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Asian cinema: Japanese films

Toshiro Mifune in a still from Seven Samurai. Photo: Janus Films via AP

Seven Samurai at 70: why Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 film still moves audiences

Japanese director’s 1954 epic has influenced American filmmakers from Scorsese to Coppola and is considered among the greatest movies ever made. What is it that makes the film so special?

Japanese director’s film influenced Star Wars and left Martin Scorsese ‘shocked’. So what makes it one of the greatest movies ever made?

8 Jul 2024 - 11:57AMvideocam

Jojo Rabbit to Her, French-American entrepreneur Camille Glass’ top 5 films

6 Jul 2024 - 5:15PMvideocam

Review | All the Long Nights: meditative return by Small, Slow But Steady director

26 Jun 2024 - 7:15PMvideocam

Review | The Imaginary: Japanese animated fantasy lacks imagination

Netflix anime The Imaginary follows an imaginary friend (voiced by Kokoro Terada) trying to get back to his human companion Amanda (Rio Suzuki) in a story that is heavily inspired by the films of Studio Ghibli.

21 Jun 2024 - 11:36AMvideocam

A still from The Imaginary. Photo: Netflix/Ponoc

Review | Ultraman: Rising – English-language reimagining of superhero is great fun

A baseball star who returns to Japan and inherits the superman role adopts a baby monster in Ultraman fan Shannon Tindle’s playful debut feature film.

8 Jun 2024 - 12:51AMvideocam

Review | 52-Hertz Whales: a tough yet immersive character drama

Hana Sugisaki and Tori Kuwana star in Izuru Narushima’s 52-Hertz Whales, a tough, immersive character drama that sees an abused woman try to save a boy from a similar fate.

4 Jun 2024 - 4:15PMvideocam

Review | The Floor Plan: Japanese mystery is dread-inducing – until it isn’t

Horror film based on a viral YouTube video stars Shotaro Mamiya as a YouTuber who reports on the occult, and who investigates a mysterious house with an architect (Jiro Sato). The ending disappoints.

27 May 2024 - 7:45PMvideocam

Jiro Sato in a still from The Floor Plan.

Review | Okiku and the World: no stinker here despite poop-filled storyline

Junji Sakamoto’s simple tale of the courtship between a manure salesman and the daughter of a disgraced samurai is a charming watch.

21 May 2024 - 6:16PMvideocam

‘Breathtaking’: anime classic Spirited Away becomes a sold-out West End hit

The live version of Hayao Miyazaki’s hit anime Spirited Away has found new fans in London’s West End – the three-hour play is filling the London Coliseum and its run has been extended by five weeks.

22 May 2024 - 4:07AM

Review | My Sunshine: Jesus director returns with poetic ice-dancing drama

dreamy colours, heartfelt performances and economical storytelling characterise My Sunshine, Japanese director Hiroshi Okuyama’s film following two young ice dancers and their coach.

20 May 2024 - 2:45PM

Kiara Nakanishi (left) as Sakura and Keitatsu Koshiyama as Takuya in a still from My Sunshine.

The mythical Japanese snake creature many villagers swear is real

The tsuchinoko, a creature resembling a fat snake that you wouldn’t want to anger, is the star of a new film that uses the mythical animal to explore how Japan has changed since the mid-20th century.

20 May 2024 - 7:15AM

A model of a tsuchinoko is displayed at a museum in Higashishirakawa, Gifu prefecture, Japan. Photo: Higashishirakawa Municipal Government

Review | My Oni Girl: Japanese anime on Netflix is frustratingly familiar

Tomotaka Shibayama’s animated fantasy My Oni Girl on Netflix looks good but feels pedestrian and predictable, and sadly lacks the spark and inventiveness of a Studio Ghibli film.

19 May 2024 - 5:15PMvideocam

Can’t wait for Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga? 5 post-apocalyptic movies from Asia

While you wait to see Anya Taylor-Joy battle Chris Hemsworth, how about treating yourself to some of the best Asian films depicting an uninhabitable future, from Akira to Snowpiercer.

16 May 2024 - 7:15PMvideocam

Chinese nationalists take aim at Japanese animation master Miyazaki’s WWII film

Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron is a box office success in China, but some say the Studio Ghibli co-founder’s anti-war stance is ‘hypocritical’ as the film portrays Japanese characters as victims.

21 Apr 2024 - 12:12PMvideocam

Hayao Miyazaki is one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024. Photo: Chris Pizzello/ Invision/ AP

Review | City Hunter: Ryohei Suzuki as playboy detective in Netflix movie

Ryohei Suzuki stars as playboy detective Ryo Saeba in new Netflix movie City Hunter, the latest adaptation of the manga of the same name by artist Tsukasa Hojo.

19 Apr 2024 - 1:26AMvideocam

Ryohei Suzuki in a still from City Hunter, directed by Yuichi Sato. Misato Morita co-stars. Photo: Netflix

5 movies to watch instead of Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver

If Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver holds little appeal to you, try these five related movies instead - they’re all amazing.

19 Apr 2024 - 5:44PMvideocam

Japanese rape survivor on her film of case that shook her country

Journalist Shiori Ito’s documentary Black Box Diaries is a soul-baring examination of her sexual assault by a high-profile journalist and her fight for justice that pushed the #MeToo movement in Japan.

12 Apr 2024 - 9:19PM

Review | 18×2 Beyond Youthful Days: contemplative Japan-set romance

Michihito Fujii’s 18×2 Beyond Youthful Days simple tale of a young Taiwanese man exploring his first love’s homeland, Japan, proves surprisingly effective – despite its needlessly clumsy title.

2 Apr 2024 - 5:15PMvideocam

Kaya Kiyohara and Greg Hsu in a still from 18×2 Beyond Youthful Days.

10 Asian films about artists – one with Martin Scorsese as Vincent van Gogh

From Martin Scorsese as Vincent van Gogh in Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams, to Kenji Sawada-led Yumeji and The Pillow Book by Peter Greenaway, 10 of the best films made in Asia about artists and their art.

28 Mar 2024 - 4:15PMvideocam

Ranked: 10 best Korean movie adaptations of Japanese films, novels and manga

Korean filmmakers often turn to Japanese movies, manga and fiction for inspiration. From Oldboy to Josée and Little Forest, we pick our top 10 Korean film adaptations of Japanese originals.

28 Mar 2024 - 7:15AMvideocam

Review | Your Lovely Smile: amusing journey through Japan’s indie cinemas

Independent filmmaker Hirobumi Watanabe stars as a version of himself in Your Lovely Smile, a Lim Kah-wai-directed film that celebrates venues with unique personalities and long, storied histories.

26 Mar 2024 - 6:51PMvideocam

Hirobumi Watanabe in a still from Your Lovely Smile.

Movie buff moved from Tokyo to reopen cinema in rural Japanese town

Masuda, a town of 43,500 near Hiroshima, had seen its cinema close in 2008. Hiroaki Wada moved there determined to renovate and reopen the 200-seat theatre, and is celebrating two years of success.

26 Mar 2024 - 6:50PM

Hiroaki Wada in the cinema in Masuda, Japan that he reopened. Photo: Instagram/@fmsanin774

15 highlights from the Hong Kong International Film Festival 2024

Our pick of the 200 films being shown at the festival includes Korean mega hit Exhuma, 2024 Berlin best film winner Dahomey, and all the movies of The Banshees of Inisherin director Martin McDonagh.

21 Mar 2024 - 11:25AM

Video | How Gundam became the most successful robot anime of all time

In this episode of Cultured, we explore the animation, manga, magazines, toy kits and novels established by Sunrise and Bandai, and how they have morphed into the Gundam world, widely considered the most successful robot anime on Earth.

18 Mar 2024 - 11:00AM

10 iconic looks in Asian cinema, including that Bruce Lee jumpsuit

From Bruce Lee’s golden get-up in Game of Death to the nightmarish long hair and white nightdress worn by antagonist Sadako in Japanese horror Ring, we look at 10 iconic looks from Asian cinema.

26 Mar 2024 - 7:59AM

Bruce Lee in a still from Game of Death. Photo: Criterion Collection

Oscars 2024: Oppenheimer dominates with 7 wins, including best picture

Christopher Nolan picked up best director and Cillian Murphy best actor, their first Oscars, for the blockbuster about the race to build the atomic bomb. Emma Stone and Hayao Miyazaki were among other winners.

11 Mar 2024 - 12:47PM

Christopher Nolan accepts the Oscar for best director for Oppenheimer from presenter Steven Spielberg during the 96th Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood. The film went on to win best director, and earned five other Oscars. Photo: Reuters

Profile | ‘Fantasy is necessary’: Oscar winner and anime legend Hayao Miyazaki, 83

Hayao Miyazaki won the Oscar for best animated feature for his ‘last’ film The Boy and the Heron. We look back at the life and work of the 83-year-old Studio Ghibli co-founder.

11 Mar 2024 - 10:39AMvideocam

Oscars 2024 as it happened: Oppenheimer wins best picture and 6 other awards

Christopher Nolan’s biopic of the father of the atomic bomb dominates the Oscars, winning the top prize, plus best director for Nolan, best actor and four technical awards. Hayao Miyazaki also wins.

11 Mar 2024 - 10:59AM

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Asian cinema: Japanese films

From Akira Kurosawa to Yasujiro Ozu, from Takeshi Kitano to Hirokazu Koreeda, from samurai to yakuza to the Japanese New Wave, and from anime to J-horror to pink films, this is the place to go for reviews, interviews and features about movies both classic and new from Japan.