Min Tanaka Movies
- 1993
This performance of Igor Stravinsky's opera, Oedipus Rex features the Tokyo Opera Singers and the Shinyu-Kai Chorus. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
Veteran filmmaker Yoji Yamada -- who is perhaps most famous for cranking out most of the 48 films of the Tora-san series -- directs this good-natured drama set in the waning years of the Edo period (1600-1867). Seibei (Hiroyuki Sanada) is a low-level samurai struggling to get by on stipend of 50 rice bales a year while working as a clerk at the clan office. While his co-workers spend their evenings sucking down sake at the local pub, Seibei, whose wife has passed away, heads straight home to care for his two young daughters and doddering mother. One day, his friend Michinojo (Mitsuru Fukikoshi) tells him that his boyhood friend Tomoe (Rie Miyazawa), is leaving her thuggish husband and returning home. Tomoe soon starts to frequent Seibei's house, taking care of his daughters, while Seibei quietly falls in love with the attractive young lass. After defeating Tomoe's husband in a duel, armed with only a pointed stick, Seibei is asked by Michinojo if he wants to marry Tomoe. Seibei declines, too embarrassed by his poverty to accept. Later, as he prepares to perform the distasteful task of killing a fellow samurai, he learns that Tomoe is engaged to another man. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hiroyuki Sanada, Rie Miyazawa, (more)
The Hidden Blade concerns Yaichiro, a warrior who must leave his family in the care of two other samurai after he answers a request for his services in another town. Muenezo and Samon do their best to protect the family when they come under attack during Yaichiro's absence. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Masatoshi Nagase, Takako Matsu, (more)
A pair of feisty young street urchins attempts to protect an unnamed metropolis from a diabolical villain whose plans to raze the urban landscape on the behalf of malevolent real-estate developers threatens to destroy the very soul of the city. Street-smart youngsters Black and White do their best to defend their territory from rival gangs as local yakuza leader Suzuki, fearing that the town has lost its zeal, plots a triumphant return to form. A lifelong criminal with a serious zodiac fixation, Suzuki (aqua The Rat) doesn't want to corrupt the city as much as he simply wants reinvigorate it with the kind of vibrancy that drew him to love it in the first place. Mr. Snake, on the other hand, wants nothing more than to profit as the buildings of the city crumble to make room for the massive amusement park planned by his wealthy clients. The only problem now is that Mr. Snake can't carry out his destructive deed while Black and White are still wandering the streets - of course that's nothing that can't be solved by a pair of sharp-shooting intergalactic assassins whose bullets always meet their mark. A metaphysical tale of survival in a city that seems to be poised on the brink of disaster, Tekkonkinkreet marks the feature directorial debut of longtime visual effects artist Michael Arias (The Abyss, Princess Mononoke). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Min Tanaka, Yoshinori Okada, (more)
- 2009
A hired killer makes the mistake of falling for her quarry in this stylish thriller from Spanish writer and director Isabel Coixet. Ryu (Rinko Kikuchi) is a beautiful woman who works in a fish market in Tokyo, but she also leads a secret life as a professional assassin who performs hits for high-paying clients. Ryu is approached by Ishida, an assistant to powerful businessman Mr. Nagara (Takeo Nakahara). Nagara's daughter Midori took her own life after a bad breakup with David (Sergi Lopez), a wine dealer from Spain, and Nagara believes David is responsible; Ishida, who loved Midori from afar, wants David to pay with his life. Ryu approaches David at his shop prepared to kill him, but she's immediately taken with his good looks and charm, and the two spend the night together. Ryu doesn't think she can murder David and tries to call off her assignment, but this turns out to be more difficult than she imagined. Map Of The Sounds Of Tokyo was an official selection at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rinko Kikuchi, Sergi López, (more)
