Naoko Kubo Movies

Using his family members and friends as cast, independent filmaker Fumiki Watanabe has brought a drama to the screen which opens a window into the daily lives of modern Japanese living in provincial towns. In the story, (Fumiki is a tutor to junior high students. In Japan, the pressure on pre-college-age students to excel in their studies is so intense that after-school tutors have a very important role in the culture, and tutoring is a respected full-time profession. The tutor is bored with his marriage, and has a liaison with the parent of one of his girl students. At the same time, his son is going out with his new mistress' girl, and as a result of this, the situation rapidly becomes very confusing, and Fumiko is unable to hide this pecadillo satisfactorily. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

The blind swordsman Zatoichi (Shintaro Katsu) goes up against an ambitious crime boss who isn't above kidnapping and murder. He must rescue a fireworks specialist who has been kidnapped for his expertise with gunpowder as a weapon. This film tells us something of the origins of Zatoichi's training in martial arts, as a way of compensating for his blindness, and his preferred method of using darkness as a weapon against sighted opponents. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi