Takashi Naito Movies
Animator Goro Miyazaki, son of the famous Hayao Miyazaki ("The Walt Disney of Japan"), makes his directorial debut with the animated feature Tales from Earthsea (aka Gedo Senki). Miyazaki loosely adapted the work from the third and fourth volumes in best-selling sci-fi author Ursula K. Le Guin's infamous series of cult novels -- all set in Earthsea, a Tolkien-esque fantasy realm. Gedo Senki opens at a point when Earthsea is deteriorating rapidly, and the power of magic is waning -- tendencies signaled by the sudden, frightening reappearance of dragons in the land of humankind. Ged Sparrowhawk was once a lowly goat herder but is now known as Lord Archmage, the most powerful of all wizards. He soon meets Prince Arren of Enlad -- a teenage boy chased by a "shadow," the force that is tipping the world out of balance and driving innumerable people to the point of insanity.
The men team up and journey to Hort Town, the Earthsea capital city, where they find the entire community turned upside down -- craftsmen have abandoned their trades, slavery runs rampant, addicts clamor in the streets. They ultimately find refuge in the priestess Tenar's palace, also occupied by the scarred orphan girl Therru. While the latter initially avoids Arren in fear of his "dark side," Arren bides his time in the nearby fields, being mentored by Ged on the balance of creation. Therru eventually opens up to Arren, but he grows increasingly disturbed by nightmares about being chased by the shadow, and his daytime fear of it grows absolutely overwhelming. Ged then discovers that the cause of the kingdom-wide "imbalance" is actually his old arch nemesis, the wizard Cob, who has opened up the gateway between the living and the dead, and hopes to attain eternal life, meanwhile plotting to murder Ged in vengeance for an act he committed long ago.
In fear of his evil self, Arren absconds from Tenar's palace -- actively fleeing from the shadow -- but ultimately faints and turns up at the castle of Cob. The latter's minions give their guest "hazia," which causes him to lose his bearings and tell Cob his real name. Arren thus becomes enslaved to the wizard. Meanwhile, Ged and Therru turn up, and bring Arren back to full awareness. With their assistance, he is able to surmount the temptation of eternal life; he then does an about face, and, with the assistance of an enchanted sword, prepares to do battle with Cob. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
The men team up and journey to Hort Town, the Earthsea capital city, where they find the entire community turned upside down -- craftsmen have abandoned their trades, slavery runs rampant, addicts clamor in the streets. They ultimately find refuge in the priestess Tenar's palace, also occupied by the scarred orphan girl Therru. While the latter initially avoids Arren in fear of his "dark side," Arren bides his time in the nearby fields, being mentored by Ged on the balance of creation. Therru eventually opens up to Arren, but he grows increasingly disturbed by nightmares about being chased by the shadow, and his daytime fear of it grows absolutely overwhelming. Ged then discovers that the cause of the kingdom-wide "imbalance" is actually his old arch nemesis, the wizard Cob, who has opened up the gateway between the living and the dead, and hopes to attain eternal life, meanwhile plotting to murder Ged in vengeance for an act he committed long ago.
In fear of his evil self, Arren absconds from Tenar's palace -- actively fleeing from the shadow -- but ultimately faints and turns up at the castle of Cob. The latter's minions give their guest "hazia," which causes him to lose his bearings and tell Cob his real name. Arren thus becomes enslaved to the wizard. Meanwhile, Ged and Therru turn up, and bring Arren back to full awareness. With their assistance, he is able to surmount the temptation of eternal life; he then does an about face, and, with the assistance of an enchanted sword, prepares to do battle with Cob. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bunta Sugawara, Timothy Dalton, (more)
- 2001
Three highly unlikely characters forge a friendship in this offbeat Japanese comedy from first-time director Junichi Mori. Teru (Yosuke Kubozuka) is a big but kindhearted soul whose intellect has been running at half-speed ever since a childhood accident left him with a small amount of brain damage. Teru earns his keep by keeping an eye on his grandmother's Laundromat. One day, a lovely woman named Mizue (Koyuki) comes in to do her wash, and when she leaves a garment behind, Teru runs out to return it to her. They strike up a friendship, and Teru becomes increasingly infatuated with Mizue until she abruptly moves away without warning. One day, lonely Teru sets out to find Mizue, and ends up hitching a ride with Sally (Takashi Naito), a rough-hewn type who makes his living training pigeons for wedding receptions. Sally finds a kindred spirit in Teru, and together they find Mizue. Mizue welcomes the two men into her home, and the three become inseparable, until Sally one day announces that he's getting married, leaving Mizue and Teru to decide just what sort of life they can have together. Laundry received its North American premier at the 2001 Montreal Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Yosuke Kubozuka, Takashi Naito, (more)
Master animation director Hayao Miyazaki follows up on his record-breaking 1997 opus Princess Mononoke with this surreal Alice in Wonderland-like tale about a lost little girl. The film opens with ten-year-old Chihiro riding along during a family outing as her father races through remote country roads. When they come upon a blocked tunnel, her parents decide to have a look around -- even though Chihiro finds the place very creepy. When they pass through the tunnel, they discover an abandoned amusement park. As Chihiro's bad vibes continue, her parents discover an empty eatery that smells of fresh food. After her mother and father help themselves to some tasty purloined morsels, they turn into giant pigs. Chihiro understandably freaks out and flees. She learns that this very weird place, where all sorts of bizarre gods and monsters reside, is a holiday resort for the supernatural after their exhausting tour of duty in the human world. Soon after befriending a boy named Haku, Chihiro learns the rules of the land: one, she must work , as laziness of any kind is not tolerated; and two, she must take on the new moniker of Sen. If she forgets her real name, Haku tells her, then she will never be permitted to leave. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Daveigh Chase, Rumi Hiiragi, (more)
Like his previous drama Maborosi (1995), Hirokazu Kore-eda's After Life is a brilliant meditation on death and memory. The premise of After Life is simple: over the span of a week, twenty-two souls arrive at a way station (which looks like an old junior high school) between life and death, where they are asked to choose just one memory to take into the afterlife. The new arrivals include an elderly woman, a rebellious dropout, a teenage girl, and a 70-year-old war veteran. Once they have chosen a memory, it is recreated and filmed by the staff of the way station, using all the tricks and illusions of cinema: cotton balls are used to mimic clouds, a fan is used for a summer breeze. In preparation for this project, Kore-eda interviewed 500 people from all walks of life about their memories. The film freely cuts between footage of these interviews, actors improvising, and actors reading scripts. Just as Kore-eda fuses documentary elements with a fictional narrative, we see over the course of the film how memories are distorted, improved on, and revised; and it is these subjectively constructed memories that the new arrivals value most. This film is not a typical Hollywood feel-good film; but its unhurried pace and lack of melodrama, like its subject, may linger in the memory long afterwards. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- 1996
Indie filmmaker Shunichi Nagasaki spins this tale about the difficult passage to adulthood by a pair of college chums who have pursued different paths. Shibata (Koji Tamaoki) is a go-getting, hugely successful real estate developer, while Anzai (Lasalle Ishii) is a low-level civil servant who is writing a novel he is too shy to show to anyone. While meeting in a bar one night, they both encounter Kiriko (Kaori Mizushima), a tall drink of water in a red dress. She is immediately taken to Shibata, and after calling his wife to tell her that she will be borrowing him for the evening, the three spend the night on a rooftop staring at the stars and looking for UFOs. As these outings become routine, Shibata's wife -- also a college friend of Anzai's -- becomes worried that he is having an affair with the mysterious Kiriko. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- 1983
In a melodrama with a familiar storyline, a young boy's life growing up in American-occupied Okinawa in the late 1950s is juxtaposed against his adult life as a worker in the film industry. The grown man would like to make a movie about his early life -- his family ran a brothel for American G.I.s -- but between his dreams and reality lie several tragedies, including death and suicide. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ippo Fujikawa, Takashi Naito, (more)
- 1980
Creative and already showing the promise of its young director Naoto Yamakawa (1986, New Morning of Billy the Kid, this well-crafted drama begins with several different story threads that are then woven together. What emerges are the trials and challenges of a group of young people as they work for an experimental theater company and also seek entertainment on a local rugby team. After an attractive and knowledgeable young woman joins the theater group, two of the youths become rivals for her affections and tragedy results. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Shigeru Muroi, Takashi Naito, (more)
