Neo Japanese Cinema

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Permalink Reply by Orion1 on April 15, 2008 at 11:08am

To start this discussion I'd just like to point out a few really good Japanese movies I've seen lately. Have you seen them Yet? What do you think?

Nobody Knows
All About Lily Chou-Chou
Linda,Linda,Linda
2LDK
Kamikaze Girls
Suicide Club/Circle
Strange Circus
Shoujyo: An Adolescent
Twilight Samurai

Ok so I included one new Samurai movie, due to samurai popularity in this group, but I was hoping that this discussion could stick to more contemporary movies like the ones I listed.

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Permalink Reply by Quentin on April 15, 2008 at 1:29pm

I hear ya, good idea.
Not suprisingly - Twilight Samurai is the film that I have seen from that list. With the newer stuff everyone focuses on the horror -but there is a lot of pretty well recieved stuff out there.

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Permalink Reply by B-Independent.com on July 14, 2008 at 6:09pm

Absolutely loved LINDA, LINDA, LINDA. It's good to see somebody else dug it too.

Will be queueing NOBODY KNOWS tonight.

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Permalink Reply by Orion1 on September 1, 2008 at 1:32pm

"Nobody knows" is a heart breaker. I think I've said it before but it is a lot like "Grave of the Fireflies". Absolutely loved this film. Probably on of the saddest movies I've ever seen.

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Permalink Reply by Hirute May on October 9, 2008 at 12:40pm

I saw Nobody Knows, Strange Circus(strange indeed), and Twilight Samurai. Nobody Knows got to me. I did not know for the longest time that it was based on actual events. The movies sure know how to make things Disney. That was one of the worse cases of child neglect that I have ever heard about. The movie was well done, but when you find out that the actual events were far worse it makes you sad. Strange Circus was just that, strange. It makes you think. I never thought anyone could fit in a violin case. I saw a japanese flick called Last Quarter, it was pretty good. Check it out and let me know what you think.

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Permalink Reply by Quentin on April 15, 2008 at 1:45pm

I put a "Nobody Knows" preview up top - That might be the real heavyweight from a critical acclaim standpoint.

What are your two or three very favorite from the list...?

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Permalink Reply by Orion1 on April 18, 2008 at 3:22am

What are your two or three very favorite from the list...?

In truth I tried to diversify this list so that it includes favorites from different types of movies for people with different tastes. "Nobody Knows" reminds me of highly acclaimed Anime, which I won't divulge because it would be a spoiler for this movie. But it is definitely an amazing movie. "Linda, Linda, Linda" captures innocence and youth better than I've seen in a long time. "2LDK" takes place entirely in one apartment, uses a lot of melodrama to create suspence and then gets, bloody. Not bad but probably my least favorite on this list. However, Suicide Club and Strange Circus are both done by yet another Miike-ish type director. The word is that he used to direct gay porn. Hahaha. He's pretty demented and uses goar and shock to their max. My favorite of the entire list is "Shoujyo:" because it's story is just so crazy and unwestern, that it is truly interesting and fun the entire movie, if you can unpin yourself from western value systems. "Kamikaze Girls" is also a very fascinating and interesting movie to watch. So picking three is hard for me. All are great in there own way.

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Permalink Reply by Criss on April 15, 2008 at 6:45pm

I'll throw in Battle Royale. A great premise that would never make it past a Hollywood boardroom, turns into a pretty good film. Its got some of that pretentious J-pop acting going on, but it was good despite it.

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Permalink Reply by Quentin on April 15, 2008 at 7:14pm

In the end I liked Battle Royal but as I was watching it I couldnt get over the feeling that it should have been better. The premise was so interesting - it just didnt 100% deliver as you would think it could.

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Permalink Reply by Quentin on April 16, 2008 at 10:56pm

I just watched a film called "After Life" - what a tremendous little movie. Very very good film. I will move Maborosi way up in my queue now. It is supposed to be his other great movie.

Hirokazu Koreeda was the director. His one other biggie is a film called "Nobody Knows" - a film in the list above.

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Permalink Reply by Quentin on April 17, 2008 at 3:36am

Just saw another film. A suspense movie from K Kurosawa called Pulse
Very nicely done - confusing here and there but pretty creepy.

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Permalink Reply by Orion1 on April 18, 2008 at 3:01am

Don't even bother with the American version. It gives away everything that was great about Pulse. That confusion and creepiness was what I thought was so great.

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