Ren Osugi Movies

A charismatic high school girl with a decidedly rainy day approach to friendship finds just how important connections can be when she is diagnosed with a terminal illness and relegated to a lonely hospital bed. Rina comes from a dysfunctional family and only contacts her friends in times of need. Her father is completely self-absorbed, and her mother is overprotective to a fault. One day, after discovering that she has a terminal illness, the girl who once viewed her friendships as disposable is forced to sit in her sterile surroundings with nary a friendly soul in sight: Her family is too wrapped up in their own affairs to drop in for a visit, and her friends all realize that she never cared too much for them in the first place. Much to Rina's relief, a concerned classmate named Maki eventually appears claiming that she and Rina were good friends back in grade school. When Maki tries to re-connect with her old friend and Rina realizes that she doesn't even remember the friendly girl, it soon becomes apparent just how flawed the philosophy of this fiercely independent teen truly is. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A socially-challenged otaku (Japanese slang for "geek") saves an attractive female from the unwanted advances of a lecherous salaryman while commuting on the local train route, only to become infatuated with the kind and thankful woman in a romantic comedy that takes its cue from a real-life romantic encounter. Densha Otoko (Takayuki Yamada) may not have much experience with the ladies, but what he lacks in romantic know-how he more than makes up for in gentlemanly instinct. When Densha notices an unruly drunk making a female train passenger (Miki Nakatani) uncomfortable, his snap decision to come to her rescue finds the relieved woman requesting his address so that she may send him a gift for his thoughtful display of kindness. Densha isn't the smoothest operator in town though, and in order to make a good impression he soon begins seeking out the romantic advice of his equally inexperienced internet friends. Now, as Densha strives to improve his social skills in order to win the heart of the woman he has grown to love, his romantic journey will find him realizing that there is much more to life than the heady philosophy behind the Matrix Trilogy. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In Sabu's Drive, a group of bank robbers ends up in a panic when their driver, Mickey (Toshio Kakei), double-crosses them, taking off with all the loot and leaving them stranded. Meanwhile, Asakuru (Shinichi Tsutsumi of Sabu's Postman Blues) has just seen the doctor about his debilitating tension headaches. One of Asakuru's few pleasures is driving by the corner where a pretty young woman, Sakai (Kou Shibasaki of Battle Royale), takes her lunch break every afternoon. But on this day while he watches the girl, his reverie is interrupted by the bank robbers, who commandeer his car, ordering him to pursue Nishi. Unfortunately for them, Asakuru refuses to drive over the speed limit, let alone run a red light. The gang quickly grows frustrated and stops at a café to formulate a plan. But word is out about their "successful" robbery, and a meddlesome waiter recognizes them and threatens to blow the whistle. He runs into some bad luck, and soon the gang is on the move again, Asakuru in tow, and encountering some strange luck of their own. The angriest (Susumu Terajima of Ichi the Killer) has an edifying run-in with a punk rock band. The youngest member (Masanobu Ando, also from Battle Royale) rediscovers his aptitude for baseball, while Nishi (Ren Osugi of The Twilight Samurai) finds out there may be something more important to him than the cash. Meanwhile, Mickey has an epiphany of his own when his escape plans are thwarted by some angry spirits. Drive was shown at the 2004 New York Asian Film Festival, presented by Subway Cinema. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Yoichi Sai's prison film Doing Time stars Tsutomu Yamazaki as Hanawa, a man serving a sentence in a minimum-security prison. Life in the jail is rigid and organized, eventually leading all of Hanawa's cellmates to abandon their individuality. Hanawa lasts longer than the others, but a stint in solitary confinement leads him to the same emotional and psychological state as the others. Doing Time was screened at the Vancouver Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Takashi Miike directs this made-for-television adaptation of a manga by Eiji Ootsuka. The story involves a homicide detective who, after his wife is killed, becomes obsessed with his job to the point that he takes on a different identity -- one of a devoted detective. He arrests the man responsible for his wife's death, but years later, a cult begins copycatting that man's vile crimes. The detective also ends up investigating a mass suicide, and some disturbing mutilations. This release contains the third and fourth episodes of the six-episode miniseries. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Based on the phenomenally popular horror manga by Junji Ito, Uzumaki is the debut feature of Japanese music video director Higuchinsky (born Akirhiro Higuchi). Something strange is going on in the small town of Kurozu-cho. Kirie Goshima (Ericko Hatsune) notices Toshio Saito (popular character actor Ren Osugi), the father of her longtime friend, Shuichi (Fhi Fan), videotaping an extreme close-up of the spiral pattern on a snail's shell. Shuichi explains that his father is acting strangely, and impulsively asks Kirie to elope with him. She shyly demurs. Later, Toshio asks Kirie's father, a potter, to make him a plate with an uzumaki, or spiral, pattern. Shuichi and his mother, Yukie (Keiko Takahashi), are increasingly alarmed by Toshio's obsession with all things spiral. When Shuichi throws away his father's collection of spiral objects, Toshio is unconcerned. "The idea's enough," he tells his family, "One brings forth one's own uzumaki." He then proceeds to do just that, in bizarre and disturbing ways. At school, Kirie sees a boy gleefully hurl himself to his death at the bottom of a spiral staircase. Another boy shows up to class late, moving suspiciously slowly, and covered in slime. A popular girl, Kyoko (Hinako Saeki), curls her hair into Medusa-like spiral patterns that eventually engulf the entire hallway. As the town slips deeper into madness, a reporter, Ichiro Tamura (Masami Horiuchi), shows up to help Kirie and Shuichi search for the reason, which seems connected to a strange occurrence years ago at nearby Dragonfly Pond. Uzumaki is not to be confused with Joji Iida's Rasen, the sequel to Ringu, which also featured Saeki. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Japanese horror auteur Takashi Miike directed this television miniseries which blends crime with terror. Kobayashi Yosuke (Naoki Hosaka) is a police detective whose wife was murdered by a notorious serial killer. The crime took an unusual toll on Yosuke -- he developed a second personality, Amamiya Kazuhiko, who is an expert criminal profiler who helped Yosuke solve the case. While Yosuke has retired from the force, Kazuhiko occasionally steps forward to solve crimes the police can't crack. In the first two episodes of the series, Kazuhiko goes up against a killer who uses the skulls of his victims as planters, and discovers an underground community whose members have tattooed bar codes on their eyes; the latter become the target of a lunatic who attacks the unborn children of pregnant women. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Idiosyncratic auteur Kiyoshi Kurosawa directed this bizarre allegorical tale about a tree named Charisma. Goro Yabuike (Koji Yakusho) is a burned-out hostage negotiator called to rescue an MP from a gun-toting lunatic demanding that "rule of the world" be restored. In a moment of indecision, he fails to act; as a result, both the MP and the lunatic die, while Yabuike is sent on a forced vacation to an unnamed forest area. There he comes upon a single tree surrounded by an I.V. pole, metal supports, and strange altar-like objects. Yabuike soon discovers that the locals are enmeshed in a battle over the tree's future. The plant is staunchly, sometimes violently defended by Kiriyama (Hiroyuki Ikeuchi), a young resident of an abandoned sanitarium who believes that Charisma is unique and should be preserved. On the other hand, Mitsuko (Jun Fubuki), a do-gooder botanist, credits the mysterious tree with poisoning its fellow plants and upsetting the eco-system. Other characters include thuggish lumberjacks and rapacious tree-hunters hoping to buy or steal the rare tree at any cost. As things come to a head, Yabuike is forced to make the sort of decisions of which he was incapable as a hostage negotiator. Is Charisma a force of evil or the victim of the obsessions of those around it? Is it the unique specimen that should be saved or the entire forest? Again Yabuike is flummoxed, but this time he acts before it is too late. This adventurous, psychedelic film explores many of the same themes of the individual's fate in modern society as Kurosawa's early work, Cure (1997). Charisma was screened in the "Directors Fortnight" section of the 1999 Cannes Film Festival and as a part of the director's spotlight at the 1999 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

In this supernatural thriller from Japan, Hinako (Yui Natsukawa) is a young woman with a successful career as a fashion designer who pays a visit to the village on the island of Shikoku where she grew up. Hinako learns that her best friend from childhood, Sayori (Chiaki Kuriyama), the daughter of the village's spiritual leader, died in a mysterious drowning accident. She also discovers that another childhood friend, Fumiya (Michitaka Tsutsui), is still living on the island, and as they renew their friendship Hinako finds herself sexually attracted to Fumiya. They're both startled when Sayori's spirit begins appearing to them, and they begin researching Shikoku folklore; they discover that the island is believed to be the gateway to another world, and Sayori's mother is trying to open the path so her daughter can return to this realm. Shikoku marked a change of pace for director Shunichi Nagasaki, who previously made the romantic drama Some Kinda Love. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Brimming with elegance, this sophisticated romantic comedy of manners was directed by Kentaro Otani -- who spent five painstaking years making his feature debut. The film opens with freelance photographer Tamotsu (Hirofumi Kobayashi) paying a visit to the office of his magazine-editor wife Mitsuko (played by model turned actress Yuka Itaya) and begging her not to divorce him. Instead, she lists at least three of his infidelities, the latest of which was with model/amateur photographer Mayu (Kaori Tsuji), who is also the mistress of Mitsuko's boss Nakazaki (Ren Osugi). Mitsuko demands that Tamotsu get out by evening. Tamotsu protests, insisting that he is just friends with the pouty young lass, but Mitsuko won't hear any of it and soon he is out on his ear. Tamotsu eventually goes to stay with the free-spirited Mayu, who is more than willing to put him up. Nakazaki, however, is less than thrilled with this new living arrangement, and during a drunken dinner party, he begs Mitsuko to take Tamotsu back. Though she is reluctant to make the first move, Nakazaki believes that she is still in love with her soon-to-be-ex-spouse. He invites her and Tamotsu to his weekend retreat, and for a glimmering moment the two look poised to reconcile. However, any chance of reconciliation is severely compromised when Mayu bursts in and announces her love for Tamotsu, while Mitsuko fires back by declaring her love for her boss. Things get complicated. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Naoe Gozu made her feature directorial debut with this Japanese romantic triangle drama. Schoolteacher Rica (Tomoyo Harada) loves Kengo (Atsuro Watanabe) and has lived with him for four years, but one day he unexpectedly announces he's leaving her for another. Stunned and confused, Rica realizes she will have to look for a job, but then Kengo's girlfriend, flighty Hanako (Miho Kanno) turns up and says she's moving in to solve Rica's rent problem. Soon Kengo drops by for evening meals with both women. Meanwhile, Hanako vanishes for extended periods of time, and Rica begins to suspect she has other lovers. Based on the novel by Kaori Ekuni, this film was shown at the 1998 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide