Keiko Kishi Movies

In this at times comic detective thriller, the head of a lineage of Noh performers is about to step down, and someone cares enough about who his successor will be to commit murder again and again in highly symbolic ways. Noh drama is the often mystifying ritualized classical drama of the Imperial court and was never particularly popular. Japanese audiences have been undergoing artistic spiritual uplift by attending these performances for centuries, in much the same way that many attend symphony concerts today. In other words, every audience is composed of a number of real fans, and a heavy sprinkling of people attending the performance just to see and be seen or to be morally improved in some mysterious manner. The Tokyo police who are assigned to the case haven't the erudition or even the ordinary good sense to unravel the sometimes esoteric clues in this case, but a famous detective has a brother who is in the right place at the right time to put the pieces together. Among the film's highlights are scenes from actual Noh performances. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

The Makioka Sisters will probably best be appreciated by those with an intimate knowledge of 20th century Japanese culture. The film, set just before World War II, chronicles the experiences of four upper-class Osaka sisters, two of them married. We see the shifting political and social scene through their eyes, with director Kon Ichikawa (who adapted the film from Junichiro Tanikazi's novel) conveying the proper sense of confusion and distraction. At times the film is a little too confused and distracted, thus total audience attention is not only necessary, but mandatory. Makioka Sisters, sometimes listed as Makica Sisters, has also been released under the title Fine Snow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In order to solve the mystery of a murder of an old governess which takes place at a wealthy Daidoji family's country estate, family secrets and lies dating back several generations must be sorted out once and for all. In the process, ancient wrongs are righted, and the innocent are cleared of blame. This detective drama is based on the mystery novels of Yokomizo Seishi. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This drama is adapted from a Japanese television mini-series. In the story, an industrialist learns of a medical condition which will greatly shorten his life. He is on a trip to Europe at the time, and a glimpse of a Japanese woman in that setting causes him to fantasize about her as the personification of his impending death. As his dialogue with his imagined mortality continues, he actually meets the living woman who is the template for his fantasy, and together they tour rural churches. Gradually he comes to some kind of peace about the diagnosis. When he returns to Japan, he is met with a series of challenges which profoundly test the lessons he has learned. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This hilarious parody pokes fun at Charlie Chan movies and features Zero Mostel as an inscrutable Asian detective, Inspector Hoku, who must keep international spies from getting hold of a newly developed robot. In-jokes abound and slapstick mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

French novelist Henri-Francois Rey adapted his novel Les Pianos Mecaniques with director Juan Antonio Bardem for this French/Italian/Spanish co-production, set in Spain. Vincent (Hardy Kruger) is recovering from a nervous breakdown in a seaside village on the Costa Brava. He enters into an affair with nightclub owner Jenny (Melina Mercouri), but their relationship changes when she falls for alcoholic author Pascal Regnier (James Mason), who is struggling to resume his writing career. Vincent eventually returns home, leaving Jenny to stay on with Pascal and his young son Daniel (Didier Haudepin). Their love enables him to start writing again. ~ Nicole Gagne, All Movie Guide

Director Masaki Kobayashi uses the sharpest-edged knife in this cutting indictment of selfishness, greed, and the competition for the wealth of a dying man. A moribund business tycoon expresses his desire to finally see his three illegitimate children before he dies, but his wife blocks his request. She has no intention of letting some sentimental final meeting take away any of her due as wife and companion. Meanwhile, the sick man's secretary is brought into the picture when he decides to write her up as his mistress -- and thereby make her an heir to his fortune. Things go from bad to worse as the man approaches death and those around him struggle to keep their hand in his pot of gold. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This French/Japanese co-production, originally titled Qui Etes Vois, M. Sorge?, is founded on a true wartime tale. Thomas Holzman plays Richard Sorge, who from 1935 through 1943 was an ambassador at the German embassy in Japan. Unbeknownst to his embassy colleagues, Sorge was actually a Russian spy, leaking out secret war and invasion plans in preparation for the anticipated Soviet takeover of Japan after the war. Sorge is eventually foiled by the professorial diligence of a Japanese colonel. The film begins in the manner of the much-later Reds (1981), with interviews of several famous personages who knew Sorge, including Hans Otto Meisner. Director Yves Ciampi melds stock footage into his staged scenes, which, though meticulously accurate, tend to plod along at a snail's pace until the lively climax. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Japanese Snow Country weaves a simple but deeply involving tale of a painter and the woman he loves. The painter falls hard for his latest subject, a beautiful geisha girl. Unfortunately, their relationship is compromised by the well-meaning intrusions of his family and friends. Like many of director Shiro Toyoda's best films, Snow Country takes a gentle, almost humorous squint at the question of individuality vs. conformity. The provincialism of the characters is emphasized by the vast expanses of snowy wastes surrounding the village where the story takes place. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide