Kazuo Maeda’s film about a man grappling with his identity as a member of the burakumin minority group in the late Meiji Era faces questions of equality that still exist in Japanese society.
Keiichi Kobayashi’s sweet and quirky comedy centers on a university student with the secret ability to see love in the form of little balls of light.
While the overall tone is positive and inspirational, the second volume of Naomi Kawase’s documentary on the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games feels overloaded with aural and visual details.
Actor Song Kang-ho stands out in the director's incisive and at times heartwarming feature about a band of misfits involved in the black market for babies.
Though Kensaku Watanabe’s film follows a predictable story arc, it maintains a humorous vibe while exploring serious subjects such as facing fears and overcoming tragedy.
The short film festival celebrates the briefest of screen gems. Festival winners not only get the respect of their peers but a shot at an Oscar as well.
Veteran character actor Shogen's soft-spoken and self-abnegating portrayal of the hero manages to exude a quiet grit that comes off as authentic.
Though charming, the film adaptation of a novel by Mizuki Tsujimura misses an opportunity to tackle the actual problems facing young animators.
Zainichi Korean filmmaker Sang-il Lee’s drama about the lasting effects of an unconventional attachment between a child and a grown adult reveals the brutal realities of Japanese society.
Emma Kawawada’s compelling drama about a family of Kurdish refugees in Japan lays bare the emotional toll of Japan’s treatment of asylum seekers.
