The Best Films From Japan

A family restaurant faces hard times due to customers running out on their bills. In his past, Shogo Kawatani was a premiere athlete. Now, Shogo Kawatani works for the family restaurant. His job is to catch customers who run out on their bills.

Kuinige Killer (2018)

Set in the 19th century, "Moeyo Ken" follows the life of Toshizo Hijikata (Junichi Okada). He was the vice-commander of the Shinsengumi and fought against the Meiji Restoration.

Moeyo ken (2021)

Satsuki lost her boyfriend, Hitoshi, in a car accident. Unable to face up to his death, she spends her days unable to sleep properly. At some point, Satsuki began to jog at dawn as part of her daily routine, and on a bridge she always passes, she meets a mysterious woman named Urara.

Moonlight Shadow (2021)

Utsutsu (2002)

Yukie Kitahara is a housewife and she has devoted her life to her family. Mako Goda is a wealthy woman who runs a business. They are both diagnosed with terminal illnesses and are told they only have a short time left to live. These two women from completely different walks of life meet at the hospital. They both feel emptiness in their lives. They happen to get a 12-year-old's written bucket list. Yukie Kitahara and Mako Goda decide to carry out the girl’s wish list and they begin to feel happiness entering their lives.

Way To Find The Best Life (2019)

The story of a photographer who becomes obsessed with a mysterious woman who lives in the apartment opposite his.

Gelatin Silver, Love (2009)

This film is the memoirs of Takasugi Shinsaku about the life of his great teacher Yoshida Shoin. Yoshida Shōin (吉田松陰, 1830-1859) was one of the most distinguished intellectuals in the closing days of the Tokugawa shogunate. He devoted to developing many Ishin Shishi who made an outstanding contribution to the Meiji Restoration. At least two of his students, Takasugi Shinsaku and Itō Hirobumi later became famous, and virtually all of the survivors of the Sonjuku group became officers in the Meiji Restoration. Takasugi led rifle companies against the shogun's army when it failed to conquer Chōshū in 1864, rapidly leading to the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Ito Hirobumi became Japan's first prime minister. His admirer, Maebara Issei, was later killed rebelling against the Meiji regime. He is now enshrined in Setagayaku-（世田谷区）Tokyo, Japan.

Souten no Yume Shoin to Shinsaku Shin-seiki eno Chosen (2000)

Referred to as the Pearl of the Orient, supermodel Miori Reiko has had her fair share of scandals due to her eccentricity and her wild love affairs. One day, Reiko is found dead in her apartment by her housekeeper, Ota Michiko. The medical examiner found traces of potassium cyanide in her body, which kick-started a major police investigation into her death. Who is the true murderer of Miori Reiko?

Variations (2015)

Toko Amano worked as a detective, but to take care of her sick husband she quit her job. After her husband passed away, Toko Amano now works as a crisis management expert. 3 days ago, Toko Amano's former mother-in-law rode on an express train with beds. She witnessed a man strangling a woman and told the train conductor, but he thought she imagined it. The police later searched for the woman's body, but could not find her. Toko Amano boards the same express train that her former mother-in-law rode. She looks for the dead body.

4.50 from Paddington (2018)

When radicals from Japan's Red Army took a woman hostage in the resort town of Karuizawa, Nagano in 1972, Officer Atsuyuki Sassa was put in charge of diffusing the situation. But the task had its challenges. Upon arriving in mountainous Nagano, Sassa had to compete with freezing winter temperatures, conflicting opinions between the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and the Nagano Prefectural Police, as well as public opinion to gain entrance to the lodge that held the single woman captive.

The Choice of Hercules (2002)

A recording of the 2003 production of the 1987 play. An evil nun known as Bizan wishes to bring back to life the demon monarch Ashura, so that the oni may rule the world. But that’s not an easy task with the Demon Wardens scouring the land and taking care of demons who have taken on human form. Five years ago, Wakuraba Izumo served as a Demon Warden lieutenant alongside his chief, Kuninari and the slightly mental Abe Jaku. Since then he’s retired and has been enjoying success as a lead actor for the Nakamura Kabuki troupe, led by playwright Nanboku Tsuruya IV, while his former colleagues continue to fight the good fight. Meanwhile the police authorities have been struggling to capture the thief known as “The Night Camellia.

Asura (2015)

A series of short stories explore the connection of love between dogs and people.

Happy Together: All About My Dog (2011)