Documentaries, comedy, family drama and more – these Japanese films provide great insight into local customs and traditions
From live-action adaptions of popular comics to indie flicks and documentaries, here are some of the most anticipated Japanese films coming to cinemas soon. Where to watch them, you ask? We have a list of Tokyo's best cinemas here. But before you go, don't forget to check our cinema guide and hacks, where you can watch five films for less than ¥6,000.
Director Akiyo Fujimura
Release date March 24
In her first feature-length film, young, upcoming director Akiyo Fujimura explores the struggles of a woman working as a nakiya, a professional mourner hired to cry at funerals. A story about family and identity, it is one of the films subsidised by the Cineastes Organization Osaka (CO2), an institution dedicated to discovering and fostering new talents to develop Osaka’s movie industry.
Director Yoji Yamada
Release date May 25
Long before Marvel and its Cinematic Universe got in on the act, veteran director Yoji Yamada has been dedicated to sequals. His ‘A Class to Remember’ series ran over four films, ‘Free and Easy’ over 13, but both pale in comparison to his much-loved ‘It's Tough Being a Man’ anthology, which totals an incredible 48 movies over 25 years. This year sees the third in his newest run: ‘What a Wonderful Family!’ Promising more of the gentle, understated comedy that made the first two such hits, ‘Wife! Be Like a Rose!’ focuses on the lot of the modern matriarch.
Director Kosai Sekine
Release date Autumn 2018
Tower of the Sun is an iconic sculpture created by the artist Taro Okamoto for the Expo ‘70 world fair in Suita, Osaka. This full-length documentary reflects on that important period (the expo was the first world fair held in Japan and represented the country opening up to the outside world), and looks at the past, present and future of this mysterious tower. Coincidently, the edifice, which still stands in Osaka’s Expo Park, will be opened to the public for the first time in 48 years on March 19, 2018, making this a timely film.
Director Yukihiko Tsutsumi
Release date November 2018
Keigo Higashino, one of Japan’s bestselling authors, has seen his work adapted to over 50 films and television series but none of them are quite like 'Ningyo no Nemuru Ie'. While most of Higashino’s books are detective stories, 'Ningyo no Nemuru Ie' explores the divide between life and death.
The plot follows the parents of a young girl involved in a tragic accident. The girl is declared brain dead although her heart continues to beat with unusual strength, so her parents must decide whether they would offer her organs for transplant or keep her on life support. It’s an emotional tale that not only illustrates the agony of being faced with such impossible decisions, but also a mother’s kindness, love and strength. Just don’t expect many dry eyes when it hits cinemas in November.
Director Nobuhiro Yamashita
Release date 2018
The 1991 manga cult classic ‘Hardcore Heisei Jigoku Brothers’ by Karibu Marei and Takashi Imashiro is finally getting a film adaptation. The comic revolves around two brothers who discover a functioning robot in an abandoned factory.
Acclaimed Japanese actor Takayuki Yamada ('Densha Otoko', 'Vengeance Can Wait', '13 Assassins') will both produce and star in the film, while Nobuhiro Yamashita ('The Matsugane Potshot Affair') will direct. This is one of their more recent collaborations after the TV docudrama ‘Takayuki Yamada’s Cannes Film Festival’, which followed the two filmmakers’ efforts to win an award at the prestigious film festival.
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