All in Japanese

Yasujiro Ozu's EARLY SUMMER

Yasujiro Ozu's EARLY SUMMER

Dennis D. McDonald
Drama, Japanese, Ozu
In this Japanese film from 1951, 28-year-old Noriko (played by Setsuko Hara, who also appeared in Ozu’s Tokyo Story) lives with her three-generation family. She helps support them with the wages she earns in her downtown Tokyo clerical office job. Her family decides that she is getting along in years and needs to get married. The wheels of an arranged marriage start turning. This leads to complications.
Yasujiro Ozu's GOOD MORNING

Yasujiro Ozu's GOOD MORNING

Dennis D. McDonald
Comedy, Japanese, Ozu
It’s the late 1950’s in a new cookie-cutter Tokyo suburb. Two young brothers are eager to get a television. A young couple nearby has one which they let the kids watch (they love sumo wrestling) but the kids’ parents are concerned that the young couple’s laid-back attitude will rub off on the kids.
Akira Kurosawa's “HIGH AND LOW”

Akira Kurosawa's “HIGH AND LOW”

Dennis D. McDonald
Japanese, Kurosawa, Class Warfare, Cops, Crime
There is a scene in Kurosawa’s High and Low where police emerge from the house of a man, played by Toshiro Mifune (Red Beard), whose lost kidnapping ransom, paid to recover the son of his chauffeur, has caused his total financial ruin. Yet there he is, calmly mowing his lawn with his power mower, while his life collapses around him. He seems to be enjoying himself. Life goes on.
Mamoru Oshii's GHOST IN THE SHELL 2: INNOCENCE

Mamoru Oshii's GHOST IN THE SHELL 2: INNOCENCE

Dennis D. McDonald
Animated, Japanese, Oshii, Robots, Science Fiction, Anime
Mamoru Oshii (Avalon) does it again, this time with a sequel to Ghost in the Shell. Some of the same characters continue. The world of the future is even more detailed and incredible than in the original. There are more philosophical musings about the nature of humanity and technology. Plus, this may be the most incredible piece of animation I have ever seen. But it is not a favorite film of mine, for a couple of reasons.
Shohei Imamura's DR. AKAGI

Shohei Imamura's DR. AKAGI

Dennis D. McDonald
Drama, Emotional, Japanese
In the closing days of World War II, family doctor Akagi runs (literally) from patient to patient in a small Japanese seaside village and discovers an alarming increase in hepatitis among his increasingly war-weary patients. He seeks a cure but the government is more interested in preparing for The Final Battle as the war draws inevitably to a close. He enlists the support of a diverse collection of friends including a morphine addicted surgeon, a hedonistic monk, and a young recovering prostitute who inevitably falls in love with him.
Kaneto Shindo's ONIBABA

Kaneto Shindo's ONIBABA

Dennis D. McDonald
Horror, Japanese
Shot in vivid black and white, this widescreen Japanese horror movie from 1964 operates on several levels. There is the supernatural aspect (the demon and the mask), there is the sexual frustration of the main characters that is wildly and explicitly unleashed during the film,