Also Directed by Shunichi Nagasaki
A tough woman is dragging a weaker man deeper and deeper into crime. Woman cop Miki is chasing a wanted man when she stumbles on a crashed car and sees the driver, Koichi, ignite spilled petrol to kill himself and his passenger. She drags Koichi to safety, but the passenger dies. Miki says nothing to challenge the inquest finding of `accidental death', and when she visits Koichi in hospital he begins to understand that her complicity in his crime implies a sexual invitation. But a gumshoe has photos of the crash, and the only way to stall his blackmail is to kill him, the first of several murders...
the director Nagasaki transports us to the remote barren wilderness of Hokkaido, the most northerly of the four main islands that make up Japan, in a powerful and compelling three and a half hour DV-shot epic based on an original novel by Natsuo Kirino that ostensibly deals with the search of a young mother for her missing five-year-old daughter..That Nagasaki manages to keep us riveted throughout the lengthy 200-minute running time is a testimony to his actors and his own skills as a filmmaker. A substantial and absorbing mood piece, rich in detail, raw in emotional charge, thought-provoking, gripping and poignant, A Tender Place is nothing short of a masterpiece.
A boy and girl struggle to understand their place in 1980s Japan, retiring to copulate and probe each other for answers.
Kono Takeshi has given up work as an electrician to run a gift-shop business with his partner/mistress Rieko, who's a couple of years older than him. When the company faces bankruptcy Kono wants to quit, but Rieko strings him along with the promise of a large cash investment, the proceeds of a real-estate deal. Her actual plan to raise the money is to kidnap a young woman and demand a ransom for her release. The trouble is, it never occurs to her to keep the victim alive before trying to extort the cash. And when things start to go wrong, Rieko responds by murdering another girl and attempting another ransom scam..
A Tokyo psychiatrist is hoping to better his career by marrying the daughter of a prominent doctor. The match is threatened however when an attractive but very troubled tourist guide comes to him for consultation...
Film director Shunichi Nagasaki reflects on a near-fatal motorcycle accident that occurred while shooting his commercial feature debut The Lonely Hearts Club Band in September.
Years after moving to Tokyo with her parents, Hinako returns to her hometown in rural Shikoku. She soon learns that her childhood friend, Sayuri, died several years ago and that Sayuri's mother, who used to perform seances and exorcisms, has gone almost insane with grief. After seeing Sayuri's ghost several times during the night, Hinako consults with some local experts on the paranormal and discovers that Sayuri's mother has something planned for her daughter...
Four high school girls, who are part of the legendary theatrical group known as "Rashinban," stops performing due to the sudden death of one member. Four years later the explanation of the girl's death is revealed and the other girls start a plan for revenge...
Set in 1932, amid the rise of militarism after the establishment of the Manchukuo colony in Northeast China, the story centers on a trio of karateka. Studying under their aging master in a small dojo in the woods of central Kyushu, Choei, Taikan and Giryu face a company of kempeitai military police come to requisition their dojo for use as a military base.
A journalist, his pyromaniac girlfriend, and an ex-baseball player team up to rip off a gangster, with violent consequences.
