Makoto Nagahisa’s We Are Little Zombies is an emotionally invigorating film about four profoundly emotionless children. Hikari, Takemura, Ishi, and Ikuko meet at a crematorium during their parents’ funeral. They find solace because neither of them can cry despite becoming orphans. Their…
VIFF 2018: “Asako I & II”, “Holiday”, “In My Room” & “Fausto”
The Vancouver International Film Festival comes more than half-a-year after Sundance, months after Cannes, and mere days after Toronto International Film Festival which is good news for us film-dependents in the Pacific Northwest. Living in this corner of the globe…
Movie Review: ‘Tokyo Tribe’
“If you ain’t ready to die/You can’t survive. Is there any point in praying?/Is there a price to living?” In his immaculate dining room the corpulent, cannibalistic Lord Buppa (Riki Takeuchi) holds court. By his side, his son Nkoi (Yôsuke…
The Film Canon: Pigs and Battleships (1961)
A stampede of pigs careens its way down the streets of Yokosuka, smashing, crashing, bashing their way through crowds of prostitutes, pimps, and military police. Behind them a small-time gangster blasts a machine gun into the neon hell of the…
The Film Canon: High and Low (1963)
[Warning: Spoilers Ahead] Film critics must always be on guard against the temptations of hyperbole. How easy it is to, in a fit of post-credits elation, declare that such-and-such a film is the “greatest ever” or at the very least…
The Film Canon: Godzilla (1954)
Before the sequels, before the reboots, before the television shows, the action figures, the video games, and its canonization as a bona fide pop culture icon, Godzilla was just a monster. A lumbering 164-foot tall beast of rage and eradication,…