The Japanese film industry is one of the largest industries in the world. Known for its rich culture and heritage, Japan has a rich literary history which inspires the moviemakers to create epic masterpieces that are applauded by the whole world. The Japanese film industry has been producing films of every genre, whether it's a crime thriller, science fiction, or romance. It excels in every genre. Japan is the largest producer of manga and anime, which has audiences not only in Japan but from international countries as well. Literary works by Japanese authors have a wide range. The films and anime adapted from those books have gained massive popularity around the globe. Here are the Top 10 Japanese movies based on books ranging from thrillers, romances, and movies that are unlike any other film ever made.
10. Drive My Car
Drive My Car is a recently released Japanese drama film co-written and directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi. The film is based on the short story called Drive My Car from his collection Men without Women, inspired by the other short stories from the same book. The film is about a theater director dealing with the death of his wife and going through a journey of self-acceptance and regret. The film revolves around a theater director named Yusuke Kafuku, who directs a play called Uncle Vanya in Hiroshima while grieving about his wife’s untimely death and how he meets someone dealing with the same emotions as him. This film will engross you with its detailed visuals and an engaging story. As the narrative is complex, you will be engaged in understanding the plot. There are multiple occurrences of symbolism that are superficial yet so profound.
9. Hanalei Bay
Directed and written by Daishi Matsunaga, Hanalei Bay is based on a short story written by Haruki Murakami. The film follows a single mother of a son named Takashi, who owns a piano bar. One day she receives a call telling about her son’s death from a shark attack while surfing on Hanalei Bay. She starts visiting the beach where her son died and stayed there the day he died. After visiting Hanalei Bay for the past ten years, during her stay there on the beach, she meets two young surfers with whom she forms an unlikely bond. The film focuses on a mother’s struggle and effort to deal with the loss of her only son. How after all these years she still couldn’t cope with her grief, the reason why she still visits Hanalei Bay to feel his presence where he last was. It is a fantastic example of Japanese Indie cinema and a great adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s work.
8. Audition
Audition is a Japanese Thriller/Horror film directed by Takashi Miike. This film is based on a novel by the same name written by Ryu Murakami. This gruesome horror film is about a young woman who isn't how she seems to be. She turns out to be someone with a dark and horrifying past which affects her relationship with the man she currently is. The visuals are spine-chilling with thrills and suspense.
7. Paprika
Paprika is an animated science fiction psychological thriller film directed by Satoshi Kon. The film is based on the novel Paprika by author Yasutaka Tsutsui. The story revolves around a terrorist battle in a dream where they steal a device through which one can share their dreams, and can cause nightmares for people. Paprika is a detective who enters the dream to investigate the case.
6. Battle Royale
Battle Royale is a thriller/horror film and a manga series adapted from the novel Battle Royale by the Japanese author Koushun Takami. The film is placed in an alternative reality where Japan is governed by an Authoritarian Government. In this reality, students are forced to fight each other until death to survive this horrifying ordeal. The goriness depicted in the film led it to get banned in several countries. But still, you cannot deny that the film is very intriguing.
5. Woman In The Dunes
This novel by Kobo Abe has turned into a film, Woman in the Dunes, which became controversial in Japan. Kobo Abe is known for writing absurd themes in his works. This film focuses on an Entomologist who went to study an unclassified species of a beetle. While returning to Tokyo, he misses the last bus going back to the city and decides to stay the night there. He finds himself entangled in a love affair with a widow. You will experience a love-hate relationship with dunes. The beauty of sand, as well as how it has the ability to destroy lives.
4. The Heart
The movie The Heart, which is also known as Love Betrayed, was adapted from the novel Kokoro, written by a Japanese author named Natsume Soseki. This story is about a touching friendship between a young man and an elder scholar he addresses as Sensei. The young man has some tragic secrets that have been haunting his mind, and so Sensei slowly starts to open up to him.
3. The Burmese Harp
This film was based upon the 1946 children’s book by Michio Takeyama. The film, as well as the book, focuses on the Japanese soldiers who fought in the Burma Campaign during World War 2. It’s about a Japanese soldier who went missing while his troop was preparing to return home. He was known for playing the harp. While returning to his company, he learns about spirituality and the brutality of war. The film was also nominated for Academy Awards in 1956.
2. Black Rain
Black Rain was directed by Shohei Imamura and is based upon the novel Black Rain by Masuji Ibuse. The story focuses on the aftermath of the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and how it affected the lives of its survivors. It shows a story of a young woman on the day the bomb fell in Hiroshima. Although she does not suffer any visible effects from the blast, she and other people from her village are touched by the fallout and are caught under radiation. The story revolves around how the survivors dealt with the terrible aftermath of the bombing.
1. Norwegian Wood
Norwegian Wood, directed by Tran Anh Hung, a romantic film based on the novel by the same name by Haruki Murakami. The film is about a severe and quiet young man whose life is downhill and he is grieving for the loss of his best friend, who took his own life. He falls for his best friend’s ex-girlfriend while she cannot cope with her lover’s sudden death and cannot reciprocate his feelings.
