Kono sora no hana: Nagaoka hanabi monogatari •この空の花：長岡花火物語 Directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi/2012 /160 min/blu-ray/colour Out of the blue, newspaper reporter Reiko gets a letter from her ex-boyfriend Kenichi, inviting her to see the famous Nagaoka fireworks festival and a performance of a play … Continue reading →
Ikiru • いきる Directed by Akira Kurosawa/B&W /1952/143 min/blu-ray Kanji Watanabe (Takashi Shimura), a devoted single father, has mindlessly rubber-stamped documents at city hall for 30 years to support his son. When he receives a diagnosis of terminal stomach cancer, he … Continue reading →
Directed by: Isshin Inudo, Shinji Higuchi Starring: Mansai Nomura, Nana Eikura, Hiroki Narimiya, Tomomitsu Yamaguchi, Koichi Sato 2012, 145" (historical action comedy) Nearing the end of Japan’s long years of civil war, with Toyotomi Hideyoshi one short step away from … Continue reading →
Directed by: Yasuhiro Yoshida Starring: Ayaka Miyoshi, Shinobu Otake, Kaoru Kobayashi 2013, 114" (drama) Junior high school student Yuna lives with her father on the Okinawan island of Minami-Daito, population 1,200. Because the island is too small to support a high … Continue reading →
Directed by: Shinobu Yaguchi Starring: Shota Sometani, Masami Nagasawa, Hideaki Ito 2014, 116" (comedy) Yuki is 18, a take-life-as-it-comes young lad just out of high school, where he has failed his university-entrance exams and been dumped by his girlfriend. Looking at … Continue reading →
Directed by: Shuichi Okita Starring: Kengo Kora, Yuriko Yoshitaka, Sosuke Ikematsu, Ayumi Ito 2013, 160" (comedy/drama) In 1987, Yonosuke leaves his rural hometown to start university life in Tokyo. Good-natured, socially awkward and goofily handsome , he quickly makes friends, joins the samba club, and works as … Continue reading →
Premiered in 1893 Written by Ochi Fukuchi Composed by Shojiro Kineya III Recorded live at Kabuki-za Theatre, Tokyo, 2009 70 min. (Introduction 10 min. + dance 60 min. ) Subtitled in English Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdPjLAYMbzI For the late Kanzaburo XVIII “Lion … Continue reading →
Three Thieves Named Kichisa/San’nin Kichisa (an urban outlaw story) Premiered in 1860 Written by Kawatake Mokuami Directed for the stage and Cinema Kabuki by Kushida Kazuyoshi Recorded live at Theater Cocoon, Shibuya, Tokyo, 2014 136 min. Subtitled in English Trailer: … Continue reading →
Kumagai’s Camp/Kumagai Jin’ya (a samurai tragedy) Premiered in 1751 as a puppet theatre play Written by Namiki Sosuke Recorded live at Kabuki-za Theatre, Tokyo, 2010 104 min. Subtitled in English Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLsXQXWbDjU Synopsis and background: http://www.kabuki21.com/kumagai.php A samurai hero struggles … Continue reading →
Kagotsurube, The Haunted Sword/Kagotsurube Sato no Eizame (a story of the pleasure quarter) Written by Shinshichi Kawatake Premiered in 1888 Directed for Cinema Kabuki by Hiroyuki Nakatani Recorded live at Kabuki-za Theatre, Tokyo, 2010 113 minutes Subtitled in English Trailer: … Continue reading →
