47 Ronin (2013)
Action | Adventure | Drama | Fantasy
A band of samurai sets out to avenge the death and dishonor of their master at the hands of a ruthless shogun.
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada, Kô Shibasaki, Tadanobu Asano, Min Tanaka, Rinko Kikuchi
Director: Carl Rinsch
Perfect Days (2023)
Drama
Hirayama cleans public toilets in Tokyo, lives his life in simplicity and daily tranquility. Some encounters also lead him to reflect on himself.
Starring: Koji Yakusho, Min Tanaka, Tokio Emoto, Tomokazu Miura, Yumi Asô
Director: Wim Wenders
Mom, Is That You?! / Konnichiha, kâsan (2023)
Comedy | Drama
Akio Kanzaki's job as head of human resources is wearing his nerves thinner and thinner. To make matters worse, he's on the brink of divorce with his wife, and his relationship with his college-student daughter isn't exactly smooth sailing. One day, he decides to drop in to Tokyo's old-timey district to visit his mother Fukue. However, things seem a little off. His mother used to be always working with an apron on, but now she's covered in stylish clothes, looking livelier than ever, and even in love! Akio becomes perplexed, feeling out of place in his own mother's home, but after encountering kind, warm-and almost nosey-neighbors and a side of his mother he'd never seen before, Akio gradually starts to discover something he had lost sight of.
Starring: Sayuri Yoshinaga, Yô Ôizumi, Mei Nagano, You, Moe Edamoto, Kankurô Kudô, Min Tanaka, Akira Terao
Director: Yôji Yamada
Father of the Milky Way Railroad / Ginga Tetsudo no Chichi (2023)
Drama
Masajiro Miyazawa owns and runs a pawn shop for generations. His first son is Kenji and his daughter is Toshi Miyazawa. Kenji is supposed to take over the pawn shop as the first son, but he refuses. Masajiro is soft on his son. Meanwhile, Toshi is smart and wise. She gives advice to her father and her older brother. One day, Toshi gets sick.
Starring: Kôji Yakusho, Masaki Suda, Nana Mori, Yûdai Toyoda, Min Tanaka, Maki Sakai
Director: Izuru Narushima
The Pass: Last Days of the Samurai / Tōge saigo no samurai (2020)
Drama | History
The last samurai who lead an army of 690 against an enemy of 50 thousand – In 1867, political power returned to the Emperor and 260 years of the Tokugawa Shogunate came to an end, resulting in the domains being divided either into the Eastern Army or the Western Army. In 1868, the battle of Toba-Fushimi started the Boshin War. Tsuginosuke Kawai, the chief retainer of a small domain in Echigo called Nagaoka, decided not to belong to either army and practice "armed neutrality." Battle was the norm in the samurai era, but he strongly felt that war was not the answer and that it could not protect the citizens. Kawai tries to peacefully negotiate but it goes south, and being a hereditary feudal lord of the Tokugawa Shogunate, he eventually decides to stick to his duties and decides to exchange gunfire with the Western Army. Kawai was a man who loved his wife deeply and wished for nothing but the best for his country. The last battle of a man who hoped for a world without war begins now.
Starring: Kôji Yakusho, Takako Matsu, Min Tanaka, Kyôko Kagawa, Kuranosuke Sasaki, Tatsuya Nakadai
Director: Takashi Koizumi
Hokusai (2020)
Biography
There are several iconic paintings in Japan depicting scenes of nature and the times. Several of these have become famous world-wide. Several of these are the works of Hokusai. However, the artist was not always famous or in-demand. In fact, he was struggling. He has the urge to throw in the towel, but persists. Once older he is still trying to improve and reach the pinnacle for his profession.
Starring: Yûya Yagira, Min Tanaka, Hiroshi Abe, Eita Nagayama, Hiroshi Tamaki, Miori Takimoto, Munetaka Aoki
Director: Hajime Hashimoto
The Great War of Archimedes / Archimedes no Taisen (2019)
Action | Drama | Mystery | War
In 1933, a young naval officer and math prodigy uncovers a conspiracy regarding the construction of Japanese warships for the ongoing World War 2.
Starring: Masaki Suda, Hiroshi Tachi, Minami Hamabe, Tasuku Emoto, Tsurube Shôfukutei, Katsuya Kobayashi, Fumiyo Kohinata, Jun Kunimura, Isao Hashizume, Min Tanaka
Director: Takashi Yamazaki
The House Where the Mermaid Sleeps / Ningyo no nemuru ie (2018)
Drama
Separated mother Kaoruko who has two offsprings from her estranged husband awaits the graduation of their daughter for the divorce proceedings to begin and subsequently be finalized. That is the couple's agreement. Tragedy strikes when the daughter will never graduate. She is comatose and brain dead due to an accident. The dilemma is whether to pull the plug and donate the girl's organs or await indefinitely to see if an unlikely healing will occur.
Starring: Ryôko Shinohara, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Kurumi Inagaki, Kentarô Sakaguchi, Rina Kawaei, Sayaka Yamaguchi, Tetsushi Tanaka, Min Tanaka, Keiko Matsuzaka
Director: Yukihiko Tsutsumi
The Scythian Lamb / Hitsuji no ki (2017)
Drama | Thriller
Suffering from population decline, the small seaside town of Uobuka decides to welcome 6 strangers into the community. A malevolent fishing boat operator, a sexy caregiver, a frightening launderer, a timid barber, a methodical cleaning woman, and a simple-minded deliveryman are all brought together by this mysterious government-sponsored program. Even Tsukisue, the young city official put in charge of the program, has no idea why they've been brought to town. But when the truth comes out about the six strangers' mysterious past and a body is discovered in the harbor, Tsukisue begins to suspect the motley crew of foul play. Part black comedy, part murder mystery thriller the latest from director Daihachi Yoshida perfectly blends humor and suspense.
Starring: Ryô Nishikido, Fumino Kimura, Ryûhei Matsuda, Kazuki Kitamura, Yûka, Mikako Ichikawa, Shingo Mizusawa, Min Tanaka
Director: Daihachi Yoshida
Destiny: The Tale of Kamakura / Destiny: Kamakura Monogatari (2017)
Comedy | Drama | Fantasy
Not only is Kamakura-based Masakazu Isshiki a mystery novelist, but he is also a good detective himself. His wife Akiko and he are acquainted with all manners of creatures and gods who are of, from or passing through the town. Dealing with and tackling his cases means he can use all the help he can get.
Starring: Masato Sakai, Mitsuki Takahata, Shin'ichi Tsutsumi, Sakura Andô, Min Tanaka, Tamao Nakamura, Jun Kunimura, Hiroko Yakushimaru, Tomokazu Miura
Director: Takashi Yamazaki
The Tale of Iya / Iya monogatari: Oku no hito (2013)
Drama
As a tunnel construction project threatens the natural order of one of Japan's last untouched regions, an old man and his granddaughter Haruna's humble lifestyle begins to influence the outlook of a man from Tokyo.
Starring: Rina Takeda, Nobumitsu Ohnishi, Min Tanaka
Director: Tetsuichirô Tsuta
The Eternal Zero / Eien no 0 (2013)
War
A young man and his sister learn that the man that they've always thought of as their grandfather was in fact the second husband of their grandmother, and that their biological grandfather was a kamikaze pilot who died during the war. They decide to find out more about him but get conflicting accounts from his former comrades-in-arms about what kind of man he was and how he ended up in a kamikaze squadron.
Starring: Min Tanaka, Haruma Miura, Mao Inoue, Isao Natsuyagi, Jun'ichi Okada
Director: Takashi Yamazaki
La maison de Himiko / Mezon do Himiko (2005)
Drama
Saori is a young woman who struggles to make a living, with no financial or romantic prospects in her life. One rainy day, she receives a visit at work from a handsome young man called Haruhiko. He claims to be the boyfriend of her estranged father, Himiko, who now runs a seaside rest home for elderly gays. He tells her that her father is dying of cancer. Saori still harbors resentment toward her father for abandoning her and her mother years ago. However, Haruhiko makes her a financial offer she can't refuse, and she agrees to go and work at House of Himiko.
Starring: Jô Odagiri, Ko Shibasaki, Min Tanaka
Director: Isshin Inudô
