japan cuts 2023

Japan Cuts XVI Review: In THE THREE SISTERS OF TENMASOU INN, Life Goes On, Even In The Hereafter

The early 2000s turned out to be a prosperous time for me when it came to my absorption of Asian films and niche DVD releases. Filmmaker Ryuhei Kitamura landed on my radar as one of several auteurs leading the charge, sending audiences off with early zombie gangster sci-fi and jidaigeki hits like Versus, Alive, Aragami and Azumi, and ultimately getting to prove to fans that he was readily capable of delivering more solemn and pensive characters and stories on screen. Kitamura’s work shepherding Tsutomu Takahashi’s “Sky High” manga for television and the big screen became exemplary of this, and I’ve always held onto the 2003 adaptation as a favorite that Kitamura might one day return to. That this is what precisely happened as of late last year was something I didn’t expect, and for reasons obvious to those in the know as I wasn’t online as much as I wanted […]

Japan Cuts XVI Review: In Kaz I Kiriya’s FROM THE END OF THE WORLD, Mankind Stands Trial Once Again In The Face Of Oblivion

Lee B. Golden III

Nearly twenty years after breaking onto the scene with Casshern, filmmaker Kaz I Kiriya only has a small handful of films on his resumè. His 2015 film, Last Knights, didn’t fare as well compared to his debut, or even his 2009 release, Goemon, which I didn’t think should have led to such a large career gap between then and now. Kiriya had another project in the works back in 2019 as well with an adaptation of Tendo Arata’s “The Mourner,” which never came to pass, and as it stands, might not ever if its chosen casting remains or talk of Kiriya’s exit from directing are true. If you’re looking to catch up on any of Kiriya’s work, Goemon is unceremoniously available for only half its duration on Funimation’s streaming app and so frankly I don’t blame anyone for taking the wheel to find other legitimate measures of seeing the film […]

Japan Cuts XVI Review: SINGLE8, A Far-Out Concept Not Too Out Of This World

Lee B. Golden III

There’s something about watching a film about making a film that arouses the feels. It’s much ado with seeing group creativity in action, which is what makes it so fun seeing films that take on this particular story angle. Narrative and documentary films alike. I immediately point to recent Japan Cuts screenings like Night Cruising and It’s A Summer Film! as notable examples to introduce yet another fun addition to the subgenre as of late, with Ultraman vet Kazuya Konaka’s coming-of-age comedic drama, Single8, set in the late 70s as the fandom of a particular and newly-birthed sci-fi movie franchise began gaining ground around the world. It’s 1978 and George Lucas just reshaped the film landscape with Star Wars, eyeing its fanbase in Japan. Hiroshi (Yu Uemura) loves Star Wars, so much so that he’s fixated on the film’s opening crawl with the Star Destroyer. He daydreams about it in […]

Japan Cuts XVI Review: In THE LEGEND & BUTTERFLY, Love Is A Subversive Sengoku-Era Battlefield

Lee B. Golden III

Indeed, Oda Nobunaga is one of the most well-documented figures in world history. His is a recurring legacy in many a multimedia product in film and TV, and to no one’s surprise is source material rich with potential that filmmakers to this day are curious to adapt stories illustrating his life. Keishi Otomo, the mind behind adapting the biggest manga-inspired franchise of the past decade with Rurouni Kenshin, found a way in fitting fashion with his usual caliber of work alongside The Confidence Man JP trilogy and Parasyte adaptation screenwriter Ryota Kosawa. For this, it becomes a major point of interest as to how anyone interprets history, especially when obscurity befalls one half of the subject matter. Otomo’s 70th anniversary production for Toei, The Legend & Butterfly, makes a daring attempt to christen the genre once more with a peculiar revisit of the late legendary daimyo, born into power and […]

JAPAN CUTS XVI: ‘The First Slam Dunk’, Yuya Yagira To Be Feted, Ryuichi Sakamoto Tribute And More For This Summer’s Festival

Lee B. Golden III

It took a bit of legwork, but our readers can finally expect some Japan Cuts: Festival Of New Japanese Film coverage as Japan Society readies its sixteenth edition. The festival went dark last year while we’ve been able to cover the festival for three years in a row prior, and it’s been a blast seeing some of the films they’ve premiered. That the festival is returning, in addition to returning to its in-person festivities, is pretty exciting. One film I know folks will be looking forward to is Takehiko Inoue’s hit debut, The First Slam Dunk, in partnership with GKids and Toei Animation. The movie will serve as the opening title to commence a programme host to ten North American Premieres, seven U.S. Premieres, three East Coast Premieres, and three New York Premieres, two shorts programs, and six special guests and two parties. The festival has also carved out a […]