Favourite Japanese Films
by SpencerRyerson | created - 07 Nov 2016 | updated - 07 Nov 2016 | PublicMore than any other country, I have always been drawn to Japanese cinema. In no particular order, these are my favourite Japanese films. I have grouped some films together by director. This list is not what I deem are the best Japanese films, so much as the ones that have stayed with me or films that I want to share with others.
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1. After Life (1998)
Not Rated | 119 min | Drama, Fantasy
After death, people have a week to choose only one memory to keep for eternity.
Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Arata Iura, Erika Oda, Susumu Terajima, Takashi Naitô
Votes: 13,767 | Gross: $0.80M
2. I Wish (2011)
PG | 128 min | Drama
Twelve-year-old Koichi, who has been separated from his brother Ryunosuke due to his parents' divorce, hears a rumor that the new bullet trains will precipitate a wish-granting miracle when they pass each other at top speed.
Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Kôki Maeda, Oshiro Maeda, Ryôga Hayashi, Seinosuke Nagayoshi
Votes: 7,942 | Gross: $0.15M
3. Like Father, Like Son (2013)
Not Rated | 121 min | Drama
Ryota is a successful workaholic businessman. When he learns that his biological son was switched with another boy after birth, he faces the difficult decision to choose his true son or the boy he and his wife have raised as their own.
Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Masaharu Fukuyama, Machiko Ono, Yôko Maki, Lily Franky
Votes: 28,164 | Gross: $0.28M
4. Fireworks (1997)
103 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Nishi leaves the police in the face of harrowing personal and professional difficulties. Spiraling into depression, he makes questionable decisions.
Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Kayoko Kishimoto, Ren Ôsugi, Susumu Terajima
Votes: 33,210 | Gross: $0.23M
5. Kikujiro (1999)
PG-13 | 122 min | Drama, Comedy
A young, naive boy sets out alone on the road to find his wayward mother. Soon he finds an unlikely protector in a crotchety man and the two have a series of unexpected adventures along the way.
Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Yusuke Sekiguchi, Kayoko Kishimoto, The Great Gidayû
Votes: 22,182 | Gross: $0.20M
6. Dolls (2002)
114 min | Drama, Romance
Three stories of never-ending love.
Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Miho Kanno, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Tatsuya Mihashi, Kyôko Fukada
Votes: 17,369 | Gross: $0.00M
7. Sonatine (1993)
R | 94 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Several yakuza from Tokyo are sent to Okinawa to help end a gang war. The war then escalates and the Tokyo drifters decide to lay low at the beach.
Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Aya Kokumai, Tetsu Watanabe, Masanobu Katsumura
Votes: 23,298
8. Brother (I) (2000)
R | 114 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A Japanese gangster is exiled to Los Angeles where his brother lives with a small but respectable multi-racial gang, who he inspires to expand their influence.
Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Claude Maki, Omar Epps, Masaya Katô
Votes: 24,549 | Gross: $0.45M
You might notice I am a Kitano fan...
9. Battle Royale (2000)
Not Rated | 114 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill one another under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.
Director: Kinji Fukasaku | Stars: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Tarô Yamamoto, Chiaki Kuriyama
Votes: 194,530
10. Battles Without Honor and Humanity (1973)
Not Rated | 99 min | Crime, Drama
During the violent chaos of post-War Japanese black market, a young gangster called Shozo Hirono has to keep up with the rapid shifts of power between unscrupulous bosses.
Director: Kinji Fukasaku | Stars: Bunta Sugawara, Hiroki Matsukata, Kunie Tanaka, Eiko Nakamura
Votes: 4,308
11. 9 Souls (2003)
120 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
Nine convicts escape from prison; most are convicted murderers. They commandeer a van from a strip club.
Director: Toshiaki Toyoda | Stars: Yoshio Harada, Ryûhei Matsuda, Michio Akiyama, Yû Fujiki
Votes: 1,913
One of my all-time favourite Japanese directors and favourite films.
12. Departures (2008)
PG-13 | 130 min | Drama
Soon after buying an expensive cello, Daigo learns that his orchestra is disbanding. He moves back to his hometown with his wife, where he answers an ad for what Daigo thinks is a travel agency but is, in actuality, a mortuary.
Director: Yôjirô Takita | Stars: Masahiro Motoki, Ryôko Hirosue, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kazuko Yoshiyuki
Votes: 55,007 | Gross: $1.50M
13. Railroad Man (1999)
112 min | Drama
The touching reminiscing of an elderly railroad-station manager is interrupted by the sudden appearance of some good-natured girls.
Director: Yasuo Furuhata | Stars: Ken Takakura, Shinobu Ôtake, Ryôko Hirosue, Hidetaka Yoshioka
Votes: 1,326
14. Shall We Dance? (1996)
PG | 136 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A successful but unhappy Japanese accountant finds the missing passion in his life when he begins to secretly take ballroom dance lessons.
Director: Masayuki Suô | Stars: Koji Yakusho, Tamiyo Kusakari, Naoto Takenaka, Eri Watanabe
Votes: 11,741 | Gross: $9.68M
15. Kamikaze Girls (2004)
102 min | Comedy
Momoko, a strange and seemingly emotionless girl obsessed with 18th century France, befriends a Yanki biker and the two experience the ups and downs of their unusual lives in a rural Japanese town.
Director: Tetsuya Nakashima | Stars: Kyôko Fukada, Anna Tsuchiya, Hiroyuki Miyasako, Sadao Abe
Votes: 8,093
16. Confessions (2010)
Not Rated | 106 min | Drama, Thriller
A psychological thriller of a grieving mother turned cold-blooded avenger with a twisty master plan to pay back those who were responsible for her daughter's death.
Director: Tetsuya Nakashima | Stars: Takako Matsu, Yoshino Kimura, Masaki Okada, Yukito Nishii
Votes: 42,092
17. The World of Kanako (2014)
Not Rated | 118 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
As former detective Akikazu searches for his missing daughter, Kanako, he soon learns she has a mysterious secret life.
Director: Tetsuya Nakashima | Stars: Koji Yakusho, Nana Komatsu, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Hiroya Shimizu
Votes: 5,897 | Gross: $0.02M
18. Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983)
R | 123 min | Drama, War
During WWII, a British colonel tries to bridge the cultural divides between a British POW and the Japanese camp commander in order to avoid bloodshed.
Director: Nagisa Ôshima | Stars: David Bowie, Tom Conti, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Takeshi Kitano
Votes: 20,036 | Gross: $2.31M
19. Akira (1988)
R | 124 min | Animation, Action, Drama
A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath who can only be stopped by a teenager, his gang of biker friends and a group of psychics.
Director: Katsuhiro Ôtomo | Stars: Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama, Tesshô Genda
Votes: 205,425 | Gross: $0.55M
20. Princess Mononoke (1997)
PG-13 | 134 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
On a journey to find the cure for a Tatarigami's curse, Ashitaka finds himself in the middle of a war between the forest gods and Tatara, a mining colony. In this quest he also meets San, the Mononoke Hime.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Yôji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida, Yûko Tanaka, Billy Crudup
Votes: 434,077 | Gross: $2.38M
21. Spirited Away (2001)
PG | 125 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
During her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Miyu Irino, Rumi Hiiragi
Votes: 850,246 | Gross: $10.06M
22. The Wind Rises (2013)
PG-13 | 126 min | Animation, Biography, Drama
Jiro Horikoshi studies assiduously to fulfill his aim of becoming an aeronautical engineer. As WWII begins, fighter aircraft designed by him end up getting used by the Japanese Empire against its foes.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Hideaki Anno, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Miori Takimoto, Masahiko Nishimura
Votes: 98,895 | Gross: $5.21M
23. When Marnie Was There (2014)
PG | 103 min | Animation, Drama, Family
Anna, a shy 12-year-old girl, is sent to spend time with her aunt and uncle who live in the countryside, where she meets Marnie. The two become best friends. But Anna gradually discovers that Marnie is not quite who she appears to be.
Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi | Stars: Sara Takatsuki, Kasumi Arimura, Nanako Matsushima, Susumu Terajima
Votes: 47,983 | Gross: $0.77M
24. Summer Wars (2009)
PG | 114 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A student tries to fix a problem he accidentally caused in OZ, a digital world, while pretending to be the fiancé of his friend at her grandmother's 90th birthday.
Director: Mamoru Hosoda | Stars: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Nanami Sakuraba, Mitsuki Tanimura, Takahiro Yokokawa
Votes: 31,797 | Gross: $0.08M
25. 5 Centimeters per Second (2007)
TV-PG | 63 min | Animation, Drama, Family
Told in three interconnected segments, Takaki tells the story of his life as cruel winters, cold technology, and finally, adult obligations and responsibility converge to test the delicate petals of love.
Director: Makoto Shinkai | Stars: Kenji Mizuhashi, Yoshimi Kondou, Satomi Hanamura, Ayaka Onoue
Votes: 63,817
26. Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
PG-13 | 92 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
On Christmas Eve, three homeless people living on the streets of Tokyo discover a newborn baby among the trash and set out to find its parents.
Directors: Shôgo Furuya, Satoshi Kon | Stars: Tôru Emori, Yoshiaki Umegaki, Aya Okamoto, Shôzô Îzuka
Votes: 46,794 | Gross: $0.13M
While Satoshi Kon is generally known perhaps for his more imaginative visuals or twisty plots (i.e. Paprika or Perfect Blue), this film I have felt is his most human and most moving.
27. Perfect Blue (1997)
R | 81 min | Animation, Crime, Drama
A pop singer gives up her career to become an actress, but she slowly goes insane when she starts being stalked by an obsessed fan and what seems to be a ghost of her past.
Director: Satoshi Kon | Stars: Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shinpachi Tsuji, Masaaki Ôkura
Votes: 95,710 | Gross: $0.78M
28. A Letter to Momo (2011)
Not Rated | 120 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
11-year-old Momo moves with her mother to a small island town after her father dies. When she arrives, she encounters three goblins that others cannot see who try to help her to cope with the loss of her father and the changes in her life.
Director: Hiroyuki Okiura | Stars: Karen Miyama, Yuka, Daizaburo Arakawa, Toshiyuki Nishida
Votes: 8,157
29. Twenty-Four Eyes (1954)
Not Rated | 156 min | Drama
Schoolteacher Hisako Oishi forms an emotional bond with her pupils and teaches them various virtues, while at the same time worrying about their future.
Director: Keisuke Kinoshita | Stars: Hideko Takamine, Itsuo Watanabe, Makoto Miyagawa, Takeo Terashita
Votes: 2,833
A beautiful movie that holds up despite it's age. It's hard not to get emotional as the film moves into it's last act (let alone some earlier sections too).
30. High and Low (1963)
Not Rated | 143 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An executive of a Yokohama shoe company becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped by mistake and held for ransom.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Yutaka Sada, Tatsuya Nakadai, Kyôko Kagawa
Votes: 53,272
I could list other Kurosawa films as well, but as far as the two films that have stood out the most for me, this and Red Beard take the cake. Still making my way through his filmography so who knows if I will add more!
31. Red Beard (1965)
Not Rated | 185 min | Drama
In 19th-century Japan, a rough-tempered yet charitable town doctor trains a young intern.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Yûzô Kayama, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Reiko Dan
Votes: 21,120
32. Lady Snowblood (1973)
Not Rated | 97 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A strikingly beautiful young woman is trained from birth to be a deadly instrument of revenge against the swindlers who destroyed her family.
Director: Toshiya Fujita | Stars: Meiko Kaji, Toshio Kurosawa, Masaaki Daimon, Miyoko Akaza
Votes: 16,318
33. The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001)
R | 113 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
A family moves to the country to run a rustic mountain inn when, to their horror, the customers begin befalling sudden and unlikely fates.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Kenji Sawada, Keiko Matsuzaka, Shinji Takeda, Naomi Nishida
Votes: 10,031
34. Audition (1999)
R | 115 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Tetsu Sawaki, Jun Kunimura
Votes: 89,303
35. 13 Assassins (2010)
R | 141 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A group of assassins come together for a suicide mission to kill an evil lord.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Koji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada, Yûsuke Iseya, Ikki Sawamura
Votes: 68,642 | Gross: $0.80M
36. Sukiyaki Western Django (2007)
R | 121 min | Action, Western
A nameless gunfighter arrives in a town ripped apart by rival gangs and, though courted by both to join, chooses his own path.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Hideaki Itô, Kôichi Satô, Quentin Tarantino, Yûsuke Iseya
Votes: 15,839 | Gross: $0.05M
37. Chûgoku no chôjin (1998)
TV-PG | 118 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A salaryman and yakuza are each sent by their bosses to a remote Chinese village but discover more than they expected.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Masahiro Motoki, Renji Ishibashi, Mako, Michiko Kichise
Votes: 4,923
38. Cure (1997)
Not Rated | 111 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
A frustrated detective deals with the case of several gruesome murders committed by people who have no recollection of what they've done.
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Stars: Masato Hagiwara, Koji Yakusho, Tsuyoshi Ujiki, Anna Nakagawa
Votes: 23,132 | Gross: $0.09M
39. Pulse (2001)
R | 119 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Two groups of people discover evidence that suggests spirits may be trying to invade the human world through the Internet.
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Stars: Haruhiko Katô, Kumiko Asô, Koyuki, Kurume Arisaka
Votes: 25,625 | Gross: $0.05M
40. Tokyo Sonata (2008)
PG-13 | 120 min | Drama
An ordinary Japanese family slowly disintegrates after its patriarch loses his job at a prominent company.
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Stars: Teruyuki Kagawa, Kyôko Koizumi, Yû Koyanagi, Kai Inowaki
Votes: 11,825 | Gross: $0.28M
41. Tampopo (1985)
Not Rated | 114 min | Comedy
A truck driver stops at a small family-run noodle shop and decides to help its fledgling business. The story is intertwined with various vignettes about the relationship of love and food.
Director: Jûzô Itami | Stars: Ken Watanabe, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Koji Yakusho
Votes: 22,591 | Gross: $0.22M
42. Tony Takitani (2004)
75 min | Drama
When technical illustrator Tony Takitani asks his wife to resist her all-consuming obsession for designer clothes, the consequences are tragic.
Director: Jun Ichikawa | Stars: Issei Ogata, Rie Miyazawa, Shinohara Takahumi, Hidetoshi Nishijima
Votes: 4,942
43. Harakiri (1962)
Not Rated | 133 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
When a ronin requesting seppuku at a feudal lord's palace is told of the brutal suicide of another ronin who previously visited, he reveals how their pasts are intertwined - and in doing so challenges the clan's integrity.
Director: Masaki Kobayashi | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Ishihama, Shima Iwashita, Tetsurô Tanba
Votes: 68,769
44. Kwaidan (1964)
Not Rated | 183 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A collection of four Japanese folk tales with supernatural themes.
Director: Masaki Kobayashi | Stars: Rentarô Mikuni, Michiyo Aratama, Misako Watanabe, Kenjirô Ishiyama
Votes: 20,009
45. Love Exposure (2008)
Unrated | 237 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
A bizarre love triangle forms between a young Catholic upskirt photographer, a misandric girl and a manipulative cultist.
Director: Sion Sono | Stars: Takahiro Nishijima, Hikari Mitsushima, Sakura Andô, Yutaka Shimizu
Votes: 15,921
Sion Sono is a director who always interests me. Like Miike, he pumps out a ton of work and it's always interesting to see what he is going to try next. While I liked some of the other gory films that got Sono on the map (i.e. Suicide Club or Strange Circus), Love Exposure and the ones below I enjoyed most.
46. Why Don't You Play in Hell? (2013)
Not Rated | 129 min | Action, Comedy, Horror
A renegade film crew becomes embroiled with a yakuza clan feud.
Director: Sion Sono | Stars: Jun Kunimura, Fumi Nikaidô, Shin'ichi Tsutsumi, Hiroki Hasegawa
Votes: 8,992 | Gross: $0.03M
47. Hazard (2005)
103 min | Crime, Drama
Faced by a society of criminals, these three youths avenge their rights.
Director: Sion Sono | Stars: Joe Odagiri, Jai West, Motoki Fukami, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi
Votes: 844
48. Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)
Not Rated | 67 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A businessman accidentally kills The Metal Fetishist, who gets his revenge by slowly turning the man into a grotesque hybrid of flesh and rusty metal.
Director: Shin'ya Tsukamoto | Stars: Tomorô Taguchi, Kei Fujiwara, Nobu Kanaoka, Shin'ya Tsukamoto
Votes: 25,948
49. Good Morning (1959)
Not Rated | 94 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Two boys begin a silence strike to press their parents into buying them a television set.
Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Keiji Sada, Yoshiko Kuga, Chishû Ryû, Kuniko Miyake
Votes: 11,056
50. Late Spring (1949)
Not Rated | 108 min | Drama
Several people try to talk 27-year-old Noriko into marrying, but all she wants is to keep on caring for her widowed father.
Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Chishû Ryû, Setsuko Hara, Yumeji Tsukioka, Haruko Sugimura
Votes: 19,360
51. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985)
R | 120 min | Biography, Drama
A fictionalized account in four chapters of the life of celebrated Japanese writer Yukio Mishima.
Director: Paul Schrader | Stars: Ken Ogata, Masayuki Shionoya, Hiroshi Mikami, Junya Fukuda
Votes: 13,797 | Gross: $0.44M
I realize this is by an American director, but it is one of my all-time favourite films about famed author Yukio Mishima.
52. Spiral (2000)
90 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
The inhabitants of a small Japanese town become increasingly obsessed with and tormented by spirals.
Director: Higuchinsky | Stars: Eriko Hatsune, Fhi Fan, Hinako Saeki, Shin Eun-kyung
Votes: 8,999
53. Versus (II) (2000)
R | 119 min | Action, Drama, Fantasy
There are 666 portals that connect this world to the other side. These are concealed from all human beings. Somewhere in Japan exists the 444th portal.... The forest of resurrection.
Director: Ryûhei Kitamura | Stars: Tak Sakaguchi, Hideo Sakaki, Chieko Misaka, Kenji Matsuda
Votes: 13,733
54. Key of Life (2012)
Not Rated | 128 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A failed actor switches identities with a stranger at a bath house thinking it is his way out of his life of misery but only to find himself filling the shoes of an elite assassin.
Director: Kenji Uchida | Stars: Masato Sakai, Teruyuki Kagawa, Ryôko Hirosue, Yoshiyoshi Arakawa
Votes: 2,902
55. Eureka (2000)
217 min | Drama
The traumatized survivors of a murderous bus hijacking come together and take a road trip to attempt to overcome their damaged selves. Meanwhile a serial killer is on the loose.
Director: Shinji Aoyama | Stars: Koji Yakusho, Aoi Miyazaki, Masaru Miyazaki, Yôichirô Saitô
Votes: 4,345 | Gross: $0.05M
At 217 minutes, Eureka requires patience, but from the opening scene to the ending aerial shot, I loved every minute of it.
56. Love and Honor (2006)
PG-13 | 122 min | Drama, History, Romance
A look at the relationship between a young blind samurai (Kimura) and his wife, who will make a sacrifice in order to defend her husband's honor.
Director: Yôji Yamada | Stars: Takuya Kimura, Rei Dan, Mitsugorô Bandô, Takashi Sasano
Votes: 4,287 | Gross: $0.02M
57. Sword of Desperation (2010)
114 min | Action, History
A talented but troubled Edo Period swordsman, Kanemi Sanzaemon. Three years earlier, Kanemi killed a woman, Renko, the corrupt mistress of the powerful daimyo Tabu Ukyou. Unexpectedly, ... See full summary »
Director: Hideyuki Hirayama | Stars: Etsushi Toyokawa, Chizuru Ikewaki, Kôji Kikkawa, Tsumami Edamame
Votes: 852
English title: Sword of Desperation
58. Semishigure (2005)
131 min | Drama, Romance
A young swordsman is forced into a tough situation. He must resolve a potential power struggle that involves his adolescent crush Fuku.
Director: Mitsuo Kurotsuchi | Stars: Somegorô Ichikawa, Yoshino Kimura, Kôji Imada, Ryo Fukawa
Votes: 311
59. Linda Linda Linda (2005)
TV-PG | 114 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A music group of girls need to learn to play a song before the school festival.
Director: Nobuhiro Yamashita | Stars: Bae Doona, Aki Maeda, Yû Kashii, Shiori Sekine
Votes: 4,493
60. Swing Girls (2004)
105 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A tale of delinquent and lazy school girls. In their efforts to cut remedial summer math class, they end up vitiating and replacing the schools brass band.
Director: Shinobu Yaguchi | Stars: Juri Ueno, Yûta Hiraoka, Shihori Kanjiya, Yuika Motokariya
Votes: 4,684
61. Love Letter (1995)
PG | 117 min | Drama, Romance
When exchanging letters two women discover new things about a man they knew.
Director: Shunji Iwai | Stars: Miho Nakayama, Etsushi Toyokawa, Bunjaku Han, Katsuyuki Shinohara
Votes: 11,013
My first Shunji Iwai film was "All About Lily Chou Chou". I saw it recommended several times online, so I gave it a go. Although I appreciated the style of it and some of the visuals, I didn't really enjoy the film otherwise. It wasn't until several years later that I gave Iwai another shot with this film and I am glad I did.
62. April Story (1998)
67 min | Drama, Romance
In spring, a young girl leaves the island of Hokkaido to attend university in Tokyo.
Director: Shunji Iwai | Stars: Takako Matsu, Seiichi Tanabe, Kazuhiko Kato, Kaori Fujii
Votes: 4,090
63. Vibrator (2003)
Not Rated | 95 min | Drama
After meeting a handsome truck driver (Nao Omori) in the midst of an urban mini-mart, a 30-something freelance writer (Shinobu Terajima) embarks on a life-changing emotional journey of sexual self-discovery.
Director: Ryûichi Hiroki | Stars: Shinobu Terajima, Nao Ômori, Riho Makise, Jun Murakami
Votes: 969
Despite the assumptions that come with the film's title, this is a touching and intriguing character study. I try to see more independent films from around the world to get an impression of less-mainstream filmmaking internationally. Not necessarily a favourite film, but one of the ones I have seen recently that has stuck with me. Hard to find, but if you have a chance to see it, I recommend it.
64. Pigs and Battleships (1961)
Not Rated | 108 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A young hoodlum decides to work for a criminal organization that is tearing itself apart.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Hiroyuki Nagato, Jitsuko Yoshimura, Masao Mishima, Tetsurô Tanba
Votes: 2,592
While there isn't quite any film I have seen by Shohei Imamura that I love, I do quite like his style of filmmaking and he was a big player in Japanese New Wave (which I am a fan of).
65. The Taste of Tea (2004)
143 min | Comedy, Fantasy
A spell of time of a rural family's slightly surreal life.
Director: Katsuhito Ishii | Stars: Maya Banno, Takahiro Satô, Tadanobu Asano, Satomi Tezuka
Votes: 7,199
66. Naisu no mori: The First Contact (2005)
150 min | Comedy, Fantasy
An outrageous collection of surreal, short attention span non-sequiturs largely revolving around Guitar Brother, his randy older sibling, and the pair's portly Caucasian brother.
Directors: Katsuhito Ishii, Hajime Ishimine, Shunichirô Miki | Stars: Andrew Alfieri, Hideaki Anno, Moyoco Anno, Tadanobu Asano
Votes: 2,731
Some skits are particularly strange or perverse, but it makes for a good group movie. Depending on the group. :)
67. A Story of Yonosuke (2012)
160 min | Drama
Were people's lives changed by having known Yonosuke?
Director: Shûichi Okita | Stars: Ayumi Ito, Kengo Kôra, Gô Ayano, Jun Kunimura
Votes: 2,312
68. Funuke: Show Some Love, You Losers! (2007)
112 min | Comedy, Drama
Traumatic incidents, conflicts, and bloody quarrels awaits the Wago family members who return home to bury their parents.
Director: Daihachi Yoshida | Stars: Eriko Satô, Aimi Satsukawa, Hiromi Nagasaku, Masatoshi Nagase
Votes: 926
69. Another Lonely Hitman (1995)
105 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Tachibana is a mob hit man, just released from 10 years in prison where he kicked his drug habit. He's dismayed to find that the code of conduct he honors no longer counts, and soon gets ... See full summary »
Director: Rokuro Mochizuki | Stars: Ryo Ishibashi, Kazuhiko Kanayama, Asami Sawaki, Tatsuo Yamada
Votes: 200
70. House (1977)
Not Rated | 88 min | Comedy, Horror
A schoolgirl and six of her classmates travel to her aunt's country home, which turns out to be haunted.
Director: Nobuhiko Ôbayashi | Stars: Kimiko Ikegami, Miki Jinbo, Kumiko Ôba, Ai Matsubara
Votes: 33,760
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