Junko Fuji and Meiko Kaji were slicing up bad guys, Fuji with stoic grace, Kaji with icy rage.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 12, 2010
Yazaki opens up about 'Lies'
A leader of Japanese cinema's 1990s New Wave, Hitoshi Yazaki dropped off the radar for more than a decade, returning in 2006 with "Strawberry Shortcakes," a widely praised drama about four lonely women in search of, not just a partner, but reasons for living. In his new film, "Sweet Little Lies," the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 12, 2010
'Sweet Little Lies'
Marriages are strange creatures. They can die suddenly, when from the outside everything seems fine, or they can linger on for years when it's obvious to everyone, including the two principals, that it's all over.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 5, 2010
'Gekijo-ban Kenka Bancho: Zenkoku Seiha'
Fights were a spectator sport at my rural Pennsylvania high school. One guy would call out another and after classes the combatants would square off on a patch of ground outside school property, surrounded by a circle of friends and hangers-on. The typical finish was the victor straddling the prostrate...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 26, 2010
'Ningen Shikkaku'/'Saru Lock the Movie'
Based on Osamu Dazai's most famous novel, Genjiro Arato's "Ningen Shikkaku" ("The Fallen Angel") is a characteristic gamble for the veteran producer/ director, known for rushing in where others fear to tread.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 19, 2010
'Parade'
How much do we really know about anyone? This thought, the basis of many a paranoid delusion, is grounded in a human fact: We are all locked inside our own heads, communicating only a small fraction of our thoughts and feelings to others, when we are not actively misrepresenting them.
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.
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.
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.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
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.
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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