Tokuko Sugiyama
2021The Human Condition I: No Greater Love
Masaki Kobayashi
Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama
After handing in a report on the treatment of Chinese colonial labor, Kaji is offered the post of labor chief at a large mining operation in Manchuria, which also grants him exemption from military service. He accepts, and moves to Manchuria with his newly-wed wife Michiko, but when he tries to put his ideas of more humane treatment into practice, he finds himself at odds with scheming officials, cruel foremen, and the military police.
The Human Condition I: No Greater Love
A Distant Cry from Spring
Yoji Yamada
Ken Takakura, Hidetaka Yoshioka
The quiet life of a mother and her young son living on a farm in Hokkaido is changed by the arrival of a man who ignites flames of romance in the heart of the mother and shows her boy the importance of grit and kindness, but then he leaves with the autumn wind.
A Distant Cry from Spring
A Taxing Woman
Juzo Itami
Nobuko Miyamoto, Tsutomu Yamazaki
Intrepid tax investigator Ryoko Itakura sets her sights on the mysterious and philandering Hideki Gondo, a suspected millionaire and proprietor of a thriving chain of seedy hourly hotels, who has for years succeeded at hiding the true extent of his assets from the Japanese authorities. Itakura and Gondo soon find themselves engaged in a complicated, satirical battle of wits.
A Taxing Woman
Twelve Months
Tetsuo Imazawa, Kimio Yabuki
Ai Kanzaki, Tokuko Sugiyama
A young queen requests a bouquet of snowdrop flowers for New Year's Day in exchange for a reward. One greedy woman sends her stepdaughter, whom she does not like, to look for the flowers in a cold forest, knowing the task will be impossible for her. The girl almost freezes to death in the forest, but she is rescued by the spirits of the Twelve Months, who create spring around her. The girl is able to deliver the bouquet to the queen, but others want a share of the reward.
Twelve Months
食卓のない家
Masaki Kobayashi
Tatsuya Nakadai, Mayumi Ogawa
One year has passed since the Kidojis' eldest son Otohiko was arrested for his part in a terrorist kidnapping, which resulted in multiple deaths. Although the parents of all the other perpetrators have either resigned from their professional positions or taken their own lives, Nobuyuki Kidoji tries to remain adamant that he was not responsible for his son's actions.
The Empty Table
同胞
Yoji Yamada
Chieko Baisho, Akira Terao
This appears to be a labor of love. Its about a village which is given the opportunity to put on a musical. They would have to pay the overhead and, being that they are farmers and always busy and not rich, question the wisdom and feasibility of such an idea. A spokesperson for the acting troupe Ms. Kono lays out the whole thing and they must decide. You get little slices of rural life in Japan far, at least in sentiment, from Tokyo. The best thing about this film is that it has heart. The acting is good, but it is really about the simple storyline of outing on a show. Films rarely get made with such simplistic plots these days. Enjoy this little slice of what city people call “the simple life”.
The Village
絵の中のぼくの村
Yōichi Higashi
Mieko Harada, Keigo Matsuyama
Tells of the childhood of two nine-year-old twins in a rural village in Japan after World War 2. Includes the boys relationships with their schoolteacher mother, civil servant father, elderly landlord, a rough new boy at the school, and three mysterious spirits in the form of old women.
Village of Dreams
男はつらいよ 寅次郎あじさいの恋
Yoji Yamada
Kiyoshi Atsumi, Chieko Baisho
During his travels, Tora-san gets drunk with an old man in Kyoto. Though Tora-san never fully comprehends his importance, the old man is a Living National Treasure ceramist. At his home, Tora-san makes a good impression on the old man's maid, who apparently falls in love with Tora-san.
Hearts and Flowers for Tora-san
Horus: Prince of the Sun
Isao Takahata
Hisako Ookata, Etsuko Ichihara
Young Horus lives in a mythical Scandinavia of the Iron Age. Recovering the stolen Sword of the Sun from a rock giant, he learns he must travel to the lands of his ancestors, encountering the beautiful but enigmatic Hilda as his journey leads to a series of adventures.
Horus: Prince of the Sun
男はつらいよ 寅次郎紙風船
Yoji Yamada
Kiyoshi Atsumi, Chieko Baisho
Tora-san returns to his family's home to attend an elementary school class reunion. After he embarrasses himself by getting drunk and insulting all his ex-classmates, he resumes his travels. In Kyushu he meets an outspoken 18-year-old girl who becomes enamored of Tora-san and follows him around. One of Tora-san's old friends is terminally ill and makes Tora-san promise him to marry his wife once he is gone.
Tora-san's Promise
あげまん
Juzo Itami
Nobuko Miyamoto, Masahiko Tsugawa
The film stars two of Itami's regular actors, Nobuko Miyamoto as a geisha who brings luck to the men with whom she sleeps, and Masahiko Tsugawa as her unfaithful, sometimes partner. As well as showing her relationships with the man she loves and the men who employ her, it satirizes corruption and the influence of money in Japanese politics.
Tales of a Golden Geisha
