Hiroko Matsuda Movies

A man who has struggled to leave his old life behind finds he might need to return to it for his own good in this comedy-drama from director Naoki Kato. Jonen (Suneohair) is a Buddhist monk who teaches at a temple in Fukushima, but when he was younger he followed a different path: he was the singer and guitarist with a punk rock band in Tokyo, letting out torrents of rage at every show. Jonen leads a quieter and more contemplative life now, trying to help the community and look after his wife (Rie Tomosaka) and son (Taku Yamaguchi). But he often finds himself confused and out of sorts, and when he explodes in anger while speaking to a visiting group of teenagers, Jonen decides he needs to start making music again as an outlet for his emotions. The master of the temple, Genshu (Kaoru Kobayashi), thinks this is a fine idea, but some are wary when Jonen starts making plans for a show in the quiet village a stone's throw from the temple. Aburakurasu No Matsuri (aka Abraxas) was an official selection at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Tales of a missing girl returned to her family years after being kidnapped flood the news. Yuichiro (Ryo Kase), a college student, returns home one day to find his little brother, Yuya (Daisuke Kizaki), sleeping on his doorstep. Yuya has come to tell Yuichiro that Marie will be coming home soon. Marie is Yuichiro's little sister who disappeared when they were both young children. The entire family was devastated. Mother (Megumi Asaoka) essentially went mad, calling in psychics and Feng Shui experts, and turning to religion in a desperate effort to find Marie, while Yuichiro's uncle, who lived with the family, committed suicide, and his father died shortly thereafter. Yuichiro returns home, where he learns that his mother has forced his little brother Yuya, who feels a mystical bond with the missing girl, to take the place of Marie, even wearing her clothes. Yuichiro decides to hire a psychic investigator, Soma (composer Ryudo Uzaki), who sees a strange connection between Marie's disappearance and the big power antenna near the family's home. Meanwhile, ostensibly doing "research" for a paper, Yuichiro goes to visit Naomi (Akemi Kobayashi), a dominatrix. He soon becomes obsessed with her and her abuse, lovingly meted out; it helps him uncover the emotional trauma of his own involvement with Marie's disappearance. Antenna is based on a popular novel by Randy Taguchi. The film was directed by Kazuyoshi Kumakiri and had its U.S. premiere at Subway Cinema's 2004 New York Asian Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Maverick Japanese auteur Kiyoshi Kurosawa creates a surreal yet laconic love story set in the dystopic near future as Tokyo is gripped by mysterious and virulent pollen. The story focuses on Haru, a thoroughly bored music producer who justifiably fears that he might literally disappear into thin air; and Michi, an employee at an international mail carrier, who likes to decorate her apartment with stolen items and fantasizes about going to foreign lands. Listless and prone to violent fantasies -- his of gang war, hers of suicide -- the couple volunteers to be test subjects for a new experimental drug designed to combat the effects of the pollen, even though the side effects render them sterile. Within this vague and insecure world, the two try to maintain their love but find themselves drifting apart. Every half-thought attempt at salvaging their relationship only results in further alienation. Haru buys a dog but eventually he gives it away, putting further strain on the two. The couple attempts to flee their everyday existence and visit the sea, when they happen upon a washed-up skeleton. The emotional fallout finally results in the relationship's breaking up. Later, they meet again in a most surprising fashion. Kurosawa's film, told largely with long takes and a minimum of dialog, reads like an ironic reworking of alienated youth dramas. These characters are so internally inert and emotionally cut off that they seem to verge on the darkly comic; yet their love for one another keeps them from sliding into the abyss. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi