The creator of Voices of a Distant Star returns to adolescence but with a serious twist.
All in Japanese
Makoto Shinkai's “VOICES OF A DISTANT STAR”
It is a fantastic achievement. The art work is better than most of what you see on ADULT SWIM (by a very wide margin), the design of the spaceships and alien vessels is beautiful, the combination of simulation and electronic display inside the power suits looks quite original, and the story, while short at 28 minutes, packs an astonishing amount of information and story elements in while not swerving from the relentless focus on these two emotional lovers, communicating (one way) over a gulf of light years.
Satoshi Kon’s “PAPRIKA”
As we walked out of the theater after seeing Satoshi Kon’s Paprika, I told Number One Son, “Now I know it’s possible to really film a Philip K. Dick novel!”
Akira Kurosawa's “IKIRU”
This 1952 film by Akira Kurosawa really opened my eyes. I know Kurosawa from films like Seven Samurai and Throne of Blood. Ikiru is different.
Akira Kurosawa's “RED BEARD”
A young doctor with hopes of being the Shogun’s personal physician finds himself assigned to a poor rural clinic lorded over by a stern, tenacious doctor played by Toshiro Mifune – the “Red Beard” of the title.
Initially the young doctor resists the assignment.
Akira Kurosawa's “SANJURO”
The story: Young samurai wanna-be's gather to naively plot action against a corrupt local clan. Before they can cause too much trouble, a wise old samurai played by Toshiro Mifune (Red Beard, Hidden Fortress, High and Low) takes them under his wing after saving them from certain death in a night-time assault by their enemies.
Satoshi Kon's “PERFECT BLUE”
Why is this psychological terror/murder mystery/serial killer story a cartoon?
Satoshi Kon’s MILLENNIUM ACTRESS
One of the most mature, evocative, creative, and melodramatic movies I’ve seen all year is an animated film, directed by the same director (Satoshi Kon) as the realistic yet disappointing (to me) potboiler Perfect Blue and of the excellent Tokyo Godfathers.
Satoshi Kon’s "TOKYO GODFATHERS"
Satoshi Kon’s TOKYO GODFATHERS, like his MILLENIUM ACTRESS, proves again animation’s spectacular dramatic and artistic potential. From an unlikely story Satoshi weaves a dramatic and humorous tale that soars above cliché and treacly melodrama.
Hayao Miyazaki's SPIRITED AWAY
Back when I first heard the story of Spirited Away I thought that this would never go over big in the U.S. (young girl gets lost in an abandoned amusement park populated by vacationing spirits and seeks a way to turn her parents back into humans from pigs?) I thought it would make an excellent candidate as a simultaneous theatrical/DVD release, given its probable small target audience.
Hayao Miyazaki's PRINCESS MONONOKE
This is an epic adventure interspersed with elements of Japanese folklore, magic, feral teenagers, giant wolves, strong and aggressive women, warfare, politics, terrific music, and enough related plot lines to kill a horse.
Hayao Miyazaki's “PORCO ROSSO”
This is an astonishing, moving, and intelligent animated film about a post WWI Mediterranean air pirate who is half man and half pig.
Mamoru Oshii's AVALON
# VERY cool
# incredible visual style
# methodically plotted
# beautifully acted
Higuchinsky's UZUMAKI
Things in this town are so weird that we cannot take it seriously, yet they are familiar enough to generate a sense of foreboding.
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack
This 2001 movie is wonderfully entertaining. Classic Japanese monster movie elements have been updated to a quality level unknown to Toho and Inoshiro Honda’s early output such as The Mysterians. The basic story is simple: 50 years after his initial rampage, Godzilla returns to stomp Japan, but this time he is opposed by a trio of mythical monsters who awaken from their eons-old slumber just in time.
Yasujiro Ozu's FLOATING WEEDS
This 1959 film follows a down on its luck troupe of actors as they visit a small Japanese seaside village in the late 1950’s to perform popular plays on a small community stage.
Yasujiro Ozu's TOKYO STORY
This 1953 classic by Yasujiro Ozu (Floating Weeds) is a masterpiece of elegant, artistic, and human filmmaking.
Yasujiro Ozu's EARLY SUMMER
In this Japanese film from 1951, 28-year-old Noriko (played by Setsuko Hara, who also appeared in Ozu’s Tokyo Story) lives with her three-generation family. She helps support them with the wages she earns in her downtown Tokyo clerical office job. Her family decides that she is getting along in years and needs to get married. The wheels of an arranged marriage start turning. This leads to complications.
Lain
I originally published this review in 2002. I thought about it again aftre seeing The Last Exile, a more recent Japanese animated science fiction TV series.