Haruko Kato Movies

Her husband having recently suffered a fatal heart attack, a sheltered Japanese housewife attempts to make amends with the past while looking forward into the future in director/co-writer Junji Sakamoto's adaptation of Natsuo Kirino's novel Tama Mo E. Toshiko Sekiguchi (Jun Fubuki) wandered through life a somewhat withdrawn woman until the death of her husband, and she always assumed that he had been faithful until the very end. When her husband's cell phone rings on the day of his funeral, Toshiko answers the call and discovers that her husband had been conducting an affair with a middle-aged noodle restaurant owner named Akiko (Yoshiko Mita). Later, after inviting the woman by to pay her final respects to the man they both loved, Toshiko discovers that her husband had helped to finance Akiko's restaurant, and opts to gather her thoughts in a downtown hotel. On the heels of a disheartening encounter with a swindling storyteller who makes a dubious living with her gift of gab, Toshiko finally begins to discover that a little self-respect can go a long way in a country prone to excessive politeness. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Yoshimitsu Morita's comedy drama Ashura No Gotoku (Like Ashura) tells the story of what happens to four sisters when they discover a secret their father has been keeping. The film opens with third sister Takiko (Eri Fukatsu) revealing to the others that dad has been having an affair that has produced an illegitimate child. While all the women react in their own way, each has also been keeping secrets. Takiko becomes involved with the private eye she hired to snoop on her father. Tsunako (Shinobu Otake), the oldest, is a widow who has been carrying on with a married man. Second oldest Makiko (Hitomi Kuroki) is too dense to see that her husband has been cheating on her. The situation grows more complicated when a mysterious letter that may have been written by one of the sisters is printed in the newspaper. Like Ashura was screened at the 2003 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

After Commodore Perry forcibly opened Japan to trade in 1853, the Japanese responded as if they had been waiting for this event, and sent sons from prominent families to study abroad and learn how, for instance, a navy, an army, or an international trading company might be set up. European models were adopted for everything from education and shipbuilding to the organization of the military - even the nation's constitution. In this German/Japanese co-production, set in 1885, a young Japanese man has come to Germany for just that purpose. However, he gets involved with a dancer and neglects his studies. His mother (who is the person a Japanese boy must answer to) learns of this, and attempts suicide. He must now return home to Japan in some disgrace, and leave his now pregnant lady-love behind. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

The title of MacArthur's Children refers to the generation growing up in Japan since the end of World War II. A tiny Japanese island serves as a microcosm for the events in the mainland during the time of VE Day. Young Takaya Yamauchi is a war orphan whose best friend, Yoshikuri Omori, refuses to acknowledge the defeat of the Rising Sun. Another friend, Shiori Sakura, is the son of a Japanese admiral who has "lost face" by exhibiting mercy towards the hated British. Confused by the loss of the only world that they know, and resentful of the government's attempts to impose revisionism on all they've ever learned, the kids in the film plan to vent their wrath on the incoming American occupying forces. Once the Americans have arrived, the children are in for yet another culture shock: far from being the murderous monsters they've been conditioned to expect, the troops intend to honor General Douglas MacArthur's edict that the defeated Japanese be treated with dignity and compassion. MacArthur's Children was written and directed by two of those titular children, Takeshi Tamura (writer) and Masahiro Shinoda (director); the film was adapted from the Japanese best-seller by Yu Aku. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this Japanese melodrama, an up-and-coming office worker has an affair with his ex-lover whom he refused to marry. The woman is impoverished and in trouble after she aborted her lover's baby. It is a mutual friend who informs the young businessman, who married another for her status, of the woman's problems. When he goes to see her, the affair is renewed. Unfortunately, someone takes pictures of their lovemaking. The photographer was hired by the mutual friend. In order to save her lover from ruin, the woman tries to get the pictures back, but she dies trying when she accidentally falls out of a window. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This melodrama finds a Japanese student feeling the separation of economic classes in society. A poor student with liberal leanings has an affair with a farm girl. His friend talks him out of seeing the girl, explaining the woman can only hold him back. After he dumps her, she quits school to have an abortion and eventually finds a job in a nursing home after talking up with a prostitute. The boy gets a successful job and marries the boss' daughter, but a chance encounter with his old girlfriend fans the flames of love. The two cannot fight the passion and their love-making is photographed by a friend of the girl's. She tries to use the photographs to destroy his marriage as she seeks revenge against the man who had abandoned her earlier. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi