I made a list of what I thought are good films for experiencing Japanese culture. And they are entertaining. But what do you think? What would you choose?
Suicide Club
Taste of Tea
Swing Girls
Kamakazi Girls
Kikujiro
Tanpopo
Battle Royal
Izu
Dead or Alive 2
Gozu
I thought about Ringu as well, but the Japanese don't seem very connected to their horror traditions in every day life.
I'd like to add a few to your list
ReplyDeletePoppoya; Railroad Man
Hana to Alice
Space Travellers
Yojimbo
These all seem very Japanese to me although I've never been there, these movies are some of my favorities.
Your list seems clearly to select films that are not "Japanese," whatever that means, but rather are reflective of current Japanese culture. I like your choices, though I'm personally averse to anything "Girls." I'd probably take out one of the Miike, put in Takeshi Kitano's "Kids Return" instead of Kikujiro, and put in Hirokazu Kore-eda's "Nobody Knows." Yoshimitsu Morita's "Family Game" also seems more relevant to me than Battle Royale. But that's just me :). Also, hard not to resist Shinji Aoyama's work, especially "Eureka," or even Kiyoshi Kurosawa's "Charisma" and "Cure."
ReplyDeleteI agree with "hartz" about the movie Nobody Knows. I never finished it, but it seemed like it was a good movie.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the list of movies, now I have something to go look for to watch =D
I'd recommend any of the Hanzo movies =D They're fun.