Shinji Ogawa Movies
- 2010
- NR
Celebrated Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung (The Scent of Green Papaya) mounted and helms this ambitious adaptation of Haruki Murakami's nostalgic 1987 novel. The story unfolds in 1967 Tokyo and concerns Watanabe, a devoted college student with a marked degree of uncertainty about how he should approach relationships. He falls into reciprocal love with Naoko, a stunning and intelligent young woman from his high-school years, but their relationship is perpetually haunted by a tragic event from the past -- the death of best friend Kizuki years prior. Watanabe cannot shake the influence of death, while Naoko senses that some vital part of her is now permanently lost and irretrievable. On the night that Naoko turns 20, she and Watanabe make love, but she soon drops out of college and inexplicably disappears from the young man's life. At about the same time, he meets Midori, an incredible young woman who seems to possess everything that Naoko lacked. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kenichi Matsuyama, Rinko Kikuchi, (more)
- 2007
Set against the backdrop of Japan's scenic countryside, director Nobuhiro Yamashita's tale of adolescent love avoids the tear-jerking and virulent social commentary of many first-love stories in telling the tale of a rural schoolgirl smitten by a handsome new arrival from Tokyo. Soyo Migita (Kaho) is one of six students in her combined primary and junior school. A senior pupil who is currently in her second year of junior high, Soyo is the tallest girl in school and views her fellow students as an extended family. When Soyo's place at the top her class is challenged by the arrival of former city boy Hriomi Osawa (Masaki Okada), the starry eyed schoolgirl finds the butterflies in her stomach making her clumsy and vulnerable. There's no ignoring that strange new feeling beginning to grow in Soyo's heart, and as the call of first love and the onset of maturity becomes too powerful to resist, just the thought of holding hands with the likable new arrival is enough to make her blush. Based on Fusako Kuramochi's popular manga Tennen Kokekko, A Gentle Breeze in the Village was penned by screenwriter Aya Watanabe. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kaho, Masaki Okada, (more)
- 2007
A troubled woman must confront the madness in others in this offbeat Japanese comedy-drama. Asuka Sakura (Yuki Uchida) is a writer who has enjoyed some success as a magazine reporter, but the stress and long hours of her work has caused her to become dependent on drugs and she's physically and emotionally worn to a frazzle. One day, Asuka awakes to discover she's in a psychiatric hospital after spending two days in a coma; her boyfriend, a television presenter named Tetsuo (Kudo Kankuro), is convinced her accidental overdose was really a suicide attempt, and he's had her committed for observation, even though he's clearly more disturbed than she is. As Asuka struggles to detox and regain her stability, she has to deal with the often-difficult personalities of her fellow patients, ranging from a former porn star with a gift for smuggling forbidden goods into the hospital to a gifted pianist with an eating disorder and a profound fear of open spaces. Kuwaieto rumo ni yokoso (aka Welcome To The Quiet Room was written and directed by Matsuo Suzuki, whose screenplay was based on his own novel. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Yuki Uchida, Kankuro Kudo, (more)
Adapted from the popular manga of the same name, director Masahiro Takada's coming of age drama follows five Hama Art College students as they prepare to venture out into the real world on a great voyage of self-discovery. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Yu Aoi, Sho Sakurai, (more)
- 2003
Directed by Isshin Inudo, Josee, the Tiger and the Fish centers on the Tsuneo, a curious, but otherwise typical, college student. When a baby carriage careens down a hill and crashes in his path, Tsuneo comes face to face with Josee, a charming young woman who, despite being disabled, is capable of most anything, least of all a mean breakfast. Though Tsuneo's initial visits to her were made out of sympathy, it doesn't take too long until he falls for her. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
- Starring:
- Satoshi Tsumabuki, Chizuru Ikewaki, (more)
- 2002
The debut feature film from Sori is a tale of adolescent angst and stylish table tennis sequences. Ping Pong's main character, Tsukimoto (Arata), is an overly sensitive young man who refuses to actually defeat his opponents at the game table because he does not want them to feel bad. His buddy Peco (Yosuke Kubozuka) is a brashly confident and flamboyant player, who meets his match in Kong (Sam Lee). After suffering injuries and temptations, both enter the same major tournament only to realize that they may end up facing off against each other in the finals. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Yosuke Kubozuka, Arata, (more)
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