Best Japanese Films Kinema Junpo (1926-2025)

2021 film directed by Nobuhiro Doi

2020 film by Kiyoshi Kurosawa

The only movie theater on the Onomichi seafront is about to close its doors. Its last night of screenings will be an all-night marathon of Japanese war films. When lightning strikes the theater, three young men in the audience find themselves thrown back in time into the world inside the screen.

After suffering through a long and unsuccessful series of fertility treatments, Satoko and her husband Kiyokazu make the decision to adopt a child. Six years after adopting a boy they named Asato, Satoko has quit her job to concentrate fully on her husband and son. The family lives a peaceful existence until the arrival of a stranger.

Tells the story of three bottom-dog boxers who gets used as punching bags. Pro boxer Suenaga Akira fell off the path to greatness but still tries to crawl his way to the top. Omura Ryuta is a youngster who grew up in foster care. Miyagi Shun, a TV celebrity with famous parents, takes a shot at boxing as part of a TV show. Three underdogs with very different back stories put their pride on the line as they exchange blows.

Kazumichi Tsuji is a bored office worker in questionable relationships with two women at work. One day he meets the intriguing Ukiyo Hayama at a convenience store. However, having her in his life brings nothing but trouble.

2019 film directed by Hikari

Eiji Akutsu is a newspaper reporter. He is working on unsolved case that took place 30 years ago. The case involved a group of people extorting several companies for money. The group sent cassette tapes to the companies. Eiji Akutsu comes across a mysterious cassette tape. Meanwhile, Toshiya Sone lives in Kyoto and runs a tailor shop. He discovers a cassette tape among his late father's possessions. He plays the cassette tape and hears his voice from his childhood days.

A comedic portrait of an unhappy marriage between an unemployed screenwriter and his wife who's supported him for 10 years, based on the writer/director's own autobiography.

In the time after Naomi’s parents suddenly die, she happens to meet and bond with the popular actor Morinori Tokito who lives in the same apartment building.

During the first high school baseball game of the season, personal dramas play out within a group of high schoolers sitting in the crowd.

「当巨大的外在世界崩坏时，人们只能在自己的小世界中寻求生存之道。直子与贤治将自我封闭在两人专属的小世界里，伴随着男女之间自然而然的肉体关系，仿佛被抛入了无法说谎的宇宙之中，当中有着快感，也袒露出人们原本拥有的特质。似乎唯有潜入这个小小宇宙之中，人们才能发挥真正的坚强」─原著作家白石一文
十天后即将迎接婚礼的直子，与重回故乡秋田的往日恋人贤治，久别重逢。直子从为了迎接新生活而整理出来的物品当中，翻出了一本相簿，相簿里是她与贤治一丝不挂地交缠着的黑白照片；往昔顺从着欲望本能共度的青春时光就此苏醒。
「只要今晚就好，让我们回到过去好吗？」在直子未婚夫归来的五天内，在刻画于肉体的愉悦记忆及纠葛的尽头，两人将看到什么风景？结合了震灾背景，包覆在漠然日常之下的浓密性爱，仿佛即将喷发的火山，迸裂出扭曲却纯洁、毅然而绝美的生命岩浆。

Ko, a man in his late 30s, lives in the countryside with his wife and teenage son. Mitsuhiko, who runs a local car dealership, also stayed in his hometown. One day, their mutual friend Eisuke returns from a long military operation and their reunification brings back both pleasant and painful memories.

Following the comic series and the subsequent television serial of the same name, and featuring the same cast, a young and relatively inexperienced man comes across a woman during his working day and sparks fly.

Ichiko works as a private nurse for a family she almost became a part of. While Ichiko cares for the grandmother, she is also a confidant to Motoko, the eldest sister. But one day, Motoko’s younger sister disappears. And the media soon reveal the kidnapper to be Ichiko’s own nephew.

Four pianists take part in the preliminary round of an international piano playing competition. Each has a story that is different and unique. One is a former child prodigy who stopped playing when her mother died. One is a Julliard student. One is a new face and yet comes recommended.

As they travel around the country, a singer-songwriter duo's love triangle with their roadie jeopardizes their unannounced farewell tour.

Japanese film

2019 film directed by Rikiya Imaizumi

A writer from Kamakura named Hiraoka Eisei is researching supernatural stories but finds himself revisiting memories from a previous visit to his wife’s home town. Ogura Kako,a shy local woman, is asked to help an actor from Tokyo practice speaking with Kyoto intonation and, after the lesson, he asks her to show him around Arashiyama.