back to notes

Movies about Japan

  • Lost in Translation 2003 Directed by Sofia Coppola — Synopsis: EVERYONE WANTS TO BE FOUND. Two lost souls visiting Tokyo – the young, neglected wife of a photographer and a washed-up movie star shooting a TV commercial – find an odd solace and pensive freedom to be real in each other’s company, away from their lives in America.

  • The Projects 2016 ‘団地’ Directed by Junji Sakamoto — Synopsis: Whether it’s someone mixing burnables and recyclables or noise from a neighbor’s domestic spat, there’s always something occupying the residents of a housing project in the suburbs of Osaka. However Hinako (Naomi Fujiyama) and Seiji (Ittoku Kishibe) couldn’t care less. Having moved in just six months ago after the closure of their herbal medicine shop, the old couple is reluctantly putting their life back together. But when Seiji disappears, the apartment rumor mill churns: divorce, murder, dismemberment? As the story spins out of control, and a mysterious man with a parasol puts in a tall order of natural remedies, the truth turns out to be even more fantastic than gossip. Ranging from incisive comedy of errors to absurdist adventure to moving late life romance, “The Projects” is one of the biggest surprises of the year.

  • Greetings from Fukushima 2016 ‘Grüße aus Fukushima’ Directed by Doris Dörrie — Synopsis: A young German woman bonds with an elderly Japanese woman while touring the Fukushima region of Japan in the aftermath of the 2011 earthquake.

  • You Only Live Twice 1967 Directed by Lewis Gilbert — Synopsis: YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE…AND TWICE IS THE ONLY WAY TO LIVE! A mysterious space craft kidnaps a Russian and American space capsule and brings the world on the verge of another World War. James Bond investigates the case in Japan and meets with his archenemy Blofeld. The fifth film from the legendary James Bond series starring Sean Connery as the British super agent.

  • Hiroshima Mon Amour 1959 Directed by Alain Resnais — Synopsis: FROM THE MEASURELESS DEPTHS OF A WOMAN’S EMOTIONS… The deep conversation between a Japanese architect and a French actress forms the basis of this celebrated French film, considered one of the vanguard productions of the French New Wave. Set in Hiroshima after the end of World War II, the couple – lovers turned friends – recount, over many hours, previous romances and life experiences. The two intertwine their stories about the past with pondering the devastation wrought by the atomic bomb dropped on the city.

  • Seven Samurai 1954 ‘七人の侍’ Directed by Akira Kurosawa — Synopsis: THE MIGHTY WARRIORS WHO BECAME THE SEVEN NATIONAL HEROES OF A SMALL TOWN A samurai answers a village’s request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food. A giant battle occurs when 40 bandits attack the village.



last updated september 2018