The Japan Society Review

Directed by Yoshihiro Nakamura The movie begins with a newsreel about the ‘Projects,’ a housing estate where people can live, work, shop and go to school without ever leaving the local area. Happy families and housewives are shown living and [...] Review by Mike Sullivan

Directed and written by Shuichi Okita In The Woodsman and the Rain the interaction of a film crew and the inhabitants of a small village are shown through the eyes of a widowed lumberjack and a young director. Review by Mike Sullivan

By Shinya Tsukamoto The premise of the movie takes on a subject which is taboo in Japan, mental illness, and presents the plight of a single mother trying to raise a baby while [...] Review by Mike Sullivan

Directed by Akira Kurosawa This movie is an interpretation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the story is focused around Washizu who is a general for the lord of spider web castle. The movie brings together [...] Review by Mike Sullivan

Directed by Goro Miyazaki This production follows a common theme in Studio Ghibli movies of innocent romance and the coming of age of teenagers, this time set in 1960s Yokohama. Review by Mike Sullivan

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki The story is based on a Japanese children’s book written in 1985 by Eiko Kadono and was adapted by the master of animation Hayao Miyazaki in 1989. The English release [...] Review by Lucy Searles

Directed by Akio Kondo The film is based on the autobiographical book written by Shigeru Nishimura in 1975, telling the story of an orphaned boy sent to [...] Review by Mike Sullivan

Directed by Isshin Inudo Zero Focus, set for the most part in photogenic Kanazawa is a slick and classy film made by Isshin Inudo. It is based on the best-selling crime novel of [...] Review by Susan Meehan

Directed by Cristian Jimenez Bonsái is a youthful and whimsical film inspired by literature – Proust looms large; though not a Japanese film, the title, of course, is. It won the Films in Progress 19 Award in Toulouse in 2011. Review by Susan Meehan

Directed by Stu Levy The Japan Society organised a special charity screening for the European premiere of Stu Levy’s documentary film, Pray for Japan, at the British Academy for Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) on 14 March 2012 […] Review by Susan Meehan