Ikiru (1952) BEAN’S TOP 5 JAPANESE FILMS: NUMBER 5 - IKIRU It’s my turn now! I found it very difficult to choose my favorite Japanese films. This is not because I have seen so many, which is true, but because there are many films I love and I think everyone should see- but I have no interest in seeing again. So I’ve decided to cut those films out for now and focus on my watchable favorites and not the ones I think you should see. Maybe I’ll make a “5 Japanese films I think you should see but will probably scar you for life” list later.  SO, Ikiru is a film about a classic ‘salary man’ bureaucrat in a broken, useless government job who realizes he wants to find meaning in his life. It’s a sweet, heart-warming film that makes you want to live life to the fullest! It’s also a really good look-if not a slightly caricatured version- of what life is like working for a Japanese company or Government office. While things aren’t that bad for some, many people in Japan do work ludicrous hours for no over time and are unable or feel unable to take days off. They work all day long and at least from what I’ve seen, they often aren’t working hard, they just feel obligated to look like they are working and stay late. This being one of Kurosawa’s earlier films I feel like his style is a little raw and even over the top- in a good way. Kurosawa frames scenes to visually represent the feelings and relationships of his characters, all over the place. Seriously just pay attention to the how the characters are placed in a scene and you’ll realize that practically everything around them informs you about who they are, what they feel, or what their relationship is with the other characters in the scene. A very fun and interesting watch.
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Ikiru (1952)

BEAN’S TOP 5 JAPANESE FILMS: NUMBER 5 - IKIRU


It’s my turn now! I found it very difficult to choose my favorite Japanese films. This is not because I have seen so many, which is true, but because there are many films I love and I think everyone should see- but I have no interest in seeing again.

So I’ve decided to cut those films out for now and focus on my watchable favorites and not the ones I think you should see. Maybe I’ll make a “5 Japanese films I think you should see but will probably scar you for life” list later. 

SO,

Ikiru is a film about a classic ‘salary man’ bureaucrat in a broken, useless government job who realizes he wants to find meaning in his life. It’s a sweet, heart-warming film that makes you want to live life to the fullest! It’s also a really good look-if not a slightly caricatured version- of what life is like working for a Japanese company or Government office. While things aren’t that bad for some, many people in Japan do work ludicrous hours for no over time and are unable or feel unable to take days off. They work all day long and at least from what I’ve seen, they often aren’t working hard, they just feel obligated to look like they are working and stay late.

This being one of Kurosawa’s earlier films I feel like his style is a little raw and even over the top- in a good way. Kurosawa frames scenes to visually represent the feelings and relationships of his characters, all over the place. Seriously just pay attention to the how the characters are placed in a scene and you’ll realize that practically everything around them informs you about who they are, what they feel, or what their relationship is with the other characters in the scene.

A very fun and interesting watch.

Throne of Blood (1957) KIKI’S TOP FIVE FAVOURITE JAPANESE FILMS: NUMBER 4 - THRONE OF BLOOD Throne of Blood (1975) was directed by Akira Kurosawa, without whom no list of japanese films is complete. Throne of Blood is a film adaptation of Macbeth and as I am an aspiring English Lit major, it’s really no surprise that this is my favourite Samurai film. The special effects and the use of fog really capture the supernatural elements of the play well. Because it is a period drama, there is lots here for those of you wanting to learn more about Japanese culture; the historical class structures and gender roles portrayed in the film obviously have much in common with their medieval-european counterparts but the adaptation is definitely told from a Japanese perspective. For example, “the crone” is a character trope in western and eastern folklore but in Throne of Blood, the witch seems to be an Onibaba. There’s a nuanced difference in the characters and the application of the play’s themes, it seems to have as much in common with the Japanese tradition of Noh theater as it does with Shakespeare’s play. WHOA. I think I’m getting a little over my head here. That was borderline scholarly. I’m just going to say that there were samurais and ghosts, rad special effects and lots of action sequences WITH ARROWS. Watch it where ever criterion films are rented.
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Throne of Blood (1957)

KIKI’S TOP FIVE FAVOURITE JAPANESE FILMS: NUMBER 4 - THRONE OF BLOOD

Throne of Blood (1975) was directed by Akira Kurosawa, without whom no list of japanese films is complete. Throne of Blood is a film adaptation of Macbeth and as I am an aspiring English Lit major, it’s really no surprise that this is my favourite Samurai film.

The special effects and the use of fog really capture the supernatural elements of the play well. Because it is a period drama, there is lots here for those of you wanting to learn more about Japanese culture; the historical class structures and gender roles portrayed in the film obviously have much in common with their medieval-european counterparts but the adaptation is definitely told from a Japanese perspective. For example, “the crone” is a character trope in western and eastern folklore but in Throne of Blood, the witch seems to be an Onibaba. There’s a nuanced difference in the characters and the application of the play’s themes, it seems to have as much in common with the Japanese tradition of Noh theater as it does with Shakespeare’s play.

WHOA. I think I’m getting a little over my head here. That was borderline scholarly. I’m just going to say that there were samurais and ghosts, rad special effects and lots of action sequences WITH ARROWS. Watch it where ever criterion films are rented.

Joshua's Top Five Favourite Japanese Films

Friend of the show, Joshua of http://ladyyoushotme.tumblr.com/ weighs in with his Top 5 Favourite Japanese Films:

OK. Well, I’m only gonna allow myself one per director because otherwise this is a list of my favorite Kurosawa films and that’s boring. So uhh…

1. The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
Kurosawa takes the top spot because he’s Kurosawa. BSW is so sad and perfect.
2. Kureneko (1968) 
Ghost story where samurai learn that you shouldn’t fuck with lady peasants, because they will come back from the dead and drink your fucking blood.
3. Tokyo Story (1953)
I like feeling terrible and so I like Tokyo Story. I used to prefer other Ozu films. Nowadays I just watch Tokyo Story every couple months and miss my grandparents.
4. Godzilla Raids Again (1955) 
Oddly prefer this to the original. Might be because it’s got both Minoru Chiaki and Takashi Shimura, might be because it’s got a great little prison escape sequence. Either way, no fav. Japanese film list would be complete without a little Gojira. 
5. Akira (1988)  
It hurts to omit Miyazaki but y’know. I’m not dropping Akira. Because Akira is rad. Tetsuo, Kaneda. TETSUO. KANEDA.

What are your favourite Japanese films?

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