Fantasy encroaches into reality in this slight if charming little anime from Studio Ghibli that might just finally make non-feline lovers realise why cats are to be fussed about.
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Cat Returns, The (2002)
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Tag / Japan
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Mourning Forest, The (2007)
There’s a certain indescribable sense of tranquility and ‘silence’ to this beautiful melancholic work that is as much about grief as it is about the end of mourning.
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Belladonna of Sadness (1973)
This psychedelic, violent and sexually-charged cult classic is unlike any other in early Japanese anime, about a woman making a pact with the devil in an act of desperation.
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Drive My Car (2021)
Three hours fly by in Hamaguchi’s gentle Cannes Best Screenplay winner—a highly-layered and nuanced take on the unresolved regrets and guilt that stay deep within us and the affordances of performance art and unlikely acquaintance as catharsis.
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Empire of Passion (1978)
Oshima confidently mixes eroticism with the supernatural in this beautifully-shot murder-cum-ghost tale that is rich in old-world atmosphere.
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Zatoichi and the Fugitives (1968)
This mostly decent 18th installment balances drama with sharp swordfighting action in what is a decidedly darker film in tone.
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In the Realm of the Senses (1976)
One of the most notorious films in the history of cinema—its explicit, unsimulated depiction of sex hides a troubling exploration of social alienation.
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I Want to Go Home (2017)
This heartfelt, partially-animated documentary centering on a Japanese man who lost his wife in the 2011 tsunami doesn’t have any pretensions and works because of its sincerity.
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Tales from Earthsea (2006)
Arguably Studio Ghibli’s weakest film, Goro Miyazaki’s debut feature is poorly-paced with a story that doesn’t sparkle, despite the beautiful, otherworldly visuals.
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Zatoichi Challenged (1967)
A terrific Zatoichi flick and one of the series’ very best, Misumi’s focus on story and characterisation is the real sleight-of-hand here in this slower but well-paced movie.
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