Masanobu Ando Movies

Three stories of life in feudal China come together in this offbeat fusion of comedy, action, and food from first-time director Wuershan. Chopper (Liu Xiaoye) is a butcher who is stout, hirsute, and unrefined; however, when he sees Madame Mei (Kitty Zhang Yuqi), a beautiful courtesan who works at an upscale bordello, he's stricken with love at first sight and is determined to win her hand and prove he's worthy. Under ideal circumstances, this would be a tall order for Chopper, but it just so happens Mei already has a beau -- Big Beard, a master swordsman with a fearsome weapon and the deadly talent to use it. Meanwhile, a master chef (Mi Dan) is given a daunting assignment to prepare an eight-course dinner for Liu (Xie Ning), who has a history of murdering cooks who don't live up to his standards. Rather than risk his life, the chef gives the assignment to his assistant, but it turns out the chef's underling has a secret. And Dugu Cheng (Ashton Xu) is a swordsman-turned-cook who has been given a very special cleaver made by Fat Tang (You Benchang) from the swords of five gifted warriors. Dugu Cheng transforms the cleaver back into a weapon, yet learns that its magical properties are not all they're cracked up to be. Dao Jian Xiao (aka The Butcher, the Chef, and the Swordsman received its North American premiere at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Visionary Japanese director Shinya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo: The Iron Man) returns to the helm with this bleak tale of a supernaturally gifted serial killer with the power to enter his victim's dreams, and the mysterious "Nightmare Detective" who provides the only hope of loosening the maniac's murderous grip on dreamland. Detective Keiko Kirishima (Hitomi) was an academic criminologist whose interest in detective work soon found her gravitating into homicide fieldwork. Upon being assigned to investigate a recent rash of suicides in which the victims seem to have slashed themselves to death while sleeping, Keiko observes a strange connecting factor -- each victim's phone displays "0" as the last number dialed before their grisly demise. Encouraged by her superiors to view the case from a paranormal perspective, Keiko soon learns of a man named Kyoichi Kagenuma (Ryuhei Matsuda), who is said to be able to enter the dreams of others while analyzing the thoughts of his slumbering subjects. Despite his initial reluctance to get involved in the case, Kyoichi soon finds his resolve put to the ultimate test when the desperate Keiko dials "0" in a suicidal, last-ditch effort to capture the elusive killer. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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, Rovi

A robbery gone wrong equals action, adventure, and edgy humor in this fast-paced entertainment from Japan. Fujimoto (Masanobu Ando) is an ambitious but immature criminal who teams up with two of his friends -- sure-shot Takamura (Hiroyuki Ikeuchi) and daydreaming Nishiyama (Takeshi Kaneshiro) -- for an ambitious robbery, in which the three plan to clear out a futuristic bank outside Tokyo in a mere five minutes. But little goes as planned, and what was intended to be a fast, efficient bank job becomes a day-long siege, as the thieves become trapped inside the bank and soon find themselves doing battle with customers, bank staff, security guards, and the police. Supaas Torabaraazu was directed by Katsuyuki Motohiro, who previously made the Japanese cult hit Odoru Dai Sosa Sen, and was based on a play created by the Japanese comic troupe Jobi Joba. The title, by the way, refers to a television series that Jujimoto and his friends are obsessed with. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Japanese director Shinobu Yaguchi first brought his wickedly funny brand of slapstick and deadpan black comedy to the screen in the 1993 cult hit Down the Drain, about a high-schooler undone by the seemingly innocuous use her friend's train pass. In this 1999 film, Yaguchi again mines the comic potential of a chance encounter to turn one's life upside-down. Suzuki (Masanobu Ando) is a meek, inarticulate car rental clerk who hates his job and his boss' petty bullying. His life takes a sudden ugly turn when he is dragged to a yakuza den after a fender-bender with a gangster named Kuroiwa. Yet luck intervenes, in the guise of a freak gas explosion that kills almost everyone in the place. Enter Shizuko (Hikari Ishida) a timid, overly serious nurse who dreams of the "new self" predicted by her horoscope. Hearing the explosion, she rushes to the scene and finds a dazed Suzuki, a gravely injured Kuroiwa, and a suitcase full of yen. On the way to the hospital, the mobster suddenly awakes and, as if programmed to protect his loot, grabs the wheel of the ambulance, sending it careening into a river. After Suzuki and Shizuko tumble onto the pavement, they realize that there is easy money for the taking, and they quietly swipe the cash and let the ambulance sink. The money gives them the courage to break away from their dead-end lives: Suzuki decks his dolt of a boss and Shizuko steps out of her bookish shell and becomes a knock-out in a red dress. Soon they are on the run and in love -- but, of course, things are never that easy. The situation starts to fall apart when both the cast-bound Kuroiwa and a band of dim-witted punks (played by the popular Japanese comedy group Jovi Jova) catch up with the two. Both Ando, who began his career in Takeshi Kitano's Kids Return, and well-known television star Ishida deliver great performances as the losers who evolve into gutsy combatants against the fearsome yakuza. This film was screened at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Following his 1995 brush with death in the form of a motorcycle accident, actor/comedian/writer/director Takeshi Kitano spins this wistful -- if bleak -- tale about a pair of high school buddies and their inevitable slide into adulthood. Bumptious Masaru (Kenichi Kaneko) and his quiet sidekick, Shinji (Masanobu Ando), spend much of their time harassing teachers and shaking down students instead of going to school. At one point they dangle a large anatomically correct doll before the class window of a particularly maligned teacher. One day, one of their favorite marks brings along a more skilled street punk to thwart his tormentors. Their thrashing is so thorough that Masaru drags Shinji to a boxing gym. There they learn the ways of pugilism, but it turns out that only Shinji has a gift for the sport. As Shinji rises in boxing rank, Masaru drifts away from his friend and joins a yakuza gang. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi