Mai Takahashi Movies
- 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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yuki Uchida, Kankuro Kudo, (more)
- 2007
Four very different women search for love and meaning in their lives in the hustle and bustle of downtown Tokyo in this comedy-drama. Satoko (Chizuru Ikewaki) is a bright woman who has somehow ended up working as the front desk clerk at an upscale bordello. While she's bubby and optimistic, Satoko doesn't meet many eligible men at work and she longs for a husband. One of the prostitutes working at the bordello is Akiyo (Yuko Nakamura); while she's still pretty, she's not as young as she once was and has grown jaded, and in her spare time she cultivates her friendship with Kikuchi (Masanobu Ando), who she's secretly loved for years. Toko (Toko Iwase) is an artist living on the other side of Tokyo; she's obsessed with her work and suffers from an eating disorder aggravated by her growing isolation. And Chihiro (Noriko Nakagoshi), who shares a flat with Toko, is an office girl who wants nothing more than to settle down with her boyfriend Nagai (Ryo Kase) and become the ideal housewife, though it becomes increasingly obvious that he's never going to marry her. Strawberry Shortcakes was adapted from a popular manga by Kiriko Nananan; Toko Iwase, who plays the artist Toko in the film, is also a noted manga artist, publishing under the name Kiriko Nananan. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chizuru Ikewaki, Noriko Nakagoshi, (more)
A group of grotesque supernatural creatures from Japanese folklore enlist the aid of a young boy recently bestowed with the title of Kirin Rider in defeating a powerful dark overlord who preys on humans and monsters alike in this kid-friendly fantasy from Takashi Miike. As a series of bizarre supernatural incidents plague the Japanese countryside and scores of children go missing, a mysterious series of mechanical monster attacks led by a dark mistress (Chiaki Kuriyama) sends the country into a panicked frenzy. In the midst of the otherworldly chaos, a young boy named Takashi (Ryunosuke Kamiki) is named Kirin Rider at a rural shrine festival and sent into the hills to claim his sword from the Great Goblin as local legend dictates. Arriving at his destination to find that the mountain is populated by a variety of ghoulish inhabitants visible only to his eye, Takashi pledges to save his new Yokai friends and put an end to the apocalyptic plot set into motion by an evil entity determined to destroy mankind. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
