Balancing realism and compassion, Yoshihiko Taniguchi’s "Happy Life" shows a family adrift and a daughter forced to shoulder responsibilities far beyond her years. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/08/22/film/happy-life/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #japanesefilm #chiyurinishiguchi #yoshihikotaniguchi #sankichikawamoto
Satoko Yokohama’s film mixes watercolor whimsy, bohemian houseguests and a school newspaper scoop gone too far into a breezy, youth-skewed summer tale. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/08/22/film/seaside-serendipity/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #japanesefilm #konosukeharada #satokoyokohama
Black-and-white, but far from simple, Kon Ichikawa’s film is a survival story that stares into humanity’s darkest corners. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/08/20/film/fires-on-the-plain-restoration/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film#konichikawa #worldwarii #japanesefilm #eijifunakoshi
The live-action Japanese movie "Kokuho" has made over ¥10.5 billion in box office revenue in a feat not achieved in Japan since "Bayside Shakedown 2" in 2003. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/08/19/entertainment-news/kokuho-revenue/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #entertainmentnews #kokuho #japanesefilm #film #kabuki
Japanese film director Sho Miyake's "Tabi to Hibi" ("Two Seasons, Two Strangers") has won the top prize in the international competition division at the 78th Locarno Film Festival. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/08/17/film/two-seasons-two-strangers-locarno-film-festival-top-prize/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #locarnofilmfestival #tabitohibi #japanesefilm #awards #switzerland
Toshihisa Yamada’s first feature gives a lightly fictionalized spin to the tale of the “lucky” Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer that survived World War II. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/08/14/film/yukikaze/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #japanesefilm #worldwarii #yutakatakenouchi #toshihisayamada
Set in near-future Shanghai, romantic comedy anime "ChaO" reimagines "The Little Mermaid" in vibrant, hand-drawn detail. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/08/08/film/chao-anime-yasuhiro-aoki/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #japanesefilm #anime #yasuhiroaoki
Sony Group has raised its earnings forecast following a strong showing from its entertainment divisions that outweighed the threat of new U.S. tariffs on chips. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/08/07/companies/sony-outlook-entertainment-demand/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #companies #sony #tech #playstation #music #japanesefilm #tariffs #donaldtrump
Not saints, not martyrs — teenage nurses struggle to care for others while barely holding themselves together in “Nagasaki: In the Shadow of the Flash.” https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/08/07/film/nagasaki-in-the-shadow-of-the-flash/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #japanesefilm #wwii #hiroshima #nagasaki #atomicbombings #jumpeimatsumoto
J-horror veteran director Hideo Nakata creates goose-pimply moments of terror with common paranormal phenomena in the sequel to his 2020 haunted apartments film. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/07/31/film/stigmatized-properties-possession-review/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #japanesefilm #hideonakata #shotawatanabe #kotaroyoshida
Kazuhiro Taira’s war film following two Japanese soldiers hiding in a tree doesn’t avert its gaze from the ugliness of violent conflicts, while also appealing to a general audience. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/07/31/film/army-on-the-tree/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #japanesefilm #kazuhirotaira #shinichitsutsumi #yukiyamada
The katana-wielding heroes are back in cinemas across Japan, with dates for international premieres of “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle” on the horizon. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/07/25/film/demon-slayer-infinity-castle/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #demonslayer #anime #japanesefilm
Written, directed, edited and led by Asuna Yanagi while she was still a teen, this coming-of-age tale blurs the lines between life, fiction and cinephile obsession. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/07/24/film/rainy-blue/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #japanesefilm #asunayanagi #misatsugawa #chishuryu #yasujiroozu #hirobumiwatanabe
After 65 years, Tokyo’s last “roadside theater” closes its doors — outshined by the plush perks and varied lineups of modern multiplexes. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/07/24/film/marunouchi-toei-cinema-closes/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #japanesefilm #cinemas
Not all people deserve forgiveness and not all women need love to thrive in Aya Igashi’s unconventional coming-of-age drama that turns standard genre tropes on their heads. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/07/17/film/love-doesnt-matter-to-me/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #japanesefilm #ayaigashi #saraminami#fumikababa
Style overpowers substance in Keishi Kondo’s horror film, which dives deep into dream logic and dread, but its emotional detachment leaves a chill that’s more cold than scary. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/07/17/film/new-religion/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #japanesefilm #keishikondo #jhorror #kahoseto #ryuseigunsaionji #satoshioka
The Japan Foundation will begin distributing Japanese movies online for free in all 54 countries of the African continent on Tuesday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/13/japan/japan-foundation-movies-africa/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #japanfoundation #japanesefilm
What starts as a questionable premise ends up surprisingly human, thanks to director Toshiya Kominami’s quirky tone and Yuka Kouri’s turn as the story's unwitting object of desire. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/07/11/young-and-fine/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #japanesefilm #taisukeniihara #toshiyakominami #yukakouri #yukiaraho
Ultraviolent but punctuated by quiet character moments, the first chapter of Yasuomi Umetsu's new "Virgin Punk" project delivers old-school action and animation in a cyberpunk future. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/07/04/film/virgin-punk-clockwork-girl/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #japanesefilm #anime #yasuomiumetsu #sakimiyashita
The face on the wanted poster had a story to tell. Banmei Takahashi's drama reveals the humanity of a man on the run for decades. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/07/03/film/i-am-kirishima/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #film #japanesefilm #satoshikirishima #katsuyamaiguma #banmeitakahashi