Acting
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52 movies sorted by popularity
After saving the life of their heir apparent, tenacious loner Snake Eyes is welcomed into an ancient Japanese clan called the Arashikage where he is taught the ways of the ninja warrior. But, when secrets from his past are revealed, Snake Eyes' honor and allegiance will be tested – even if that means losing the trust of those closest to him.
A college student has an affair with a married, middle-aged teacher.
Searching for escape in Tokyo's back alleys, a haunted English teacher explores love and lust with a dashing Yakuza, as their tumultuous affair takes her on a journey through the city's dive bars and three-hour love hotels.
Abandoned by his mother, Kenji scrapes out a meager existence doing odd jobs, including driving bar hostesses and their customers home. Besides this, he cares for the sister of an incarcerated friend and a young illegal immigrant. Eventually, his life reaches a turning point.
Tadateru Matsudaira, the sixth son of Ieyasu Tokugawa, was exiled for not taking part in the attack on Osaka Castle. 10 years before his exile expired, he was attacked in a clandestine Yagyu operation believed to have been ordered by his older brother Hidetada. In order to correct his brother's true intentions, Tadateru broke the law and went all the way from Hida Province, where he was exiled, to Edo Castle. However, the Yagyu do not stop trying to kill Tadateru...
Hibi tells about mother who does pottery and lives rather simple life, growing her children up. She does remarkable job in pottery, finding a new way to make natural pottery in her own tunnel kiln. Then, her son gets leukemia. And entire family has to fight hard to find a donor who has matching bone marrow.
To protect his family from a mysterious being, a man joins forces with a journalist and an exorcist - but they come to learn what they are dealing with is beyond their imagination.
Set in the Taisho era, Hana no ran is a story about fashionable people without impulse control. Much of the action centers on a popular woman writer, the real-life poet Akiko Yosano, and her experiences among the literati of early 20th century Japan. Because of her independent, anti-war and often erotic poetry, she was a lightning rod for revolutionaries and other extremists, many of whom were destined to glamorous, yet ultimately pointless, deaths.
A young man living on growing tomatoes in a greenhouse in a residential area. Tomato cultivation is as doomed as his personal life where he tries to keep alive his romance with the eccentric Kaede and parents selected fiancee Ayako.
The story of a Japanese man who as a 16-year-old went to Maui to work in the sugar cane fields in order to support his family back in Japan. Now 89 and still living in Hawaii he is visited by his granddaughter who brings him a letter from his disinherited and recently dead son. This brings back memories of his life with his wife and family following the attack on Pearl Harbor, in particular of his son who had gone off to join the war for the Americans.
Kato is a small time TV producer. He has a wife Masako, and a young son Taro. Kato also has a friend Yamazaki who he knew since college. Yamazaki has a girl friend Riko who lives with her younger sister Yuko who's an actress. Yamazaki is a lyric writer/womanizer and he starts to have an affair with Masako, but he's still going out with Riko.
"Acacia" revolves around Sekiji Ishida (Antonio Inoki) a former professional wrestler now a lonely retired man. Sekiji then strikes up a friendship with a reserved young boy.
The adventures and tribulations of a group of students during the years following the II World War.
Young orphan Onimaru is adopted by the wealthy Yamabe family and moves into their estate, Wuthering Heights. Soon, the new resident falls for his compassionate foster sister, Kinu. The two share a remarkable bond that seems unbreakable until Kinu, feeling the pressure of social convention, suppresses her feelings and marries Mitsuhiko, a man of means who befits her stature. Onimaru vows to win her back.
Hama-chan gets Su-san hooked on fishing, but Su-san has some problems to deal with; a beautiful woman saves Su-san when he collapses while fishing.
Shibuya, Tokyo. Yoichi and Michio are a pair of hoodlums who make their living as bookies at horse races. One day, Yoichi's companion commits a crime, which leads him to become a real yakuza. In this way Yoichi wishes to put an end to his hoodlum days, but on the other hand he has to leave his brother Michio behind...
'Female' is comprised of five short films adapted from five novels by female authors. Directed by Shinya Tsukamoto, Tetsuo Shinohara, Ryuichi Hiroki, Miwa Nishikawa, and Suzuki Matsuo.
Tadashi Imamura is a burglar who idolises Ozaki, a star baseball player he shares a birthday with. One day he realises their connection is much deeper than that and decides to find out more.
Densuke Hamazaki is an office worker at Suzuki Construction and gets transferred to the main Tokyo office. After settling in to his surrounding along with his wife Eri, Densuke befriends an elderly man named Ichinosuke Suzuki. Ichinosuke is a lonely and old man who learns to enjoy life again through his friendship with Densuke. Meanwhile, Densuke is completely unaware that Ichinosuke is the boss of his construction company. The two men become friends through their shared passion for fishing.
In the final days of World War II, a 15-year-old boy grappling with survivor's guilt watches a rural Japanese community quietly fracture under the heavy emotional tolls of war.
Approached by a friend about a matchmaking arrangement, Su-san goes to Hama-chan's home seeking help. Hama-chan is away on a business trip, but Michiko entertains Su-san late into the night. When he gets drunk and ends up spending the night, Hama-chan, begins to question his boss's relationship with Michiko.
In a factory that prioritizes profits amid economic downturns, a female worker criticized for her poor performance commits suicide, prompting her colleagues to strike and demand improved working conditions.
In pre-WWII Vancouver, second-generation Japanese immigrants had it tough. Daily, they faced discrimination, hatred and injustice at the hands of their Caucasian counterparts. But one thing made their lives worth living: baseball. They may be the underdogs, but the Vancouver Asahi baseball team have a sense of fair play and smart tactics that set them apart from the brute force of their opponents. Under the guidance of new team captain Reggie Kasahara, can they be able to rise above all the negativity to win the tournament? This film is based on the true story of Vancouver Asahi, the Japanese-Canadian baseball team that was inducted into The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003.
Two kids, fourteen-year-old Eriko and her thirteen-year-old brother Daigo, suddenly find themselves trapped in a parallel universe. Most things are the same as in their own world, but their parents are missing from home and are only contactable when using one particular phonecard.
Hama-chan and his wife are ecstatic about their long-awaited pregnancy. Meanwhile, Su-san's nephew joins Hama-chan's department at the company.
A new wave Yakuza film in which Takanori Jinnai plays a young Yakuza suffering from stomach cancer who has very little left to live. This film is based on the posthumous manuscript of Shoji Kaneko, the legendary director who died of cancer after completing work on the hit "Ryuji".
Momotaro carries this sword into battle against injustice in shogunate Japan. Aided by ninja he must now wage a furious battle against the terrible “Ran” clan, villains in league with Ohara Ukon, a bitter samurai nursing a grudge against the shogunate. Together the ruthless conspirators will threaten the foundations of shogunate rule over Japan. Only the relentless slashing sword of Momotaro may save the nation from the Ran clan's army of killers.
No description available.
Go Ayano plays Kazunari Mizusawa, a young photographer gathering pictures of girls in Shibuya for a documentary. Suddenly the constant noise of the bustling crowd is drowned out by a high school girl (Aimi Satsukawa) shrieking in anger. Mizusawa is startled, but also confused by the fact that nobody in the area but him seemed to care or even notice. His fascination with figuring out exactly what makes young girls want to come to Shibuya in the first place makes him determined to find out more about her.
Takashi and four of his classmates, fourth-grade students, cannot succeed in doing a forward pullover around a horizontal bar. Their P.E. teacher warns them: they have one week to succeed; if they resign now, then, tomorrow, facing life difficulties, they will always run away and become bums.
A humorous wedding story fueled by a rather no-good father and son, disguised as the old and new “good guys.” The father Nobuo, and his son Tamio, are unable to mature, unable to break the parent-child roles, have no sense of responsibility, and keep holding on to the past. The pair is overwhelmed by all the colorful characters around them telling them what to do. They go to strenuous and humorous efforts to make Tamio’s wedding an event to remember.
Junko Mizuta, who is returning from juvenile training school, is a former motorcycle gang. Even though he now works, he still goes to his father Junji's yakitori restaurant from time to time. One day, Junichi's uncle, who was returning home from school, came to see Junko and told him that Junji had passed away.
A 21-year-old university student lost her boyfriend in a sudden accident and she can't get over him, but she begins to change thanks to her family and her friend Takumi, who shares a very similar past with her.
Ayumi Ishida won the Blue Ribbon for the Best Actress.
One day, Hiroko accidentally starts a small fire while she is cooking. Although it does not lead to a serious incident, it does result in her going to stay with her eldest daughter, Yuko, for whom Hiroko has never been the mother she wanted.
Nanako is an ordinary high school girl who lives with her mother, who is a taxi driver. One day, suddenly she has a younger brother - Nanao, the son of her late father's mistress. While Nanao's mother is being put in jail, Nanako's mother decides to take care of him. Nanako doesn't like it at all. Everything Nanao does irritates her. Shortly afterwards, Nanako's mother becomes very sick. In fact, she doesn't have much time left. Since she is in hospital, Nanako is forced to live with Nanao alone...
Su-San invites Hama-chan to go fishing at a place close to his heart after learning about Hama-chan and his wife's fertility problems.
Hama-chan and Su-san go fishing during a business trip, but Hama-chan has to give a lecture on Su-san's behalf in a case of mistaken identity.
Hama-chan shows up to work with his son on his back when his wife goes to her class reunion and his mother throws her back out.
Long ago, Japan was home to several navies. The Murakami Navy, said to be the strongest of them all, once defeated even Nobunaga, and refused to join Hideyoshi, choosing to pursue their love of freedom and the sea. The man who led these samurai of the sea was the great pirate lord Takeyoshi Murakami. And now Kaede Murakami, a descendant of Takeyoshi, is an elementary schooler living on an island. On her 12th birthday, Kaede discovers a flute in her family's storehouse that has been passed down through the Murakami family for generations. The flute holds the key to finding the Murakami Navy's buried treasure. This adventure story tells the tale of an ancient pirate and his descendant forming a connection that transcends time, uniting the island.
A 122 year old movie theater is going to be closed. The staff members, visitors and friends of the old cinema will see the last days of the building and it's history. Then the appearance of a mysterious old man triggers confusion.
"I'm definitely going to be the best." This is the path that these young baseball players once chose to take to become entertainers. Just when they were sure they would finally make it, after struggling to reach the top amidst a burning sense of urgency, their partner was struck by fulminant hepatitis. Hoping for the recovery of their partner, to whom they had entrusted their lives, they continued to hide their anguish from those around them... This moving story is still talked about by entertainers to this day, depicting the sudden death of a young genius manzai comedian and the raw, passionate story of their short but passionate youth, piercing the heart. (translation)
The film is based on a true story about an Okinawan sansen (3 stringed guitar) player named Ryo and his experiences growing up in Okinawa in 1968. Ryo meets an American military solider named George, and they discover that they have more similarities than differences. The atmosphere of the film is heavily charged with discrimination and prejudice- Okinawans and Japanese (yes there is a difference-big difference in fact), US military and Japanese/Okinawans, officers and enlisted soldiers- and takes place with echoes of the civil rights movement lingering in the backdrop.
Haruhiko Nakayama is vice principal at a Japanese school, where he takes care of everything and dreams of finally becoming principal. But after a teacher no longer turns up for lessons, Nakayama has to teach a primary school class again after more than 20 years. He encounters such great challenges that he soon begins to doubt his profession.
Suzumoto and Sumi creatively master their independent lives while living in a park in Nagoya. In contrast, a middle-class family is caught up in pressure and routine. The two threads of the story gradually intertwine, until a tragic escalation occurs. Shot with a black-and-white documentary feel, yet highly stylized, the film analyzes the contradictions and pathologies of modern society.
A man in a hospital starts having a sexual conversation with a woman he cannot see. After that, they keep meeting, and something about her keeps changing.
"Gina K" tells the story of the daughter of a famous stripper, who reveals her family history so she can stand proud as a vocalist. On stage she's feverish, but when she comes down she's just another girl.
Aya, a young Japanese war bride, arrives in a small Australian town during the 1950s. She and her husband, Frank, are very much in love. Yet somehow Aya still feels more comfortable with the Japanese-speaking Mac, a close friend of Frank's, whose wartime experiences left him with a deep regard for Japanese culture. But Frank wants Aya to forget her Japanese past. Aya finds work in a Japanese restaurant and has a short affair with an Australian-Japanese businessman. With her marriage falling apart, Aya leaves Frank.
Chizuko marries a missionary in charge of an orphanage in the colony of Korea. After the end of the Pacific War, she is compelled to return to Japan but later returns. When the Korean War breaks out, her husband is arrested for espionage.
Wish freedom and feel responsibility. 3days road movie of prince and a girl. It's a romantic story between prince and Levelle Kingdom on an escape journey and a girl living freely in Japanese city, with a stylish Asian taste of colorful and vivid images. The story is set in a city of beautiful mother nature, fashion, artistic architectures, and history
