Chieko Baisho

Hayao Miyazaki, the Japanese animation director who wowed audiences worldwide with his award-winning film Spirited Away, brings another visually spectacular tale of imagination to the screen. Sophie is an 18-year-old girl who toils in the hat shop opened years ago by her late father. Often harassed by local boys, one day Sophie is unexpectedly befriended by Howl, a strange but flamboyant wizard whose large home can travel under its own power. However, the Witch of the Waste is displeased with Sophie and Howl's budding friendship, and turns the pretty young woman into an ugly and aged hag. Sophie takes shelter in Howl's castle, and attempts to find a way to reverse the witch's spell with the help of Calcifer, a subdued but powerful demon who exists in the form of fire, and Markl, who protects the four-way door which can instantly take visitors to other lands and dimensions. Howl's Moving Castle was released in North America by Walt Disney Pictures, who distributed the film both in its original Japanese and in a dubbed English version; the English-speaking voice cast includes Christian Bale, Emily Mortimer, Jean Simmons, Lauren Bacall, and Billy Crystal. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Mountain-climbers may be the most appreciative audience for this long (2 1/2 hour) film by Junya Sato on Japanese sportsman Naomi Uemura. Uemura had a difficult childhood that led him to take on incredibly dangerous challenges all by himself, in which he remarkably succeeded again and again. He was the first Japanese to reach the peaks of Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn, Kilimanjaro, and several other mountain ranges, including the granddaddy of them all, Mt. Everest. Not content with demonstrating his prowess only in scaling one mountain after another, Uemura also crossed Greenland's arctic wastes alone. In 1984 while descending from the summit of Mt. McKinley in Alaska, Uemura disappeared and his body was never found. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Most viewers will recognize the tear-jerking techniques used in this transparent, sometimes understated melodrama, but they may succumb anyway. Director Yoji Yamada is masterful at wringing poignancy and pathos out of this transparent script and he has a good team of actors. Kosaku (Ken Takakura) shows up looking for work one day at a remote farmhouse run by a mother (Chieko Baisho) and her son (Hidetaka Yoshioka). The two live alone and need help so they accept his offer, even though it is obvious he is on the run from someone or something in his past. As time goes by the little boy becomes close to Kosaku, and his mother generously insists that the adopted farmhand eat with them at the table. As the warmth of their relationship grows, it is clear that Kosaku's past is going to catch up with him when least expected. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

A Japanese family business is endangered by the threat of a large corporation. ~ All Movie Guide

From an impoverished life in a fishing village on an island, a modern Japanese family moves to live the life of pioneers in the far northern reaches of Japan. Even with the extensive overpopulation in the south of the country, these regions are still relatively undeveloped and underpopulated. Japan extends from the rainy tropics nearly to the Arctic Circle, and most people are not prepared to live in the harsh climate of the north. Without becoming melodramatic, this film sensitively follows their progress and hardships, including the death of a child while they are en route. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this Japanese romantic comedy, a love-lorn train conductor falls in love with a cooking instructor and decides to enroll in her latest class. The conductor is loved by a different girl who also enrolls to keep him away from the teacher. Comic mayhem ensues until the teacher and the conductor agree to marry on the condition that the conductor give up his job. It is a difficult decision, but he finally agrees. In the end, the cook changes her mind, and the other girl finally gets her man. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Tora-san returns in this the sequel to Otokowa Tsuraiyo. Once again the film's gruff but kind-hearted protagonist ventures to the far reaches of Japan. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Japanese screenwriter Hideo Oguni, who had previously worked on such films as Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954) and Yojimbo (1961), contributed his adept storytelling to this drama shortly after working on Kurosawa's intriguing High and Low (1962). Like Seven Samurai, as the title indicates, this tale follows the life of a Japanese samurai warrior. In this instance, however, our hero is unemployed, giving him status of "ronin". Isamu Nagato plays Ihei Misawa, who, upon losing his master, takes to the trade of hustling as means of survival. Ihei rescues Otae (Shima Iwashita) from a demented feudal lord who had intended her as his concubine. This infuriates the lord and he immediately sends his henchmen after the couple. In order to escape across the border of the domain, Ihei must procure a sufficient amount of gold pieces to bribe the border guards. The ronin decides to enter into a little competition of swordplay to earn the extra gold, not revealing his samurai experience. Victory not enough, Ihei uses blackmail against his defeated opponent, Gunjuro Ohba (Tetsuro Tamba), to collect more gold. Impressing the locals with his skill in the fight, Ihei is offered a position as martial arts master, which is soon withdrawn upon the discovery of his dishonorable ways. Ihei and Otae set out once again. Desperately trying to pass into the neighboring domain, they are violently confronted by several warriors. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide