Recently in drama Category

Stray Dog
[Nora Inu]

野良犬

Genre: Post War Crime Thriller

review in one breath

When homicide detective Murakami's pistol is stolen, a rash of murderous crimes begins. Plagued with the knowledge that his own weapon is causing the harm, Murakami is driven to extreme lengths to track down the killer and recover his gun. But the closer Murakami gets to the killer, the more he realizes how much they have in common. This is a great film filled with early Kurosawa social commentary on the condition of postwar Japan.

Categories:

• Akira Kurosawa,
• Japanese Movies,
• drama,
• postwar / modern

The Hidden Blade
[Kakushi-ken: oni no tsume]

隠し剣 鬼の爪

Genre: Existential Samurai Drama

review in one breath

Faced with declining social status in a quickly changing world, the samurai Katagiri gradually realizes that his personal purpose and meaning are slipping away. Although he tries to create for himself a situation of happiness, social expectations regarding the samurai class force him to abandon even that. Then, when Katagiri's contemplations are at their deepest, his superiors call on him to assassinate a political rebel, his closest friend.

Moon Child

ＭＯＯＮ　ＣＨＩＬＤ

Genre: Friendship Drama Involving Guns and Vampires

review in one breath

The year is 2014 and a young orphan in a squalid urban wasteland befriends a vampire! As the years go by, the young boy grows into a formidable ruffian capable of causing problems for the local yakuza thugs. Their violent lifestyle, however, puts their friendship to the test when ultimate decisions will need to be made. Starring pop rock stars Gackt and Hyde, this intentionally cute and weepy tale undoubtedly has mass appeal to high school girls throughout Japan.

Totsunyûseyo! Asama sansô jiken
[The Choice of Hercules]

突入せよ！「あさま山荘」事件

Genre: Fact-based Police Drama

review in one breath

When student revolutionaries of the Red Army held a woman hostage in the remote and snowy mountains of Karuizawa, Nagano, the National Tokyo Police were called in to oversee the incident despite the objection of the local Nagano Police force. This film recounts the true events surrounding the 1972 Asama Sanso Incident and is based on the published memoirs of Sassa Atsuyuki, the Tokyo Police commander in charge of the hostage's rescue.

Wild Life

ＷｉＬｄ　ＬＩＦｅ　ｊｕｍｐ　ｉｎｔｏ　ｔｈｅ　ｄａｒｋ

Genre: Good Tough Guy Meets Bad Tough Guys

review in one breath

Ex-boxer Sakai now lives a normal life fixing pachinko machines under the friendly eye of his aging boss Tsumura. When their long lost mutual friend Mizuguchi suddenly shows up, their placid routine is soon overrun with yakuza gangs and corrupt police officials, all of whom become increasingly hostile to Sakai and Tsumura. Believing Mizuguchi passed along "the package" to Sakai, they abduct the elderly Tsumura and attempt to blackmail and physically harass Sakai. Things look pretty bleak indeed until Sakai begins re-evaluating his pachinko-mending ways.