Five Japanese Movies You Should Watch

 
Hey there, I thought I might do one of those rare written posts that sometimes appear on this blog. To be honest I'm a little too lazy to write in depth about one particular thing.....and I can't really think of something to write about. So here's another one of those five item lists that I've been doing recently.

Most previous things that I've written about have been about music so I'll try something slightly different this time.........So movies. Five of them. That I enjoyed and would like to recommend. Think of it as my 'Tsutaya 007' for those who are familiar with Shabekuri 007. Too bad you probably don't have a Tsutaya to go borrow your movies, but I suppose the internet will be a more than adequate replacement....

These aren't in any particular order and not exactly my favourite top five. Just some that I recommend from various genres.

TASTE OF TEA 
(茶の味 CHA NO AJI)



'Taste of Tea' was a very nice surprise of a movie. I wasn't really expecting anything of it as it just somehow made it's way onto my computer from someone's hard drive. I watched it as I had nothing better to do. It doesn't really have a 'story' in the traditional sense but rather has several little unusual stories of each member of the Haruno family, who live in the beautiful Japanese countryside of Tochigi Prefecture. For example, about Sachiko, the young girl of the family who keeps seeing a giant sized copy of herself, or Hajime and his experiences of girls, puberty and playing Go (board game). This may sound random and not very exciting well....that's true, but mainly because I only mentioned it in this short amount on text. Obviously you won't get gun toting and car chasing kind of action but you'll get a nice, feel good comedy. The tempo of the movie is really kind of consistent with the name of the title too. Slow but pleasant, like when you drink tea. There are also  a number of surreal scenes that may appeal to some and it may deter other people. Personally I like quirky things like that. Even if you don't, this movie will have other things that will appeal to you as it has many unexpected comedic moments that suddenly have you chuckling/snorting slightly. Not sure that this description made it sound particularly great but....it's kind of hard movie to explain. Nevertheless, it is good and you should give it a chance.  

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CONFESSIONS
(KOKUHAKU 告白)



Confessions is a dark psychological thriller. It starts off strangely, inside a classroom with a teacher giving a lecture about life to noisy teenagers who aren't listening. That bit is kind of slow and boring......and then it suddenly changes completely, when she says that someone in the classroom killed her young daughter. Her daughter (played by Ashida Mana) was found drowned in the school pool, and although it was ruled as being an accidental death, the mother is convinced that she was murdered by some people in the class. She then gives an account of how that was done, and points out suspects before threatening them that she will get her revenge. She then and scares them by putting something in their lunch milk (in a way I won't tell you) and quits her job. The story then continues from the next semester with a new replacement teacher and follows the lives of the two suspected boys, one of which is an evil mofo and plans to kill more people. Little does he know that everything he is doing is according to his former teachers plan to exact sweet revenge on him......

This is a dark movie. Some people may be disturbed by it but it's not the worst thing that has been made on film. I've also heard opinions that it's too slow, and, also uses too much slow motion, or uses it inappropriately. I didn't really notice it though. Anyway, you should watch it and judge for yourself.....

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SEVEN SAMURAI
(SHICHININ NO SAMURAI 七人の侍)



Well, you've probably heard of this one. The film by legendary filmmaker, Akira Kurosawa is widely regarded as a masterpiece and one of the greatest films ever to be made. It is in black and white and may be too old in style for many modern viewers to enjoy, but it is a very beautifully shot (even for now actually) and edited one for it's time.

It' is set in the feudal times of Japan when bandits pillaged and samurai were the main authority figures. The story is about a village that gets raided by bandits who just stop short of destroying it before deciding that it will be better to leave it and return several months later when their crops are harvested. Faced with the knowledge that their resources are just going to be plundered as soon as they get them, two villagers set out to the city in hopes of employing samurai to defend them. However, because they only have food to offer as payment they obviously have trouble finding any willing people, until they convince a charismatic veteran warrior who then searches and persuades five other warriors to join the battle, which might even ultimately be their last.

This part of the movie is interesting but there is also an epic battle scene when they clash with the bandits towards the end. It's amazing how black and white can make images look so dramatic, and it's especially intense in the scenes where it's raining heavily and the ground is muddy.

You should check out this classic tale of courageous heroes just to see what all the praise is about....
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FIREWORKS

(HANABI 花火)



This is a film directed by Kitano Takeshi, also known as Beat Takeshi in Japan. He was originally a manzai comedian in the duo 'Two Beat' before becoming an incredibly successful TV host/personality alone. He was one of the biggest stars of Japanese entertainment through the 70's~90's and is still a very highly respected figure in the industry. Amid controversy in Japan, he began to direct movies, and released his debut work in 1989 with Violent Cop. It was canned by the media at the time but is now a cult favourite in the West, along with the rest of Takeshi's work. This movie, Hanabi (Fireworks in American release) was released in 1997 and won the Golden Lion and the Venice Film Festival bringing him attention from the West.

It is about a violent cop who retires after an incident that renders his partner into a wheelchair and then takes up looking after his wife who suffers from leukemia. Pretty dull sounding? Well yeah sorta. But something about it is beautiful. The way you can tell that he obviously loves his wife without him saying it is touching, despite knowing that he can suddenly burst into a fit of brutal violence against the Yakuza that come to reclaim a debt that he must pay. The soundtrack by Joe Hisaishi is also excellent and matches the film wonderfully, The theme song 'Hanabi' must be one of my favourite songs by him actually. Like most of the other films here, it's probably suited for the general person's taste, but there's no harm in taking a look.....

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SUMO DO, SUMO DON'T

SHIKO FUNJATTA　しこふんじゃった。



This is a movie that anyone can watch and enjoy (finally). It's a comedy about a group of misfit males in a university sumo club that is close to being closed. Despite having a rich and successful history, the club only had one member until the lead character is forced to join or be kicked out of university for his poor grades. From there the two go about desperately attempting to recruit other club members so that they can compete in a tournament. The first time I watched this was when I was only about 9~10, so it's a great memory of my childhood. I remember mimicking one of the guys that always get's diarrhea when it's his turn to fight and runs off in a hurry lol......It's a very entertaining movie, and is fun to watch. The title in Japanese is 'Shiko Funjatta', which means, 'I Stepped Shiko'. Shiko is a ceremonial feet stamping thing that Sumo do before matches, as it is supposed to drive evil spirits away. 

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Well I hope you find some movies that will interest you in this list. And hopefully when you watch them, you'll like them.... I know I did. Well until we meet again (won't be long) see you!