Comprising international premieres, short programs, and some of the country’s finest-ever films in new restorations, 2024’s Japan Cuts––running July 10-21 at New York’s Japan Society––has been unveiled. It’s in the festival’s nature that numerous works and directors are lesser-known on American shores, though a cursory search has one regularly stopping: new films by Takeshi Kitano (Kubi), Shunji Iwai (Kyrie), Shinya Tsukamoto (Shadow of Fire), and Gakuryu Ishii (The Box Man) populate the selection. Meanwhile, Hideaki Anno’s modern classic Shin Godzilla debuts in a new, black-and-white cut Shin Godzilla: ORTHOchromatic.
Its classics section is three-for-three: Ishii’s August in the Water, Shinji Somai’s Moving, and Toshiharu Ikeda Mermaid Legend, which is more or less one of the greatest films ever made. One can anticipate at least a couple of Japan Cuts’ current unknowns are tomorrow’s figureheads.
See the full lineup below:...
Its classics section is three-for-three: Ishii’s August in the Water, Shinji Somai’s Moving, and Toshiharu Ikeda Mermaid Legend, which is more or less one of the greatest films ever made. One can anticipate at least a couple of Japan Cuts’ current unknowns are tomorrow’s figureheads.
See the full lineup below:...
- 6/4/2024
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Shinya Tsukamoto’s Shadow of Fire begins as a troubling but measured film, but about a half-hour in something happens that shatters its quietude. Suddenly, a man who to this point has been impotent and deferential throws a small boy out a window and begins beating a woman. From the director best-known for Tetsuo: The Iron Man, and whose other films are often similarly stylish and sexually violent, that might not sound like much, but it is precisely the restraint of Shadow of Fire that makes the violence one of the more harrowing moments in Tsukamoto’s growing oeuvre.
Tsukamoto used to make movies at a swift pace: from his 1989 debut Tetsuo to 2011’s Kotoko, a dozen films. Since then, Shadow of Fire is just his third, all three of which are focused in some way on war, and each has taken longer to arrive than the one before. Whether...
Tsukamoto used to make movies at a swift pace: from his 1989 debut Tetsuo to 2011’s Kotoko, a dozen films. Since then, Shadow of Fire is just his third, all three of which are focused in some way on war, and each has taken longer to arrive than the one before. Whether...
- 2/2/2024
- by Forrest Cardamenis
- The Film Stage
With a selection from the “top of the shelf” once more, as the films of Keishi Otomo, Yuya Yagira, and the next big anime thing “Slam Dunk” eloquently highlight, Japan Cuts showcased how the top of the Japanese movie industry fares currently, while not forgetting the “hidden gems” aspect, with the returns of Yusaku Matsumoto and Daisuke Miyazaki and the presentation of “Sanka”, a film that has passed absurdly under the radar, moving into that direction. The general direction in terms of selection seemed to move towards mainstream paths, with the shorts, the animation and the documentary “I am a Comedian” adding an element of diversity. Without further ado, here is a list of this year's coverage of Japan Cuts.
You can read the full reviews by clicking on the titles 1. Interviews: Kentaro and Yuya Yagira 2. Anime Review: The First Slam Dunk (2022) by Takehiko Inoue
What is the most impressive aspect,...
You can read the full reviews by clicking on the titles 1. Interviews: Kentaro and Yuya Yagira 2. Anime Review: The First Slam Dunk (2022) by Takehiko Inoue
What is the most impressive aspect,...
- 8/8/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Japan Society announces Amiko directed by Yusuke Morii as the winner of the third Obayashi Prize at Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film. The film is selected from titles within Next Generation—the festival's sole competitive section introduced in 2020 dedicated to independently produced narrative feature films from emerging filmmakers in Japan.
The festival's only juried section, Next Generation awards the Obayashi Prize to the most accomplished title as determined by a jury of industry professionals. This year's distinguished jurors are: critic and essayist Moeko Fujii; Dan Sullivan, programmer at Film at Lincoln Center; and distributor Pearl Chan. The jury remarks:
“As Amiko peeks into calligraphy class watching other children practice discipline and character building, they play a game of who can spot her first. She is too much, too loud; she cannot be held inside the lines and there is no language to describe her. This is where the...
The festival's only juried section, Next Generation awards the Obayashi Prize to the most accomplished title as determined by a jury of industry professionals. This year's distinguished jurors are: critic and essayist Moeko Fujii; Dan Sullivan, programmer at Film at Lincoln Center; and distributor Pearl Chan. The jury remarks:
“As Amiko peeks into calligraphy class watching other children practice discipline and character building, they play a game of who can spot her first. She is too much, too loud; she cannot be held inside the lines and there is no language to describe her. This is where the...
- 8/8/2023
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
In an attempt to leave Tokyo for an undisclosed location, 26-year-old salaryman Kanzaki (Kazuaki Nomura) solicits the help of a petty thief (Kono) to drive him in exchange for ¥1 million in cash. A minimalist road movie with grim undertones, “J005311” marks the directorial debut of actor-turned-director Hiroki Kono.
J005311 is screening at Japan Cuts
In the absence of dialogue, moments can linger to create a sense of atmosphere, whether it be a moment to pause and contemplate the inner workings of a protagonist or build suspense for a moment that is about to come. Yet, Hiroki Kono takes this space and amps it to a perverse uncomfortableness with characters who barely speak or give a reason for their actions. Instead, the viewer becomes an observer of a stranger on a unique mission with no context of the reasoning behind it. It is a bold move that is as experimental in...
J005311 is screening at Japan Cuts
In the absence of dialogue, moments can linger to create a sense of atmosphere, whether it be a moment to pause and contemplate the inner workings of a protagonist or build suspense for a moment that is about to come. Yet, Hiroki Kono takes this space and amps it to a perverse uncomfortableness with characters who barely speak or give a reason for their actions. Instead, the viewer becomes an observer of a stranger on a unique mission with no context of the reasoning behind it. It is a bold move that is as experimental in...
- 7/27/2023
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
Stars: Kazuto Osawa, Hiroki Kono, Takuya Fuji, Ayu Kitaura | Written and Directed by Shinichiro Ueda
One Cut of the Dead was quite rightly celebrated for rejuvenating the zombie sub genre. It was original, funny, massively entertaining and really clever. But maybe more than all that, it had heart and it made you smile from ear to ear. So I could not wait to watch whatever Shin’ichiro Ueda made after that, and Special Actors is his latest offering.
Without the horror setting, could the director catch that lightening in a bottle again. Special Actors does have some similarities with One Cut of the Dead. But it is more to do with the style of comedy and tone than anything else (although there is one scene that I will get to later). But it also goes down those strange meta-routes. That Japanese humour is different from American or British humour, so...
One Cut of the Dead was quite rightly celebrated for rejuvenating the zombie sub genre. It was original, funny, massively entertaining and really clever. But maybe more than all that, it had heart and it made you smile from ear to ear. So I could not wait to watch whatever Shin’ichiro Ueda made after that, and Special Actors is his latest offering.
Without the horror setting, could the director catch that lightening in a bottle again. Special Actors does have some similarities with One Cut of the Dead. But it is more to do with the style of comedy and tone than anything else (although there is one scene that I will get to later). But it also goes down those strange meta-routes. That Japanese humour is different from American or British humour, so...
- 8/31/2020
- by Alain Elliott
- Nerdly
I may have been late to the party with One Cut of the Dead, but you can now count me as a huge fan of writer/director Shinichiro Ueda’s output after seeing his latest project, Special Actors, which is just as charming and delightful as his previous movie, just in a completely different way. Ueda clearly enjoys breaking down the creative process through his filmmaking, and I must say that I absolutely adore his approach and his obvious passion of celebrating those who are willing to take creative risks, much like he has done throughout his career.
Special Actors is centered around an aspiring actor named Kazuto (Kazuto Osawa) who suffers from a peculiar affliction: whenever he finds himself stressed, he passes out cold, which is of course not ideal for someone who may endure a fair share of criticism or confrontation through their work. One night, while working as a security guard,...
Special Actors is centered around an aspiring actor named Kazuto (Kazuto Osawa) who suffers from a peculiar affliction: whenever he finds himself stressed, he passes out cold, which is of course not ideal for someone who may endure a fair share of criticism or confrontation through their work. One night, while working as a security guard,...
- 8/21/2020
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
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