Ren Osugi Movies

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

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 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

Actor and auteur Takeshi Kitano (who in Japan also uses the stage name "Beat" Takeshi, primarily for his work as a television comedian) wrote, directed, edited, and starred in this unusual crime drama. Nishi (Takeshi Kitano) is a policeman whose emotions seem to run only on two extreme paths -- either quiet contentment or brutal rage. Nishi's life is falling apart around him; his daughter was murdered, his wife, Miyuki (Kayoko Kishimoto), is dying of leukemia, his partner, Horibe (Ren Osugi), was ambushed by thugs after Nishi left him to visit his wife in the hospital and will now spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair, and another cop was killed coming to Horibe's rescue. Nishi desperately wants to quit his job so he can spend more time with his dying wife, so he borrows a large sum of money from the yakuza (the Japanese mafia) and takes up a career as a painter while he cares for Miyuki. Not wanting to stay in debt to the gangsters, Nishi engineers a daring bank robbery (using his police uniform and an old auto disguised to look like a squad car) and uses the loot to pay off the yakuza and take his wife on a final vacation. However, the loan sharks are not eager to have Nishi off the hook, and they begin complaining that he still owes them interest on their loan. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Yojiro Takita directs this witty, understated comedy about the clash between generations and the different facets of love. Naoko (Kayako Kishimoto) and her 17-year-old daughter Monami are hospitalized after their bus plunges off the edge of a cliff. Just as Naoko is about to die, she manages to transfer her soul to her daughter's body so as not to be separated from her husband Heisuke (Kaoru Kobayashi). Once he catches on, the family structure more or less remains in tact: Heisuke still has a wife to talk to and Monami (inhabited by Naoko) still goes to school. Of course, sex becomes a ticklish issue. At one point in the film, Heisuke gently rebuffs his tipsy wife/daughter when she asks him to make love to her, while "Naoko" grows jealous when a young pretty teacher (Yuriko Ishida) flirts with her husband. Later, "Naoko" realizes that as her daughter, she has the opportunity to attain the goals she never could. Much to Heisuke's chagrin, Naoko studies for the college entrance exams with freakish intensity and manages to get into a top university. About the same time, "Naoko" realizes after reading a book on the matter that her grip on her daughter's body will soon weaken. One day, Monami awakens with no memory of her life while inhabited by her mother, though she feels somehow enriched by the experience. Japanese pop phenom Ryoko Hirosue delivers an astonishing performance as both Monami and as Naoko's spirit. ~ Jonathan Crow, 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

TV documentary and drama director Yoichero Takahashi made his theatrical feature-film directorial debut with this Japanese drama about a romantic triangle of high-school students. Swimmer Kenji (Kenji Mizuhashi) has a crush on classmate Reiko (Ayumi Ito), who prefers swimmer Arai (Yoshiki Sekino). She gets Kenji to function as a go-between, but Arai, discerning Kenji's true feelings for Reiko, drops out to bring Kenji and Reiko together. In addition, Arai tries to give Kenji sex education, fixing him up with barmaid Rie (Eri Yu). The confusing situation takes a nosedive when Kenji, arriving for a date with Reiko, finds her with Arai. This film was the winner of the $165,000 "New Directors Prize" at the 1998 San Sebastian Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, 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

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