Japan
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A coming-of-age story deeply rooted in the spirit and culture of Japan, The Crossing reaches past Japanese traditions and customs to explore universal themes. Set amid the bustle of Tokyo and the quiescence of rural Japan, the film follows the story of two young men dealing with the frustrations of living in a society drifting unmoored. Koji is a 29-year-old graphic designer living in Tokyo, depressed by the ceaseless buzz and hum of urban culture. His gloom is heightened by the death of his father and troubles with his love life.
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Fishes in August follows 18-year-old Kenji during his last true summer vacation, the summer before his final year in school. During the fateful month of August, Kenji will encounter pornography, bars, betrayal, girls, and more than enough trouble to grow him up quickly. As the days of his freedom count down, the montage of life grows more and more complex. His female classmate and secret crush, Reiko, complicates his life with confusion. More and more, Kenji wishes he could live life effortlessly, like a fish swimming through the ocean.
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Noted as one of Japan's career is a testimony to true spirit of the maverick cinema of today. Filmed in beautiful black and white, Ishii latest film, Labyrinth of Dreams, is an extremely stylish mystery about young Tomiko and her search for a killer. Tomiko works as a conductor with the bus company, a mundane job with the usual blandness. It is her sense of adventure that leads Tomiko into her role as the new conductor for handsome driver Niitaka (played by Japanese heartthrob Tadanobu Asano).
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If you're not sure what the word ''eviscerateO' means, you'll know what it feels like by the end of this shocking bit of celluloid. Boy, will you know! As the title suggests, Fudoh represents a new generation of nihilistic gangster mayhem. For the director, Takashi Miike, too much is never enough. Rivers of blood pour forth, bullets spew in torrents, heads part company from bodies and this is all before the opening credits. At the center of this revenge-driven madness is Ricki Fudoh and his ragtag bunch of schoolyard killers. Ricki is trying to wipe out organized crime's old guard.
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Rural, post World War II Japan. Twin boys Yukihiko and Seizo greet the world each day with a sense of wonder and brash self-confidence that the adults in their village cannot appreciate nor understand. Possessed of an artistic temperament and a spirited talent for drawing, the boys approach each day as though it were some grand adventure, not merely time to be passed; no matter if the day consists of fishing at the creek or a seemingly mundane day at school.
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Winner - Un Certain Regard Jury Prize, Cannes Film Festival 2008
Every family has its secrets.
Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa?s latest tale is an ironic, quietly offbeat take on a family in massive self-denial; a portrait of a seemingly ordinary Japanese family. All is normal and the same?or so it seems.
Bent, but not yet broken, the Sasaki family shows how the pride of men can bring a family to its knees, and how, sometimes, it takes the dreams of children to lift it back up again.
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Yasujiro Ozu?s quiet, minimalist style looks deceptively simple, but his films contain an exquisite grace and emotional power that belie this deceptive simplicity. His first masterpiece was this charming, boisterous and ultimately quite moving film, with its keen observations on family relationships and Japanese middle class society (Ozu?s favorite subjects). Two young boys and their parents move to the Tokyo suburbs after their father receives a promotion. The boys overcome the neighborhood bullies and immerse themselves in the childhood rituals of their new little world.
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A fake documentary about a cop who innately holds a strange characteristic ? people somehow gather up and queue in line behind him automatically with or without their intention.
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"What would happen if I took a photo of everything I ever experienced?" - Nobuyoshi Araki
The bound woman in a green kimono with bright red flowers seems almost lifeless, like a plastic doll. But from behind the lens comes the coaxing, praising and even grunting from a jittery impresario with a black, toothbrush-like mustache and shocks of hair that explode from opposite hemispheres of his shiny, otherwise bald head. Then, and only then, does the woman begin to exude a brilliant sensual vitality.