Japanese LGBT films to watch

Director Shun Nakagawa’s latest effort breaks boundaries and introduces completely new sensibilities to Japanese cinema by perceptively describing not only the struggles and emotions of LGBT people, but also the kaleidoscope of attitudes expressed by those around them. The film begins with high school sophomores taking an LGBT awareness class, after which the students are confronted with rumours concerning the sexuality of some of their classmates.

While most LGBT films tendto focus only on individual members of sexual minorities, Nakagawa’s work places its characters in a larger social context, even highlighting the contradictions and frustrations that emerge when kind intentions bring about unfortunate outcomes. ‘Kalanchoe no Hana’ fits a fully developed view of the world into a runtime of only 39 minutes, making it a strong candidate for the best Japanese (short) film of 2018.

Momoko Ando’s directorial debut, based on the manga ‘Love Vibes’ by Erica Sakurazawa, stars Hikari Mitsushima as college student Haru, who ditches her boorish boyfriend and embraces her inner lesbian. She is assisted in carving out her new identity by peppy prosthetic-limb maker Riko (Eriko Nakamura) and the middle-aged Toko (Rino Katase) who, through their interactions with her, help the emotionally inexperienced Haru grow into an independent woman.

Depicting Tokyo’s diversity and acceptance of differences, the film touches upon the city’s many coexisting identities and cultures. Besides its storytelling charms, ‘Kakera’ also contains a wonderful scene in which aging director Kohei Ando gives a passionate lecture on the literary and cultural merits of Günter Grass’s classic novel ‘The Tin Drum’.

After suffering a stroke in 1996, film director and screenwriter Nagisa Oshima came back strong with this adaptation of a novel by Ryotaro Shiba. Also known as ‘Taboo’ in English, the film marked the big-screen debut of 16-year-old Ryuhei Matsuda, son of the great Yusaku Matsuda. He plays the young samurai Sozaburo Kano, the newest member of the elite Shinsengumi, protectors of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate against the reformist forces that seek to overthrow the government.

Veteran swordsman Hyozo Tashiro (Tadanobu Asano) takes Kano under his wing in more ways than one, but a falling out between the two eventually leads to a dramatic climactic showdown. The film is particularly successful when it depicts the group psychology of the Shinsengumi, which seeks to rid the brotherhood of romance between its members, supposedly in the name of unity and morale – an order that’s challenged when the memorable Kano enchants all the older men around him.

Based on a popular manga series of the same name by Naito Yamada, ‘French Dressing’ stars pop idol Munehisa Sakurada as a high school student who suffers from narcolepsy, a severe sleep disorder. During a suicide attempt, he is saved by his teacher Murai (Hiroshi Abe) only to be raped by him. He is soon thrust into a love triangle with Murai and a female friend Mari (Miako Tadano).

The latter half of the movie breaks right through social conventions and brings to mind the language of the French Nouvelle Vague. That influence is also evident in how the film hits straight at the feeling of emptiness so eloquently described by many ’90s manga, which drew on and captured the social mood in Japan at the time.

Nagisa Oshima’s cult classic is perhaps best known for its cast of non-actors, featuring Takeshi Kitano (more famously known by his stage name Beat Takeshi) and musicians David Bowie and Ryuichi Sakamoto in leading roles. Taking place at a POW camp on the island of Java in Japanese-controlled Indonesia, the film is visually impressive, as bright daytime scenes shot under a scorching sun are interspersed with darkness and a star-filled night sky.

Bowie’s acting chops are on full display too, especially in the scenes in which his character Major Celliers looks back on his life in England, recalling his now dead brother and the bullies who tormented him in public school. Although it touches on commandant Sakamoto’s obsessive love for prisoner Bowie, ‘Mr. Lawrence’ isn’t an LGBT film per se, but it tells a timeless story of the noble feelings evoked by mutual respect and human dignity.