Japan's Best Movies: Top 5

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Asian cinema is very specific and unusual in the eyes of the audience, accustomed to Russian cinema and Hollywood stories. So, directors from the Land of the Rising Sun shoot the most psychologically difficult and at the same time endlessly fascinating films. Korea, Japan, Thailand, China are countries whose culture is enough superficial impression to anticipate the uniqueness of their cinematic masterpieces. Below is the top 5 best films in Japan, compiled by Asian film aficionado Winnot Ira Krish (NET Nebraska).

No One Knows (2004) Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda

The storyline is based on a true story, known as "Nishi Sugamo's Four Abandoned Children Case". If you like films about Japan shot with documentary accuracy, then this story will undoubtedly appeal to you. The movie is about four siblings living happily with their mother in a tiny apartment. Every child has their own biological father. None of the children have ever attended school. They spend their time watching TV and playing computer games. Sometimes they have to hide from the owner of the apartment, who does not even know about their existence and is sure that he rents out housing to a single woman. This picture, like many Japanese films, is not for the faint of heart. Although it does not contain scenes of violence or heartbreaking moments, it is nevertheless filled with internal tension that keeps the viewer on the edge of the chair.

The Taste of Tea (2004) Directed by Katsuhito Ishii

Films about Japan are usually about life in big cities. However, this movie is an exception. The scene is the provincial Japanese town of Tochigi. The main character's name is Yoshiko, and she is not a typical housewife at all: instead of endless cleaning and watching TV shows, she works at home to create her own anime. The director puts special emphasis on visual effects, emphasizing the individual thoughts and feelings of the characters. The Taste of Tea is a movie comparable to Fanny and Alexander.

Departed (2008) Directed by Takita Yojiro

The main character, Daigo Kobayashi, has been a cellist all his life. Suddenly, the musician was left without a job and without a penny in his pocket. Looking through the newspaper ads, he chooses a company called The Departed, thinking it is a travel agency. Arriving at his new job, Kobayashi learns that he has to prepare the bodies of recently deceased people for burial. It's no secret that many films in Japan focus on the theme of death. However, this picture does not call to concentrate on the ideas of the end of being or life after death; on the contrary, it tells about the people left to live.

Battle Royale (2000) Directed by Kinji Fukasaku

The film tells a creepy story about a game invented by the Japanese military and implemented into law to reduce violence in schools. The students are dropped off on a deserted island. Each student is given a weapon (sometimes completely useless), and the game begins: teenagers kill each other until only one person remains alive. Drama, chilling blood, flavored with a generous portion of black humor. The film is based on the manga of the same name and only confirms the popular belief that Japanese films are almost always grittier and scarier than Western cinema.

Tokyo Sonata (2008) directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa

This is the story of an ordinary family with its simple everyday life. The film starts with a typical day. However, on this day, the company decides to lay off employees and move the business abroad, where it is much cheaper to do business. Ryuuhei is one of the laid-off workers. Every morning he puts on a suit, takes a case and goes to the employment center, where he stands in line for long hours, only to end up turning down all the jobs offered to him - everywhere the salary is lower than what he is used to. Having lost structure and solidity in life, Ryuhei finds an old friend who has long been doing without work and creating the image of a busy person with various tricks. However, things get more complicated when a friend commits suicide. Ryuuhei takes out his stress on the family members. This is not obvious at first glance, but the "Tokyo Sonata" refers togenre "horror" and may well be recorded in the scariest films in Japan.

The choice is yours

All the films described above are dramas by genre. Undoubtedly, audience tastes vary greatly, and perhaps someone does not accept watching dramas at all. Nevertheless, Winnot Ira Krish invariably gives the most objective assessment of the cinema, so perhaps you should think about getting to know the famous dramas from the Land of the Rising Sun? Films from Japan, China, Thailand and Korea are still exotic for Western audiences, and each film can inspire a new appreciation of reality and give a unique experience.