Japanese
Articles and Essays on Japanese Films
High and Low (1963)
Sadly Akira Kurosawa is mostly known for his Samurai films, and some of his greatest works were outside of the Samurai genre (like John Ford’s films outside of his Westerns.) High and Low is one of them, as it tells a story about a wealthy industrialist whose family is the target of a cold-blooded kidnapper. High and Low […]
Continue
Ikiru (1952)
“Sometimes I think of my death. I think of ceasing to be…and it is from these thoughts that Ikiru came.” -Akira Kurosawa Everyday he sits at his desk with stacks of countless documents, and takes a rubber stamp and presses on each one of those documents over and over again. He’s the Public Affairs Section Chief in […]
Continue
Tokyo Story (1953)
Film critic Roger Ebert once stated, “Sooner or later, everyone who loves movies comes to Ozu.” Director Yasujirô Ozu has created some of the most gentle and poignant stories I have ever had the pleasure of witnessing within the cinema, such as the universal themes of family, growing old and the acceptance of change; and Tokyo Story is […]
Continue
Sansho the Bailiff (1954)
“An era when mankind had not yet awakened as human beings, it has been retold by the people for centuries and it is treasured today as one of the world’s great folk tales full of grief…” Sansho the Bailiff is the greatest of all Japanese films, and is one of the most tragic and emotionally shattering […]
Continue
