Watched it too and same impression. The funny part was that it was the same lead actor than in Perfect Days which I had just watched!
Nice that you loved 海街diary!! It definitely delivers more than one might expect.
Wow, impressive numbers! Well done!
I’m at around 30, which is 30 more than all the other years combined!
Yes, yes 
I felt that the role in Under the Open Sky definitely contributed to his was of playing Hirayama in Perfect Days…
I believe Kôji Yakusho is regarded in Japan as one of the best actors of his generation… (but then, I really don’t know much about male actors… not quite my area of interest 
)
Watched the other 2 movies from Japanese Film Festival Online/JFF Theater 2024
湯を沸かすほどの熱い愛 I guess I liked that the movie touches to so many subjects: (spoilers + trigger warnings) school bullying, being a single parent, being abandoned by your parent, having a disability, having a terminal disease. But at the same time wow, all those things happening to the same family, in my head I can’t help but thinking “maybe give those people a break”. Probably not really my kind of movie.
鍵泥棒のメソッド: This one I loved found it very funny (it was hilarious to see Kondo-san be in Sakurai-san’s clothes, Sakurai’s faces, Kanae’s personnality), and somehow more plausible than 湯を沸かすほどの熱い愛 
(at the beginning I thought that the lady would meet and fall in love with fake-Kondo, newly rich, and somehow get deceived, and maybe the hitman would try to get revenge on the thief, but I really like the direction it took instead). Very impressed by the performance of the actors too
This week’s films, ranked low to high:
三匹の侍 / Three Outlaw Samurai
1964, Hideo Gosha
(Surprising - to me - use of the 匹 counter; I do wonder what the title actually means in Japanese, what kind of samurai? 
)
When wandering ronin Shiba finds a lady’s hairpin near a mill, it leads him to finding three peasants who kidnapped the local magister’s rather lovely daughter.
The peasants of several villages suffer from unfair taxes instituted by the evil magister. Of course, after some careful thought Shiba decides to help the opressed.
A more standard fare action romp here, with plenty of twists and turns to the story (although not really unexpected) and more importantly “full” closure by the end (see The Sword of Doom below, which I actually watched first).
Decently entertaining, but not as thought-provoking nor quite as well crafted visually as the next films.
A comment somewhere said that it eventually got a sequel in the form of a TV series 
Only 6.5/10 as straight up samurai action flicks ain’t my thing…
野良犬 / Stray Dog
1949, Akira Kurosawa
Murakami is a young inexperienced police detective in post-WW2 Tokyo. When his Colt pistol (with seven bullets) is stolen, he goes on a quest in the poverty-striken slums to retrieve it - first on his own, but later once the gun makes victims he also gets the help of seasoned chief detective Sato… all in the sweltering heat of summer.
First time watching this one.
I thought it did well in capturing the atmosphere of Tokyo in those days, giving us a good look at the lives of those less fortunate in the aftermath of WW2: ration cards, decent jobs are hard to come by, the city is in ruins, various rackets are in bloom… but there are still moments of fun to be had and (some) people try to make the best of what they have.
Kurosawa doesn’t try to make any excuses for anyone though, even going a smidge preachy by comparing the choices made by Murakami and Yusa.
As a noir… hmmm, it was a good-not-great flick. The story was interesting enough, however not amazing.
Cinematography and the direction were good, though perhaps not quite as accomplished as in his later films (well, even The Quiet Duel from the same year worked better for me in these regards).
7-7.5/10 from me - enjoyable, just not necessarily one for rewatches…
大菩薩峠 / The Sword of Doom
1966, Kihachi Okamoto
(the kanji here make me want to cry 
and I’ve no idea what the Japanese title actually means…)
In 1860s Japan, Ryunosuke is a fine swordsman, but one that doesn’t have much consideration for fellow human beings. As the film starts he chops up an old man and not long after kills another samurai in a duel.
Such deeds will chase him over the years…
After High and Low (watched the evening before), this was (by happenstance) another pairing of Tatsuya Nakadai and Toshirô Mifune - the former in a lead role, the latter just supporting - both putting in very cool performances.
And that lead role… well, this was an interesting watch because our “hero” is anything but.
A sociopath who can justify each of his killings according to his own moral compass, even when this doesn’t make sense to anyone else. There’s mention of “evil” in the film, but I for one wouldn’t slap that tag onto the character. He always knows what he wants, and knows only one way of getting it - through the use of his sword - and unfortunately that doesn’t leave much room for empathy and compassion.
The story itself is decent, but can get confusing and a little chaotic even. It likely suffers because (according to IMDb trivia) this was meant to be the first in a trilogy which would adapt a (famous?) novel - an extremely lengthy one, at that: 41 volumes with some 5.5mil chars in Japanese! I mean… really?!?
Well anyway, because the two sequels were never made, the abrupt ending of this one leaves one wanting… However it still works just fine on its own as a standalone flick, just with a bit of a “Huh, that was… not quite what I was expecting!” at the end
Still, whatever shortcomings it may have in storytelling, it more than makes up for them with the extremly stylish presentation. It sure was mighty pretty to look at - the cinematography was really, really good.
The fighting is usually quick and well coreographed, I thought. Although there aren’t many fights as such (I wouldn’t call it quite an “action movie”), there’s a whole lot of death going around… at least two seasons’ worth of Midsomer Murders, and we know how they used to drop like swathes of flies in that show 
8/10
天国と地獄 / High and Low
1963, Akira Kurosawa
(Oooh I can actually read this title in full! 
)
Gondo is a an executive of a Yokohama shoe company, at odds with the rest of the board.
He is told his son has been kidnapped and asked to pay 30mil Yen ransom, but it turns out his chauffeur’s son was accidentally kidnapped instead, yet the perp maintains his demand.
Gondo must decide whether to pay or not, while the police are trying to find the child and the kidnapper.
TLDR: Wow, what a film! 
Moral conundrums, social commentary, finely crafted police procedurals, Hitchcockian thrills… all neatly wrapped up in a 2h20m package that never feels slow or drawn out.
Loosely based on an Ed McBain novel, Kurosawa takes us on a voyage from high/Heaven (Gondo’s villa perched on a hill, a man who worked his way up there from down below - and must now decide what’s more important in life, honor or wealth) through the middle/Earth (the police investigation… there’s a lengthy scene in the “situation room” where various cops present their findings - sounds perhaps a little boring but it turned out just amazing, really) and all the way down to the low/Hell (the seedy underbelly of the bustling city, with a downright horror scene in the so called Drugs Alley).
Throughout, the direction, staging and cinematography are impeccable and the story flows nicely keeping one on the edge of the seat. Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai and the rest of the cast do fine jobs, in that Japanese some times “intense” way of acting 
If there is one small point of contention (maaaybe?) that would be the lack of female representation - it’s really only Gondo’s wife here, and she’s treated a little disparagingly. I’d venture a guess this is in-line with the source novel, but I haven’t read it…
(1)9.63/10 ? 
Hello,
I recently watched 怪物 (Monster).
Probably my favorite Kore-eda movie so far (there’s still a few on my watchlist).
It always amazes me how good he is at directing child actors.
Very well crafted, and I really liked the theme of the movie.
Only two Japanese films this week, but one of them counts for like 4-5 of them
紙の月 / Pale Moon
2014, Daihachi Yoshida
A housewife turned bank employee has an affair with a younger man and embezzles a fortune from her customers.
Maybe it sounds interesting, but the presentation isn’t… just a bad woman doing bad things for no good reason.
I liked Rie Miyazawa in a couple other films, but here she was (I guess) asked to play the lead character as… “flat” as possible, making one wonder what her husband and lover even saw in her to begin with.
There’s no proper exploration of her motives - the attempt to tie the adult’s behaviour to an occurence from childhood didn’t make much sense, and the entire film felt quite easily forgettable.
5.5-6/10
七人の侍 / Seven Samurai
1954, Akira Kurosawa
No story blurb as no introduction is necessary for this one, I don’t think
Well. What on earth could I say that would do it justice?!?
Nothing really, but I can’t not say anything at all, so…
Just that it is as impressive today as it was 20 years ago at rewatch and some 30 years ago when I first met it, as a kid.
And likely just as impressive as it was 70 years ago, judging by the dozens of other films it inspired or influenced, either in full or partially, over the decades.
It may be too long for some, but that 3h20m runtime is perfect for making you feel transported smack into the middle of feudal Japan (something that the western-style remake didn’t do with its world, for me at least) and caring for all the characters involved. Then when the end screen came, I just wished it had gone on for at least once more of that runtime…
It’s not a perfect film - Kurosawa seems to not have cared much about women characters, the humor is some times targeted at younger audiences, we don’t learn practically anything at all about the bandits, a couple of hystericals are a little over the top… - but at the end of the day, it does not really matter, because what we do get is so so so well put together that it makes you forget all of its imperfections.
It is a monumental work in the history of cinema, without a doubt!
… but I’m going to score it “only” 10 minus… simply because we also have Harakiri, and that for me is the “better” samurai film
I watched it via the latest outing, an amazing 4k UHD with DV transfer from BFI. Better than last year’s 4k from Toho and also better than the concurrent release from Criterion, which does not have a HDR grading.
The Criterion English subs are closer to literal translation (as much as that is possible with JP->EN, in any case) while the BFI subs go a little towards a more “lyrical” interpretation, adding a little flair to some of the dialogue. I flipped between the two for a while until Criterion came up with “son of a b…” once, then I stuck with BFI and never looked back
Just watched it too! Agreed, I think it might be my favorite. Was really captivated the whole time, plus it was very beautifully filmed.
More oldies for me this week, from the quartet of Japanese greats:
西鶴一代女 / The Life of Oharu
1952, Kenji Mizoguchi
A 50yo prostitute who was once a lady-in-waiting at the court in Kyoto in late 17th century Japan, looks back on the last 30+ years of her life.
Another Mizoguchi film, another downer… poor Oharu was life’s favourite punching bag, it seems.
It’s more or less a long string of bad, bad things happening to one woman, with whatever fleeting moments of joy there are (don’t expect many, though), being there only to spite her before the next even worse wave.
For me it felt like it was a bit too much, though… too depressing and maybe not the best pick to start a new week of films.
But it is well staged (like a finely arranged theatre play), well acted (although the lead actress was perhaps a little too old to be playing the young girl) and expertly shot.
Similar to The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum it has mostly long takes in which the camera never gets close to the characters, and almost always pans sideways with smooth slow motions, much how like the women move around in the frame seemingly floating
7.5-8/10
宗方姉妹 / The Munekata Sisters
1950, Yasujirô Ozu
Setsuko and Mariko are the Munekata sisters, with a rather large age gap.
Setsuko is in an unhappy marriage and now Hiroshi, the man she loved is back after some 10 years abroad. Mariko tries to reunite them, but she may also be interested in Hiroshi.
It’s been a (relatively short, yet it felt long) while since the last Ozu film… it turns out I kinda missed his style
For those who don’t like his usual stuff, this one won’t change their minds… it’s pretty much more of the same
What it boils down to is the generational gap - now between siblings, rather than parents and children -, traditionalism vs modernism - again through the two sisters, with their father trying to establish a common ground - and marital woes - with multiple parties involved in the same entanglement.
But it did have a few “new” tricks, at least to me… there’s a quite surprising scene of domestic violence ( 
) and then of course the outstanding part for Hideko Takamine as Mariko who was abso-effin’-lutely delicious here - seeing her so adorably playful this time around, after several other “serious” roles, was quite a shock… but in a good way. And it certainly looked like she was having tremendous fun throughout!
Kinuyo Tanaka, she was good too, but she felt a little uncomfortable having to smile so often, per Ozu’s usual requirements
(To be honest, all that smiling from everyone all the time can be a little tiring even for viewers.)
I can’t say I loved the ending (not the “twist” but the conclusion to the story) but I guess he didn’t want to go down the “obvious” route…
Oh, and it has lots of cats!
7.5-8 for the film, 11/10 for Hideko Takamine… again!
稲妻 / Lightning
1952, Mikio Naruse
Osei is a single mother of four - one son and three daugthers, each child from different fathers (!!!). The older sisters are (poorly) married, and the family is putting pressure on the youngest daughter Kiyoko, to marry with a man of better standing, a baker. But Kiyoko likes her independence and doesn’t much like her family.
Wait… that (“X must marry”) sounds a little like the plot of an Ozu piece, doesn’t it?
Only being by Maruse, adapting a novel from the same author as several other of his films, it has very little in common with Ozu’s works, painting a much bleaker picture.
There’s no kind and reconcilliatory paternal figure here, the family is torn apart by a suite of bad things than are made even worse by their own responses to the situations, and… much to my surprise, it did not end as I expected - it’s quite different even from other Naruse films.
It’s commendable for giving viewers an extremely well put together climax scene (the lightning in the title makes an appearance) and an actually clear (and not tragic!) ending, kinda like the clearing after a storm.
But somehow on the whole it didn’t draw me in as it seems to have done for others (looking at some IMDb and Letterboxd comments)… there was just too much happening and it felt even a little confusing at times (“who was that character, again?”, “how did those two suddenly…?”). Maybe it works better on a second watch?
7-7.5/10
あにいもうと / Brother and Sister
1953, Mikio Naruse
The already hard life of a rural family “across the river from Tokyo” (It might as well be an ocean between them ) is complicated futher when the unmarried older of two daughters comes home pregnant from the big city. The scandal threatens marriage prospects even for the younger sister. Having a brash and crude elder brother doesn’t make things any better.
Another adaptation from an apparently famous novel in Japan, this one worked better for me, compared to the previous Naruse outing.
The way the story flows made it relatively easy to feel for the characters - more so for the younger daughter than the older, but still; for the mother too, however (perhaps intentionally) not for the father or the older brother.
The down-beat, menancing atmosphere grows throughout and ends with a seriously violent scene when prejudices and double standards are finely laid out in the midst of a very one-sided fight.
Then the conclusion is ambiguous yet not all that surprising - there was zero room left for any sort of “happy” ending.
And again not quite surprising: Masayuki Mori in yet ANOTHER “bad guy” role How this dude was one of the most beloved actors of that period, I have yet to find out
Solid 8/10 this one.
悪い奴ほどよく眠る / The Bad Sleep Well
1960, Akira Kurosawa
Nishi marries the daughter of his boss, wealthy business man Iwabuchi. It is not a particularly happy moment as the corporate honcho and his minions are suspected of corruption and hounded by the press and the police.
The police investigation crumbles, but the businessmen are still tracked by an unknown individual.
In a very loose adaptation of Hamlet (it’s really just some elements of Shakespeare’s play), Kurosawa lays out a great tale of revenge while also putting the corporate greed and corruption in the spotlight.
Japanese mindset is a little difficult to understand, as company employees would rather commit suicide than rat out on their bosses. Somehow though, this doesn’t come off as exaggerated or unbelievable.
Not even the “hero” of the story - the one who’s out for revenge on his father’s suicide from five years prior - is presented in a glamorous light, as his choices end up hurting both himself and those he loves.
The film has a brisk pace at first, to the point of confusion early on as a lot of characters are introduced abruptly at the wedding scene (but it’s fine, things clear up eventually) then slows down to even humanize a bit the evil characters.
The ending may seem abrupt, but I thought the decision to not show exactly what happened was an inspired one, it worked better for me this way.
Acting is good throughout, in that Japanese exaggerated way. Mifune is excellent as always, while Masayuki Mori… well, here he is in yet another “bad man” role. I ain’t giving up though, I shall eventually run into a film where he’s a good guy
8.5/10
Also, watched an anime - もののけ姫 / Princess Mononoke (just okay, not great… but that’s how it is for me with most of these ) - and one of the stopmotion shorts from the JFF - Gon, the Little Fox (cute at first, sad by the end… as expected).
One of my favorite movies 
but granted, probably biased as I saw it as a teenager, probably a lot of sentimental value for me.
Yesterday I watched a Kore-eda movie, but not a Japanese one was curious to check out something else by him in another language. It was The Truth, in French. It was just okay, not great 
can definitely recognize his style, he’s picking a theme and making us reflect about it (in this particular movie, about: the truth)
Ah no no, it was a fine one I’d rate it an 8/10, which is of course not bad at all and well above ‘average’, I just feel that most of the Ghibli/Hayao Miyazaki ones are somewhat overrated… < ducks >
Have yet to watch Kore-eda’s French affair
I love your format, thanks so much! I don’t watch a lot of films but when I’m choosing one this is an amazing resource to check first
@Akashelia
Would it help redeem myself if I said that compared to 98% of what animations Hollywood puts out, Miyazaki ones are pretty much all 10/10s?
@mitrac
Thank you, I’ll keep 'em coming certainly
Got a bunch to go through in December, to decide what goes into the Amazon JP shopping cart for when they’ll do the New Year’s discounts… well, at least I hope they’ll have discounts
No worries, you can think whatever you want though you mention the movies a lot but what do you think about the music in them? That’s my favorite part
Erm… okay, so:
Well… I like those that blend in to the point where they don’t stand out
I’m more likely to comment when the score is either lacking (very old films some times have awkward silence) or is severely out of place (for example I didn’t like the trippy 60s jazz score in When a Woman Ascends the Stairs). I will usually recognize a Hans Zimmer score (who doesn’t?!? ), but as far as Japanese films go, I can’t say anything has really stood out
Also, with period dramas they’ll usually have a lot of traditional Japanese music. And that is… an acquired taste… one which I’ve yet to acquire Not gonna score a film down because of it, though - it is what it is.
or
The older titles (which is the bulk of what I’m watching) rarely feature sountrack songs. Although I’ll say that a few I heard (one from the 30s, a couple from the 70s) sounded surprisingly similar to what we had in Romania in those periods… it was more or less the same music, just with lyrics in a different language. That was a bit uncanny, as they weren’t necessarily US-inspired songs.
With more recent films, at least the ones I watch don’t seem to feature many songs, there’s maybe one during and then maybe one with the end credits.Which is good actually, because J-Pop and I do not get along
WIth anime, I’ve picked up a few songs from Makoto Shinkai’s films, and I do love them… but I love them because they were part of the films and whenever I listen to one again it’ll remind me of the corresponding anime… dunno that I’d give them much thought otherwise
and bonus
This goes with the bit above.
A little earlier today I watched Suzhou River, a surprinsingly good Chinese film - there was this song in it (the YT video is in fact a clip taken from the film) and it gave me goosebumps because it came when it came during the film. But I really doubt I’d have ever listened to it ‘standalone’ or even if I did, it would have not had that effect…
I meant more specifically the songs of the movies from Studio Ghibli those really stand out for me. Especially anything by Joe Hisaishi.
Watched Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence today (almost an oldie, 1983! and with David Bowie!) and really enjoyed the soundtrack incidentally. The composer is Ryuichi Sakamoto, he also starred in the film, quite a big role too, I would have never guessed!
Aaaah… yes, yes no complaints whatsoever about the score in Ghibli anime, they do fit the stories well
My “release date” is in '83, so thank you very much for reminding me I am ‘almost’ on the old side of things!
How was it?
Sounds interesting, a UK-Japan co-production about WW2 with a (rather controversial) Japanese director…
This was fun to read on IMDb:
At the beginning I didn’t enjoy it because I’m not so much into war / war movies, but once I got past that I enjoyed the actors playing and the contrast British / Japanese. So I would say not a masterpiece but worth while!
And from my own release date being in the same decade I confirm that you are just as not old as I am 
Recently watched The Gesuidouz and really enjoyed it.
The plot is about a lead singer who plans on dying at 27 and only has a year left to make it big with her band. It has a lot of heart and at it’s core is about the struggle to create something that means something. It is also quite funny.
I feel like people who like One Cut of the Dead would enjoy this film as well.
