Masato Hagiwara Movies

American fans of maverick Japanese director Takashi Miike may lament the fact that they have never had the privilege of seeing one of his stage productions firsthand, though with this release of Miike's popular, Kabuki-inspired play Demon Pond they can experience the next best thing to being there. A minimalist adaptation of the traditional fairy tale by Kyoka Izumi, Demon Pond played to sold out audiences across Japan. The story interweaves the tale of a man who sets out in search his missing friend with a surreal journey into a world inhabited by bizarre creatures and a lovelorn princess. A pact has been made that cannot be broken, and as the man's search intensifies he ventures ever deeper into a place where the real and the surreal meet. Shinji Takaeda, Ryuhei Matsuda, Yasuko Matsuyaki, and Kenichi Endo star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A freelance writer living in Tokyo defies social taboo by choosing life as a single mother in director Hou Hsiao-Hsien's meditative tribute to acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu. When Yoko announces that she is pregnant and has no intentions of marrying the father of her child, her traditional family is outraged. Though the headstrong decision made by the young mother-to-be leaves her finding little sympathy from within her family circle, a blossoming friendship with the owner of a local second-hand bookstore goes a long way in alleviating Yoko's feelings of loneliness. As Yoko begins to re-evaluate her increasingly complicated life, her newfound friend silently pines for her despite his frustrating inability to vocalize his true feelings. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In a time when demons and ghosts threaten to bring total devastation to a powerful kingdom, betrayal from within the powerful ranks of the ruling emperor threatens to bring an entire civilization to its knees in this supernaturally charged martial arts epic from director Yojiro Takita. As dark forces hold a suffocating grip on a once powerful kingdom during the Heian period, the emperor employs the help of the Onmyoji in keeping the malevolent spirits at bay. Though the coming birth of the emperor's heir offers a glimmer of hope for the kingdom's future, an intimate betrayal leaves the fate of the kingdom in the hands of Seimei (Mansai Nomura) -- the most powerful of the Onmyoji. As Seimei prepares to do battle with his former master Doson (Hiroyuki Sanada), the powers of lightness and dark come together for a battle that will determine the fate for generations to come. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Oddball Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa directed this haunting police thriller about murder, mind control, and the power of charisma. Police Detective Takabe (Koji Yakusho) is tracking a series of bizarre murders, all committed in exactly the same manner: a giant X is slashed in the flesh of the victims. But that's where the similarities end. In each case, seemingly well-adjusted people suddenly kill without understanding why. Baffled, Takabe consults his psychologist friend Sakuma (Tsuyoshi Ujiki), who finds no relationships among the perpetrators and rules out any connection with the media. The investigation eventually leads to a young drifter named Mamiya (Masato Hagiwara), who asks everyone he meets the same simple question: "Who are you?" Usually people respond with such stock answers as "doctor" or "police detective," to which the drifter responds with the same question. Part of Mamiya's reason for this bizarre behavior is that he has been turned inside-out; his interior world is completely empty. He has no memory, no identity, and he does not recognize his own self-image. Yet he does have an insidious, hypnotic ability to get inside the minds of others and unleash their repressed desires to murder. His victims' inability to answer Mamiya's maddeningly simple question shows their own tenuous grasp of their identity. Only Takabe seems to understand the other meaning behind Mamiya's query. His wife Fumie (Anna Nakagawa)'s own personality is slowly being destroyed by mental illness, making her act in increasingly inexplicable ways. Frustrated by Mamiya's sphinx-like ability to fend off the most rigorous interrogation, and yet drawn to his charms, Takabe undergoes a journey into the dark recesses of his own self, while slowly uncovering the secrets of the drifter's power. This film, which first brought international attention to Kurosawa, transcends the boundaries of its genre to become a riveting exploration of the collapse of identity in a postmodern age. It was screened at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival as a part of the Director's Spotlight. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Yoji Yamada, a veteran director who has become a national icon thanks to his beloved Tora-san (Otoko wa tsurai yo) series, spins this tale about a gruff, lovable junior high school teacher working in a night school in Tokyo's low-rent shitamachi district. Like Tora-san, Kuroi-sensei (Toshiyuki Nishida) may be crass, unfashionable, and a complete slob, but he has a heart of gold and a fervent devotion to his students. Though his principal wants him to transfer to another junior high in a much more high-end part of town, Kuroi resists; he's too committed to his students in the neighborhood. His pupils, having fallen through the cracks of the Japanese educational system and failed to get a junior high diploma, are all outsiders in one fashion or another. His students include Onomi (Eiko Shinya), a Korean woman who manages a small restaurant; Midori (Nae Yuki), a former junkie hoping to become a beautician; Eriko, a teen from a nice middle-class family who outright refuses to go to her nice middle-class school; Chan (Weng Huarong), a recent immigrant and son to a Japanese war orphan; and Ino-san (Kunie Tanaka), an illiterate day laborer with a brilliant memory for horse-racing statistics. The film opens with all of the students writing their graduation essays as Kuroi reminisces about the year. He recalls Onomi ebullient after writing her first letter in Japanese; Midori balled up by the school gate, in a panic as to whether to enter or not; Eriko breaking out of her shell on the volleyball court; and Ino-san memorizing Chinese characters like a mad man in order to impress Kuroi's comely colleague Tajima-sensei (Keiko Takeshita). ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide