Stories dealing with time traveling have always held a certain attraction, and have even achieved classic or cult status in some cases. While the possibilities for the storyteller are endless, the opportunities to explore themes like fate, the interconnection of lives and the relation of past, present and future is equally attractive. Unlike other aspects of science-fiction, time travelling stories do not necessarily need a lot of budget in order to work and tackle the aforementioned issues, as we have seen in the last years with Junta Yamaguchi's features “River” and “Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes”. His colleague, director Shinji Araki uses the idea of time loops in order to talk about the question whether we are truly the masters of out fate in his new feature “Penalty Loop”, a blend of drama, science-fiction and thriller.
Penalty Loop is screening at Nippon Connection
Ever since the death of his girlfriend,...
Penalty Loop is screening at Nippon Connection
Ever since the death of his girlfriend,...
- 6/3/2024
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
A good mystery thriller contains suspense and an interesting premise, but above all the investigation into the riddle at its core must be both enjoyable and gripping to follow. However, it seems obvious many stories of the genre neglect this integral part, resulting in a somewhat flat and often disappointing narrative. When done right, though, the feature or novel may provide an inventive and quite fascinating portrayal of humanity, its good and also its dark aspects. Director Akihiro Toda has had some experiences in the mystery genre with his feature “The Name” and in “Ichiko” he goes even further, experimenting with different time layers to create the portrayal of the central character, her troubled past and her problems in keeping relationships.
Ichiko is screening at Nippon Connection
Based on Toda's play, the story begins in 2015 with Ichiko (Hana Sugisaki) being proposed to by her boyfriend Yoshinori (Ryuya Wakaba). The two could not be happier,...
Ichiko is screening at Nippon Connection
Based on Toda's play, the story begins in 2015 with Ichiko (Hana Sugisaki) being proposed to by her boyfriend Yoshinori (Ryuya Wakaba). The two could not be happier,...
- 5/30/2024
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Some films prioritize a strident political cause, others set out to terrify or thrill. This touching and simple story from Japanese filmmaker Hiroshi Okuyama, premiering in Un Certain Regard at Cannes, is a gentler affair, with modest ambitions that it realizes effectively. Set on a small Japanese island, the film’s slight but sweet narrative follows a quartet of characters — young hockey player Takuya (Keitatsu Koshiyama), proficient skater Sakura (Kiara Nakanishi), figure-skating tutor Arakawa (Sōsuke Ikematsu) and his boyfriend (Ryûya Wakaba) — as they navigate subtly shifting interpersonal dynamics while a cold but beautiful winter waxes and wanes around them.
Every scene is set up with a very deliberate aesthetic sense. A snowy icing-sugar landscape, a baseball field tinged with pale turquoise light, an indoor ice-rink shimmering in a golden haze: Nothing feels haphazard or anything less than picture-perfect. This is the result of a fruitful collaboration between director and Dp,...
Every scene is set up with a very deliberate aesthetic sense. A snowy icing-sugar landscape, a baseball field tinged with pale turquoise light, an indoor ice-rink shimmering in a golden haze: Nothing feels haphazard or anything less than picture-perfect. This is the result of a fruitful collaboration between director and Dp,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Catherine Bray
- Variety Film + TV
Call Me Chihiro is a movie directed by Rikiya Imaizumi starring Kasumi Arimura. With Lily Franky and Jun Fubuki. It is based on a manga by Hiroyuki Yasuda.
This movie seeks enchanting the viewer with the always charming presence of Kasumi Arimura in a movie created for her in which she manages to bring that “special touch” of special manga by Hiroyuki Yasuda.
Movie Review Call Me Chihiro (2023)
This movie is all about taking its time in order to describe the characters and the situations, the inner world and, above all, that poetic world that extends itself beyond the narrative, which is apparently simple and even uncomplicated if considered from a classic way, but is essentially paused and reflective, a very beautiful movie.
Call Me Chihiro is, above all a movie in which the lead character knows how to seduce the viewer and displays herself exactly as she is: this...
This movie seeks enchanting the viewer with the always charming presence of Kasumi Arimura in a movie created for her in which she manages to bring that “special touch” of special manga by Hiroyuki Yasuda.
Movie Review Call Me Chihiro (2023)
This movie is all about taking its time in order to describe the characters and the situations, the inner world and, above all, that poetic world that extends itself beyond the narrative, which is apparently simple and even uncomplicated if considered from a classic way, but is essentially paused and reflective, a very beautiful movie.
Call Me Chihiro is, above all a movie in which the lead character knows how to seduce the viewer and displays herself exactly as she is: this...
- 2/23/2023
- by Movies Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid Magazine - Movies
The themes of Rikiya Imaizumi’s films are en vogue right now, tackling slow-developing love stories, and indeed their fallout, in a dialogue-heavy approach. With slick, stylish coffee shop and urbane apartment settings, “By the Window” has a lot in common with many modern Japanese novels, as well as the films of fellow director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, a director whose career his has paralleled.
Shigemi (Goro Inagaki) is a freelance literary critic, married to editor Sae (Yuri Nakamura). From early on, we can see that their relationship has become more about sharing opinions on work than listening to each other. As such, Sae is having an affair with a novelist, and Shigemi knows it. Attending the press conference for her prize-winning new novel, he befriends young writer Rua (Tina Tamashiro), and the pair regularly meet to discuss the inspiration for her characters. Their age difference means nothing can happen, though it...
Shigemi (Goro Inagaki) is a freelance literary critic, married to editor Sae (Yuri Nakamura). From early on, we can see that their relationship has become more about sharing opinions on work than listening to each other. As such, Sae is having an affair with a novelist, and Shigemi knows it. Attending the press conference for her prize-winning new novel, he befriends young writer Rua (Tina Tamashiro), and the pair regularly meet to discuss the inspiration for her characters. Their age difference means nothing can happen, though it...
- 1/12/2023
- by Andrew Thayne
- AsianMoviePulse
Loosely inspired by the dramatic ‘Awake match’ during the World Computer Shogi Championships (Den-o-Sen; a private match between a professional shogi player and computer shogi software) in 2015, “Awake” is Atsuhiro Yamada’s feature debut, which was selected out of 241 submissions to win the first Kinoshita Group New Director Award Grand Prix.
Awake is screening at Camera Japan
As a kid, Eiichi wanted to become a professional shogi player, and attended a training center run by the Japan Shogi Association. At the center, he could not beat Riku, essentially his rival, with his disappointment eventually leading him to drop out. Some years later, he enrolls in the university, but without shogi, he seems to be unable to dedicate himself to anything, not having any friends and even ending up in the police station after a fight in a restaurant (again involving shogi). One day, though, he comes across an AI based...
Awake is screening at Camera Japan
As a kid, Eiichi wanted to become a professional shogi player, and attended a training center run by the Japan Shogi Association. At the center, he could not beat Riku, essentially his rival, with his disappointment eventually leading him to drop out. Some years later, he enrolls in the university, but without shogi, he seems to be unable to dedicate himself to anything, not having any friends and even ending up in the police station after a fight in a restaurant (again involving shogi). One day, though, he comes across an AI based...
- 9/24/2022
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
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