Erika Oda

An Okinawan woman kidnaps the teenage son of a U.S. Marine convicted of raping her when she was a girl.

4.5/10

Recently appointed dean at a film school, Kimuro Hajime develops a special concern for one of his students, Daisuke. The brash, headstrong young man is fixated on with the Second World War. He feels a sense of frustration at the irrational sacrifice of young people's lives during the war six decades earlier. Daisuke finds that he can vent his frustrations to Kimuro, who experienced the war firsthand. Kimuro's wife, Emiko, is also troubled by memories of the war. She lost a loved one in the war and has never gotten over it. And Kimuro himself also has something from the past that he has yet to face. He believes that the burden of his unresolved past will eventually be the death of him. When Daisuke's neurosis causes him to quit school, life changes for all three of them.

7.6/10

Misaki visits her boyfriend Koichi in Okinawa, the southern island of Japan. To welcome the arrival of Misaki, Koichi's friend Jinsei holds a welcoming party at his house. At the party, Misaki learns from the wise granny about the legend behind the bag hanging from the fig tree and the local demon: Kijimuna, which deeply fascinate Misaki. Jinsei then introduces Misaki to a young female writer, Kagemi, who tells Misaki the darker side of the Kijimuna legend. As the local shaman and medium to the other world, Kagemi’s knowledge in local lore gives Misaki much more to wonder about. The quiet life in Okinawa takes a sharp turn with the arrival of Jinsei’s ex-wife Sanae, which leads to a tragic accident. Soon, the parties involved begin to see a vengeful spirit and their peaceful lifes turn into a nightmare.

5.8/10

Based on the comic book by Marie Abiko.

6.5/10

A.D. 2015: A virus has been spreading in many cities worldwide. It is a suicidal disease and the virus is infected by pictures. People, once infected, come down with the disease, which leads to death. They have no way of fighting against this infection filled with fear and despair. The media calls the disease "the Lemming Syndrome".

6.5/10

Portrait of the Wind centers on Tamio Murase (Tadanobu Asano), a world-traveling photographer who came home to take over the family business after his father’s fatal heart attack. One day at the family photo studio, he finds a kindred spirit in Ayako (Erika) and the requisite sparks fly between them. The initial portions of the film deal with their budding romance, and it isn’t long before the two become a serious couple, and Ayako is pregnant with Tamio’s child.

6.9/10

Commencing well-respected Nippon director Kazuo Kuroki's sixth decade behind the camera, "A Boy's Summer in 1945" (literally "A Beautiful Summer in Kirishima") is a lyric, novelistic drama set in the countryside in the last days before Japan's surrender ending WWII. Striking a welcome retro note in its languid pacing and delicate handling of seriocomic ensemble threads, handsome production is a natural for fests. It might also prove a cornerstone for retrospectives or ancillary releases of works by a helmer ("Preparation of the Festival," "Ronin-gai") who's long been appreciated at home but has won just limited attention abroad.

7/10

Tenshu is imprisoned and sentenced to death for murdering the men who raped his girlfriend. However, he manages to survive his execution and is presented with an option: face another execution attempt or subject himself to their bizarre and dangerous experiments.

5.6/10

After death, people have just one week to choose only a memory to keep for eternity.

7.6/10