Cherished Japanese Flicks
by fresh_blood_2006 | created - 11 Jul 2012 | updated - 11 Nov 2014 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Nobody Knows (2004)
PG-13 | 141 min | Drama
In a small Tokyo apartment, twelve-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and shows no sign of returning.
Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Yûya Yagira, Ayu Kitaura, Hiei Kimura, Momoko Shimizu
Votes: 31,422 | Gross: $0.68M
2. Tokyo Sonata (2008)
PG-13 | 120 min | Drama
An ordinary Japanese family slowly disintegrates after its patriarch loses his job at a prominent company.
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Stars: Teruyuki Kagawa, Kyôko Koizumi, Yû Koyanagi, Kai Inowaki
Votes: 11,816 | Gross: $0.28M
3. Battle Royale (2000)
Not Rated | 114 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill one another under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.
Director: Kinji Fukasaku | Stars: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Tarô Yamamoto, Chiaki Kuriyama
Votes: 194,493
4. Confessions (2010)
Not Rated | 106 min | Drama, Thriller
A psychological thriller of a grieving mother turned cold-blooded avenger with a twisty master plan to pay back those who were responsible for her daughter's death.
Director: Tetsuya Nakashima | Stars: Takako Matsu, Yoshino Kimura, Masaki Okada, Yukito Nishii
Votes: 42,081
5. Spirited Away (2001)
PG | 125 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
During her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Miyu Irino, Rumi Hiiragi
Votes: 849,951 | Gross: $10.06M
6. Suspect X (2008)
128 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
It's another battle of the wits for the brilliant but eccentric physicist, Yukawa, and detective, Kaoru.
Director: Hiroshi Nishitani | Stars: Masaharu Fukuyama, Kô Shibasaki, Kazuki Kitamura, Yasuko Matsuyuki
Votes: 4,063
7. Funuke: Show Some Love, You Losers! (2007)
112 min | Comedy, Drama
Traumatic incidents, conflicts, and bloody quarrels awaits the Wago family members who return home to bury their parents.
Director: Daihachi Yoshida | Stars: Eriko Satô, Aimi Satsukawa, Hiromi Nagasaku, Masatoshi Nagase
Votes: 926
8. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
G | 86 min | Animation, Comedy, Family
When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Hitoshi Takagi, Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, Shigesato Itoi
Votes: 380,491 | Gross: $1.11M
9. The Twilight Samurai (2002)
129 min | Drama, Romance
As the feudal Japan era draws to a close, a widower samurai experiences difficulty balancing clan loyalties, 2 young daughters, an aged mother, and the sudden reappearance of his childhood sweetheart.
Director: Yôji Yamada | Stars: Hiroyuki Sanada, Rie Miyazawa, Nenji Kobayashi, Ren Ôsugi
Votes: 25,520
10. Audition (1999)
R | 115 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Tetsu Sawaki, Jun Kunimura
Votes: 89,278
11. Tokyo Story (1953)
Not Rated | 136 min | Drama
An old couple visit their children and grandchildren in the city, but receive little attention.
Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Chishû Ryû, Chieko Higashiyama, Sô Yamamura, Setsuko Hara
Votes: 68,647
12. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Not Rated | 89 min | Animation, Drama, War
A young boy and his little sister struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.
Director: Isao Takahata | Stars: Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Akemi Yamaguchi, Yoshiko Shinohara
Votes: 310,638
13. Love & Pop (1998)
110 min | Drama
A high school girl engages in compensated dating in order to buy an expensive ring before the day ends.
Director: Hideaki Anno | Stars: Tadanobu Asano, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Megumi Hayashibara, Akira Ishida
Votes: 1,871
14. Kamikaze Girls (2004)
102 min | Comedy
Momoko, a strange and seemingly emotionless girl obsessed with 18th century France, befriends a Yanki biker and the two experience the ups and downs of their unusual lives in a rural Japanese town.
Director: Tetsuya Nakashima | Stars: Kyôko Fukada, Anna Tsuchiya, Hiroyuki Miyasako, Sadao Abe
Votes: 8,091
15. Suicide Club (2001)
R | 99 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A detective is trying to find the cause of a string of suicides.
Director: Sion Sono | Stars: Ryo Ishibashi, Masatoshi Nagase, Mai Hosho, Tamao Satô
Votes: 22,227
16. Noriko's Dinner Table (2005)
Not Rated | 159 min | Drama, Horror
A teenager called Noriko Shimabara runs away from her family in Tokoyama, to meet Kumiko, the leader of an Internet BBS, Haikyo.com. She becomes involved with Kumiko's "family circle", ... See full summary »
Director: Sion Sono | Stars: Kazue Fukiishi, Tsugumi, Yuriko Yoshitaka, Shirô Namiki
Votes: 4,993
17. Strange Circus (2005)
Unrated | 108 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
The erotic novelist Taeko is writing a morbid story of a family destroyed by incest, murder and abuse. Her assistant, Yuji, sets on a mission to uncover the reality of this story, but the reality might be too much to bear.
Director: Sion Sono | Stars: Masumi Miyazaki, Issei Ishida, Rie Kuwana, Seiko Iwaidô
Votes: 6,260
18. In the Realm of the Senses (1976)
NC-17 | 109 min | Drama, Romance
A passionate telling of the story of Sada Abe, a woman whose affair with her master led to an obsessive and ultimately destructive sexual relationship.
Director: Nagisa Ôshima | Stars: Tatsuya Fuji, Eiko Matsuda, Aoi Nakajima, Yasuko Matsui
Votes: 22,813
19. Tokyo Decadence (1992)
NC-17 | 112 min | Drama
A submissive hooker goes about her trade, suffering abuse at the hands of Japanese salarymen and Yakuza types. She's unhappy about her work, and is apparently trying to find some sort of ... See full summary »
Director: Ryû Murakami | Stars: Miho Nikaido, Yayoi Kusama, Sayoko Amano, Tenmei Kano
Votes: 3,591 | Gross: $0.28M
20. Marebito (2004)
R | 92 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A fear-obsessed freelance cameraman (Shinya Tsukamoto) investigates an urban legend involving mysterious spirits that haunt the subways of Tokyo.
Director: Takashi Shimizu | Stars: Shin'ya Tsukamoto, Tomomi Miyashita, Kazuhiro Nakahara, Miho Ninagawa
Votes: 5,700 | Gross: $0.01M
21. Bijitâ Q (2001)
R | 84 min | Comedy, Drama, Horror
A troubled and perverted family find their lives intruded by a mysterious stranger who seems to help find a balance in their disturbing natures.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Ken'ichi Endô, Shungiku Uchida, Kazushi Watanabe, Jun Mutô
Votes: 17,058
22. Panda! Go Panda! (1972)
TV-Y7-FV | 34 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
A Papa Panda and his son escape from the zoo in search of a home and find one with a little orphan girl. The pandas decide to stay with her and become her new family. They, then, find a lost circus tiger and help him find his way back.
Director: Isao Takahata | Stars: Kazuko Sugiyama, Kazuo Kumakura, Yoshiko Ôta, Yasuo Yamada
Votes: 1,990
23. 10 Promises to My Dog (2008)
117 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A teenage girl adopts a homeless puppy and names it "Socks". They take care of each others since then, until one day when she is thinking Socks to be smaller than she thought it used be...
Director: Katsuhide Motoki | Stars: Rena Tanaka, Ryô Kase, Mayuko Fukuda, Chizuru Ikewaki
Votes: 707
24. Ponyo (2008)
G | 101 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A five-year-old boy develops a relationship with Ponyo, a young goldfish princess who longs to become a human after falling in love with him.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Liam Neeson, Tomoko Yamaguchi
Votes: 163,615 | Gross: $15.09M
25. Kansen (2004)
R | 98 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
INFECTION takes place in a dark, isolated hospital, where a doctor's mistake has led to dire consequences for a patient.
Director: Masayuki Ochiai | Stars: Michiko Hada, Mari Hoshino, Tae Kimura, Yôko Maki
Votes: 5,766
26. Pulse (2001)
R | 119 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Two groups of people discover evidence that suggests spirits may be trying to invade the human world through the Internet.
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Stars: Haruhiko Katô, Kumiko Asô, Koyuki, Kurume Arisaka
Votes: 25,613 | Gross: $0.05M
27. Villain (2010)
139 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A young woman's murder provokes reflection on the ugliness and villainy of modern society.
Director: Sang-il Lee | Stars: Eri Fukatsu, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Denden, Akira Emoto
Votes: 2,000
28. Gate of Flesh (1964)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama
An injured thief on the run finds sanctuary within a brothel of united, ruthless women.
Director: Seijun Suzuki | Stars: Jô Shishido, Kôji Wada, Yumiko Nogawa, Tomiko Ishii
Votes: 3,378
29. Cold Fish (2010)
Not Rated | 146 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
The lives of a bored suburban couple are changed forever when a seemingly nice old man gives their daughter a job at his fish store, and soon his gruesome hobbies are brought to light.
Director: Sion Sono | Stars: Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Denden, Asuka Kurosawa, Megumi Kagurazaka
Votes: 14,530
30. The Taste of Tea (2004)
143 min | Comedy, Fantasy
A spell of time of a rural family's slightly surreal life.
Director: Katsuhito Ishii | Stars: Maya Banno, Takahiro Satô, Tadanobu Asano, Satomi Tezuka
Votes: 7,198
31. Still Walking (2008)
Not Rated | 115 min | Drama
A family gathers together for a commemorative ritual whose nature only gradually becomes clear.
Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Hiroshi Abe, Yui Natsukawa, You, Kazuya Takahashi
Votes: 18,626 | Gross: $0.16M
32. I Wish (2011)
PG | 128 min | Drama
Twelve-year-old Koichi, who has been separated from his brother Ryunosuke due to his parents' divorce, hears a rumor that the new bullet trains will precipitate a wish-granting miracle when they pass each other at top speed.
Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Kôki Maeda, Oshiro Maeda, Ryôga Hayashi, Seinosuke Nagayoshi
Votes: 7,941 | Gross: $0.15M
33. Summer Time Machine Blues (2005)
107 min | Comedy, Sci-Fi
A sci-fi club concocts a plan to repair a remote by using a time machine that suddenly appears.
Director: Katsuyuki Motohiro | Stars: Eita Nagayama, Yoshiaki Yoza, Daijirô Kawaoka, Munenori Nagano
Votes: 1,687
34. Hana and Alice (2004)
135 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
When two best friends develop a crush on the same boy, they develop a plan to trick him into dating them.
Director: Shunji Iwai | Stars: Anne Suzuki, Yû Aoi, Tomohiro Kaku, Sei Hiraizumi
Votes: 4,911
35. Viyon no tsuma (2009)
114 min | Drama
This enticing period melodrama depicts a long-suffering woman's relationship with her brilliant but self-destructive writer husband in postwar Tokyo. Based on a semi-autobiographical 1947 ... See full summary »
Director: Kichitarô Negishi | Stars: Takako Matsu, Tadanobu Asano, Shigeru Muroi, Masatô Ibu
Votes: 426
36. Paradise Kiss (2011)
115 min | Drama
A chance encounter leads Yukari, a burnt out high school student, to a group of dedicated fashion design students. She becomes their model for their graduating exhibition and discovers her talent for modeling.
Director: Takehiko Shinjô | Stars: Keiko Kitagawa, Osamu Mukai, Shunji Igarashi, Kento Kaku
Votes: 1,768
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