Koichi Sato Movies

Sixteen years after abandoning the 47 Ronin on the eve of their crucial mission, Senoo Magozaemon (Koji Yakusho) finds his past coming back to haunt him while living deep in a vast forest. Having assumed the identity of an antiques dealer in order to guard his treacherous secret, Senoo has a chance meeting with his old ally Terasaka Kichiemon (Koichi Sato), and attempts to safeguard his secret by silencing Terasaka forever. Meanwhile, the secret to Senoo's shame resides with an adolescent girl from the forest named Kane. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald director Koki Mitani continues to hone his screwball skills with this crowd-pleasing comedy about a hapless hotel accommodations manager juggling multiple responsibilities in preparation for the forthcoming New Year's Eve celebrations set to take place in the lavish Hotel Avanti. New Year's eve has arrived, and as the clock ticks towards midnight detail oriented accommodations manager Shindo (Koji Yakusho) prepares the Hotel Avanti for the Stage Director's Association's Man of the Year award ceremony, a press conference for a respected politician, and, of course, the massive bash that will ring in the new year. As things turn hectic and former theater director Shindo's ex-wife Yumi (Meiko Harada) turns up on the arm of the soon-to-be-honored Man of the Year, the whirlwind energy also sweeps up such quirky characters as Shindo's loyal debuty (Keiko Toda), a platinum-wigged prostitute (Ryoko Shinohara), a crooning bellhop (Shingo Katori), a deeply depressed entertainer (Toshiyuki Nishida), and a chambermaid (Takako Matsu) who is mistaken as the mistress of a wealthy guest. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

British-born filmmaker John Williams directs this semi-surreal Japanese-language drama that blurs the lines between reality and fantasy while detailing a mystery fiction-loving salaryman's search for his missing wife. There was a time when Ariso (Koichi Sato) longed to become a writer, but these days he's content just to soak up the latest mysteries penned by best-selling author Jo Kuroda. Kuroda's erotic new novel "Starfish Hotel" in particular, has been slowly working its way into the salaryman's subconscious. Confounded by the recent disappearance of his wife and haunted by an affair he once had with sexy temptress Kayoko, introverted Ariso sets out locate his missing spouse after receiving a flyer for Kuroda's latest novel from a mysterious man in a dodgy bunny suit. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

When the Last Sword Is Drawn opens in Tokyo in 1899, when an elderly man, Saito (Koichi Sato), brings his young grandson to see a local doctor, Ono (Takehiro Murata). Saito notices an old photo of a samurai in the doctor's home and asks him about it. As it turns out, the photo is of Yoshimura (Kiichi Nakai of Warriors of Heaven and Earth), and both men had a strong connection to him. Saito and Ono take turns reminiscing about their experiences, and the film flashes back 30 years to the tumultuous beginnings of the Meiji era, when the emperor, bent on modernization, consolidated his power, and the shogunate with its samurai was phased out. Saito remembers Yoshimura as a fellow member of the Shinsegumi, a samurai group divided between loyalty to its shogun and the defense of the emperor. Saito looked down on the money-grubbing, shabbily dressed Yoshimura from the moment they met, and even decided to kill him. But Yoshimura soon proved his prowess with the sword, and his commitment to samurai ideals. Ono remembers Yoshimura as the disgraced father of his best friend. Yoshimura abandoned his village and his clan during a famine to join the Shinsegumi, and as the story unfolds, his motives come to light. Caught in the middle between conflicting forces, their way of life rendered obsolete, Saito loses contact with Yoshimura during a bloody battle and assumes he is dead. Ono tells him of the misunderstood samurai's true fate. When the Last Sword Is Drawn, directed by Yojiro Takita, won several Japanese Academy Awards in 2003, including Best Actor (Nakai), Best Supporting Actor (Sato), and Best Picture. It was shown at Subway Cinema's 2004 New York Asian Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

In this startling psychological thriller from Japan, Mami (Hijiri Kojima) is a teacher who meets Tomo (Koji Chihara), a psychotic criminal with a short temper and no visible means of support. Amour fou blooms between them, and a year later they're living together, with Mami taking part as Tomo abducts, tortures, and kills one of their neighbors. Eventually the cycle of crime goes too far for Mami and she leaves Tomo, but several years later, he arrives at her home to disrupt her life with her new husband. Hysteric was directed by Takahisa Zeze, who previously received critical acclaim for the film Kokkuri. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Junji Sakamoto spins this tale of a socially inept yet indomitable woman searching for freedom and self-respect. Set in Kobe at the beginning of 1995, the film introduces Masako (Naomi Fujiyama), a withdrawn, middle-aged woman living above her mother's dry cleaning shop. She rarely leaves the house and is often tormented by her pretty younger sister. After their mother suddenly dies, the sisters' sibling rivalry takes a rather nasty turn. Immediately after the funeral, Masako strangles her sister in an explosion of rage and humiliation. Just as she stumbles into life on the run, the Kobe earthquake strikes. Terrified that the disaster is some divine retribution for her crime, she flees willy-nilly to Osaka, where, after losing her virginity to a rape, she finds shelter and eventually employment at a "love hotel." When the owner of that establishment hangs himself to escape a mountain of bad debt, Masako flees to Beppu on the southern island of Kyushu. There she falls in love with a down-and-out salesman and finds camaraderie with a world-weary bar owner. In spite of the constant air of violence and the occasional rape, Masako blossoms in her new surroundings until her past -- and the police -- start to catch up with her. This film was screened at the 2000 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Veteran director Shinji Somai lensed this heart-warming family drama about a shabby looking coot claiming to be the father of an elite salaryman. Hiroshi Nirasaki (Koichi Sato) is a securities broker desperately trying to keep the fact that his company is about to go belly-up from his high-strung upper-class wife (Yuki Saito). One day, while walking home from a particularly bad day at work, he gets accosted by an old bum (Tsutomu Yamazaki) who demands to be taken in by his son. Though his mother told him that his dad died when he was born, the drunken geezer knows enough about him and his short order cook mother (Sumiko Fuji) that he is almost convinced. Hiroshi takes him to his large traditional home -- the house of his wife's deceased well-to-do father -- to meet his wife Mizuho (Yuki Saito), his snooty mother-in-law (Shiho Fujimura), and his school-aged son (Keita Okada). Dad immediately makes his presence felt by demanding his fatherly rights and by generally acting crude and obnoxious. Mizuho and her mother can't stand him; Hiroshi's son on the other hand loves the reckless charm of his new grandfather. This film won the FIPRESCI Award given by the International Film Critics Federation at the 1999 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

The Tokarev, similar to a Magnum 45, is used to hold up a Japanese school bus. The driver's son is kidnapped for ransom. Takashi, the son, appears on video asking for the 10 million yen ransom. The ransom is paid but Takashi is found murdered in a garbage bag. His father, Michio takes matters into his own hands. He suspects a neighbor, approaches him, and is shot with the Tokarev. Michio survives his wound, and giving the police false information forges ahead on his own. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

John Lone, the star of the Oscar-winning The Last Emperor (89), portrays a Chinese revolutionary in Shadow of China. Pursued by the Communists, Lone escapes to Hong Kong, where he builds up a multimillion dollar business enterprise. He hopes to use his international clout to effect changes in Mainland China, but he is defeated by revelations of his earlier underhanded business practices, and by the "dangerous" aspects of his previous political activities. Filmed on location, Shadow of China has its moments of violence, but none so extreme as to detract from the storyline. Also, John Lone proves again how his talents have often been wasted in less ambitious projects. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Shuji is a good-looking lad, one of the up-and-coming assassins for the Daito mob of the yakuza, Japan's answer to the mafia. Despite his pretense of toughness, he frequently has overwhelming longings to return to his childhood and the innocent games he played then with his best friend's younger sister. When he is sent to assassinate the members of a rival gang, childhood memories lead him to permit one of the men to live. Rather than being grateful, the survivor of the killings plots his revenge despite the fact that the two gangs are now merging into one operation. Meanwhile, Shuji has run across his childhood sweetheart, and the two of them realize that they share a similar view (common to many Japanese, apparently) that their childhood was a special, golden time to be cherished. She is not a member of the gangs, and through her inspiring presence, Shuji attempts to reform himself, though he must kill a lot of people in order to win that chance. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In a wholly serious, somber argument for euthanasia, director Yoshishige Yoshida focuses on a family with an aged and severely ailing grandmother. When police arrive at the family's home to investigate the elderly woman's death, her husband comes forward and says he murdered her. Flashbacks tell the story of how the woman's mind was completely gone, her body barely functioned at all, and she was in a great deal of misery. Also, her family was burdened with her care and were severely depressed by her declining situation. Since grandmother herself did not want to live any longer, the question for the police is whether a crime should be acknowledged or not. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Mitsuko (Setsuko Karasuma) is a woman who moves from one lover to the next -- some of whom get angry at her willingness to turn to other men, others who have been around the block more than once do not particularly care. Even when one of her lovers sacrifices his construction job to be with Mitsuko, it fails to come across as very much of an exchange. In short, Mitsuko may be nicknamed "Manon" after the lead character in Abbe Prevost's Manon Lescaut, but she does not seem to share anything beyond the name and multiple relationships. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi