There’s a lot of hype now about Japanese anime, like D-Grey Man, Hellgirl and so on. You can probably rattle off a longer list than me, but what about Japanese films? Do you still remember the horror hit of 1998, The Ring by Hideo Nakata, and scenes of the creepy long haired woman crawling out of the tube? Simply hair-rising experience of many of the movie-goers then.
Besides The Ring, there are several other Japanese films that cover diverse themes, such as:
Tokyo Godfathers by Satoshi Kon (2003)
Call No.: Other 791.433 TOK
Location: Film Village, library@esplanade
Three homeless friends find an abandoned baby on Christmas Eve and try to locate her parents.
Hana & Alice by Shunji Iwai (2004)
Call No.: Other 791.4372 HAN
Location: Film Village, library@esplanade
Hana and Alice are inseparable friends until Mark, a cute boy they spot at a train station, comes between them. Tricking Mark into believing that he is suffering from amnesia, Hana claims that she is his girlfriend. A baffled Mark struggles to regain his memories as he is drawn to the prettier Alice. When their bond deepens, the girls’ lifelong relationship begins to fray, propelling them apart.
Bushi no Ichibun / Love and Honor by Yoji Yamada (2006)
Call No.: Other 791.4372 BUS
Location: Film Village, library@esplanade
A look at the relationship between a young blind samurai (Takuya Kimura) and his wife (Rei Dan), who will make a sacrifice in order to defend her husband’s honour.
Onna ga Kaidan wo Agaru Toki / When a Woman Ascends the Stairs by Mikio Naruse (1960)
Call No.: Other 791.4372 ONN
Location: Film Village, library@esplanade
The widowed Keiko manages a hostess bar in Tokyo’s Ginza district. She remains faithful to the memory of her husband and supports her mother, brother and his son. The smiling mask she wears allows her to make a living, but the pressure to sell herself is unrelenting. Her business is failing and she must decide whether to raise the money to buy her own bar, or marry one of the admiring affluent patrons.
To celebrate Japanese films (and reward you for squeezing your scholarly juices), the library@esplanade has partnered with the Embassy of Japan and the Singapore Film Society to give aways tickets to the Japanese Film Festival 2008 (22 - 31 August). For more information, see here.
Contributed by Goh Peck Keong, Librarian, Adult & Young People’s Services
Post your comments, or email to HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg
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9 responses so far ↓
1 Costume Jewelry // Jul 23, 2008 at 2:19 pm
I loved Tokyo Godfathers, I got it on Netflix by mistake, I thought it was a yakuza movie. But I watched the whole thing and it was so touching and the animation beautifully done that you forget that it’s an animated movie.
2 Peck Keong // Jul 23, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Yeah, really enjoyed that bit of magic at the end. Totally outta the blue , but strangely, din’t feel too out of place.
You might also wanna consider catching “Millennium Actress” then. It’s by the same team that made Tokyo Godfathers, and it’s a beautiful love story.
[btw… images in post from www.amazon.com and summaries from catalogue descriptions :]
3 1minutefilmreview // Jul 24, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Nice selection of films. Especially liked ‘Hana & Alice’ by Shunji Iwai, fascinating.
4 Peck Keong // Jul 24, 2008 at 9:51 pm
Iwai got me hook, line and sinker with “Love Letter”, but I’m still looking to catch “All About Lily Chou-Chou” and “Swordtail Butterfly”.
Too bad he doesn’t make many films though…
5 1minutefilmreview // Jul 25, 2008 at 2:04 am
‘Lily Chao-Chao’ and ‘Swallowtail Butterfly’ are great too. Heard he has a segment in ‘New York, I Love You’ (yet to be released) if we’re not mistaken.
6 Peck Keong // Jul 25, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Now, that’d be something to look forward to. I recently got an R2 DVD called “Niji no Megami ~Rainbow Song~”, which Iwai wrote and produced under his pseudonym, Amino-san.
Haven’t viewed it yet, but the trailers suggest his influence is evident. Also stars the fabulous Ueno Juri! Not to forget Iwai regular, Aoi Yuu as well
7 1minutefilmreview // Jul 25, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Heard about it, can’t wait to watch it too!
8 Peck Keong // Jul 26, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Heh, maybe when I finally get to watching it, I could contribute a 1 minute review for you, haha.
9 Jillian // Aug 10, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Let me add one more recommendation (I haven’t watched TGodfathers but I did like Millenium Actress)
: Paprika
it’s totally psychedelic!
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