Category Archives: Film
My “Seishun 18” Koshinetsu–Tohoku Obon adventure
OK, I’m a convert. Sitting on trains for up to eight hours a day, mostly as a way to escape the up-to-40°C / 104°F temperatures outside and sit inside an air-conditioned vehicle? Getting to pay a flat rate for unlimited … Continue reading
Koki Mitani’s Odessa
“Three characters. Two languages. One truth.” This is the idea behind Odessa (オデッサ), Koki Mitani’s first new play in three and a half years, set in 1999 in the American town of Odessa, Texas. A Japanese tourist is detained on … Continue reading
RRR × TAKA“R”AZUKA ～√Bheem～
If you pay attention to movies at all, you’ve probably heard of – and should have seen – RRR, the incredible, ridiculous, and insanely over-the-top 2022 historical action-drama epic about colonialism, friendship, and loyalty. The film was directed and co-written by … Continue reading
The Itami Juzo Museum
Ever since I began planning my move to Japan in mid-2023, there was one place I promised myself I’d go at the first possible opportunity: the Itami Juzo Museum (伊丹十三記念館 / Itami Juzo Kinenkan) in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, on the … Continue reading
Tomcat’s Big Adventure
I got to see a very, very rare Japanese film last night: Tomcat’s Big Adventure (ちびねこトムの大冒険 地球を救え！なかまたち / Chibineko Tom no Daibouken: Chikyuu o Sukue! Nakama-tachi) Background Tomcat’s Big Adventure was to be the debut feature of Ryūtarō Nakamura, best … Continue reading
