If you enjoy watching Japanese cinema, then this list is for you. These movies will surely show you the beauty of Japanese filmmaking and cinema.
1. Come On Irene
We follow Iwao, a middle-aged man who lives with his parents. Iwao desires to get married and decides to go for a tour of the Philippines. While touring the Philippines he meets a young woman named Irene. Irene is from a poor family from the fishing community in the Philippines. Upon meeting Irene and Iwao decide to get married.
2. Still Walking
This movie is heartfelt and deeply moving. To commemorate the death of the eldest son of the family, the family members gather every year to remember their sibling. The children who have now grown up visit their aging parents in their family home alongside their own partners and children. The movie feels nostalgic and feels like a warm blanket.
3. Love Exposure
We follow the love triangle of three emotionally stunted people who live on the outskirts of society. Yuu is a young Catholic boy who is searching for love. He takes photographs of women in public without their permission. This is how he meets a young girl named Yoko and instantly becomes infatuated with her. Yoko is a girl who hates men. She finds out her foster mother is marrying Yuu’s father. We also follow Koike who is a cult leader and has the strange plan of converting Yuu and his family to be a part of her cult.
4. A Girl Missing
Ichiko is a nurse who cares for the Oisho’s elderly family members. She grows close to the family and is a part of it, as she visits the family almost daily. Ichiko is training Oisho Motoko to become a caregiver like her and take care of the family. Everything changes when Motoko’s sister disappears. She is retuned safely after a week however the kidnapper is revealed to be someone close to Ichiko.
5. Shoplifters
We follow, Osamu Shibata, is your ordinary every-day guy. He has a loving family and a decent job. Despite having little money, Shibata and his family live a happy and fulfilling life. One fine day, Shibata comes across an abandoned little girl. He immediately decides to take her in and raise her.
6. Farewell Song
In this movie we follow a duo called Haru-Reo. Haru and Reo form a band together and soon become a success. Despite becoming successful early, Haru and Reo decide to disband. Before disbanding Haru and Reo decide to tour together; they are accompanied by a roadie named Shima.
7. Ikiru
We follow the story of an ordinary man named Kanji Watanabe. Kanji is a bureaucrat who has spent more than thirty years working in the same department. His life has become dull and monotonous for him. The excitement and the zest he once had for life have now completely disappeared. One day Kanji learns that he has stomach cancer and has a few months to live. This pushes Kanji to live to the fullest. He starts an introspective journey that makes him understand what life is about.
8. Battle Royale
A group of nineth grade students from a Japanese high school are abandoned on a deserted island and are forced to compete in a sick tournament that is ordered by the Japanese legislation. The group of students must fight to survive and kill off the other students. The last student surviving on the island wins.
9. Moon And Cherry
A young woman decides to pursue a sexual relationship with a young college student in her erotic writing class. When they eventually engage in a sexual relationship with each other, the student starts to believe that the young woman is just using him as a subject for her writing.
10. Branded To Kill
Branded to Kill is a Yakuza film and follows the life and mission of a hitman called Goro Hanada. He was recruited by a strange young woman for a crazy mission. After failing to complete his assignment he is hunted down by a mysterious killer.
