SHALL WE DANCE? Review: Masayuki Suo’s Masterclass In Self-Discovery
SHALL WE DANCE? is now playing in select theaters from Film Movement Classics.
koji yashuko
Fantasia XXVI Review: Takashi Koizumi’s THE PASS: LAST DAYS OF THE SAMURAI, An Exquisite Snapshot Of Tumultuous Japanese History
The late Ryotaro Shiba remains one of the most celebrated authors of his time, with his work standing front and center for many a film adaptation. Such is the case for his 1968 novel, Touge, adapted and directed for the big screen by Takashi Koizumi, who plies his trade once more – following a career that includes having worked as assistant director for the legendary Akira Kurosawa on films like Ran (1985) and Kagemusha (1980) – now with his sixth narrative feature, The Pass: Last Days Of The Samurai, under his belt. After 260 years of peace, Western colonial influence has shaken the atmosphere of Japan under the Tokugawa shogunate, compelling the 15th shogun, Yoshinobu (Higashide Masahiro) to restore imperial rule to help realign and unify Japan in 1867 – a decision that only proved to be problematic than expected with two pro-imperial influencers out of Satsuma province insisting that […]