Haruomi Hosono

Shiro runs the pension "Love Is Pink" ("Koi wa Momoiro") with the help of his daughter Haru.

A documentary about Haruomi Hosono, a musician respected around the world and the music composer of Cannes Palme d'Or winner Shoplifters. The footage traces his encounter with music in early childhood to his days in bands Happy End and YMO to his solo activities. It also includes in-depth coverage from recent years of his first overseas performances in London, New York and Los Angeles. In London, he was joined by Yukihiro Takahashi, and when Ryuichi Sakamoto made a surprise appearance onstage, the YMO members were reunited for the first time in five years, a must-see spectacle captured on film. Written by Nikkatsu

7.3/10

Toichi is a boatman who ferries the villagers to a town on the other side of the river. Besides rowing a boat for the villagers all day long, he barely have a communication with others except Genzo, a young neighbor. In the upstream of the river, a large bridge is being constructed. Everyone is excited, but Toichi has mixed feelings about it. One day, Toichi meets a mysterious young girl. Having no family and no place to go, Toichi let her stay with him, but this encounter starts to bring about changes to Toichi's life.

6.2/10

After one of their shoplifting sessions, Osamu and his son come across a little girl in the freezing cold. At first reluctant to shelter the girl, Osamu’s wife agrees to take care of her after learning of the hardships she faces. Although the family is poor, barely making enough money to survive through petty crime, they seem to live happily together until an unforeseen incident reveals hidden secrets, testing the bonds that unite them.

8/10
9.9%

One of the most important artists of our era, Ryuichi Sakamoto has had a prolific career spanning over four decades, from techno-pop stardom to Oscarwinning film composer. The evolution of his music has coincided with his life journeys. Following Fukushima, Sakamoto became an iconic figure in Japan’s social movement against nuclear power. As Sakamoto returns to music following cancer, his haunting awareness of life crises leads to a resounding new masterpiece. RYUICHI SAKAMOTO: CODA is an intimate portrait of both the artist and the man.

7.7/10

A live performed on August 5, 2011 at NHK 101 Studio in Shibuya, Tokyo. Yellow Magic Orchestra, who has almost never done a studio live, played "RYDEEN", "FIRECRACKER", "COSMIC SURFIN", and others, in front of about 1,000 spectators selected by lottery. Keigo Oyamada, Tomohiko Gondo, and Christian Fennesz participated as support members.

Set in the 1960s, high school student Toru Watanabe loses his only friend Kizuki after he commits suicide. Toru, now looking for a new life, enters a university in Tokyo. By chance, Toru meets Kizuki's ex-girlfriend Naoko in the university. They grow close because they both share the same loss. As Toru and Naoko grow even closer, Naoko's sense of loss also grows. After Naoko's 20th birthday, she leaves for a sanitarium in Kyoto. Watanabe, devastated by the situation, meets pure-hearted Midori during the spring semester. Midori looks like a small animal that just came into the world ...

6.3/10
7.4%

As members of ESWAT, the elite forces serving Olympus, Deunan and Briaereos are deployed anywhere trouble strikes. Olympus finds itself under a stealth attack - cyborg terrorism, deadly nanotech zealots, and rioting citizens are just some of the threats that Deunan must contend with as she fights to save Olympus!

7.1/10

30 years of the band, 30 years of Japanese rock. The story of passion toward the band and music.

Saori is a young woman struggling to make her way in life. Her gay father, Himiko, had abandoned Saori and her mother years before. Now her father's young lover Haruhiko shows up to tell Saori that her father is dying of cancer. Still angry with her father but in need of money, Saori travels to the House of Himiko, a nursing home established by her father for gay men. Over time, a tenuous relationship begins to develop between Saori, her father, and Haruhiko.

7/10

An animated film based on the novel by Murasaki Shikibu, written over 1000 years ago. Genji, the son of the emperor, is the talk of the Kyoto nobility for his charm and good looks, yet he cannot stop himself from pursuing an unobtainable object of desire: his father's young and beautiful bride. Following the tragic consequences of his obsession, Genji wanders from one affair to another, always seeking some sort of completion to his life. Taken from AniDB

6.7/10

Shipwrecked African-American slaves arrive in the midst of Bakumatsu-era Japan; they soon carve out a niche in the market with their musical talents.

7.2/10

An old woman has died and her widower with dementia confesses to killing her. After this, the story goes back in time to show the events leading up to her death.

7.6/10

Giovanni currently lives a dreary life of near non-stop work. At school, his peers ridicule him incessantly, and his employer at work is distant and cold. As his isolation from society becomes unbearable, he suddenly finds himself on a train heading far away from his miserable home. Accompanied by Campanella, an acquaintance from school, Giovanni embarks on a journey that will define the rest of his life.

7.1/10

Go Takamine's first theatrical feature is a pioneering work of Okinawan cinema, filmed almost entirely in Okinawan dialect. Taking place shortly before the resumption of Japanese sovereignty over Okinawa, Takamine’s film tacitly addresses the island prefecture's complicated history of occupation and feelings of dislocation through the story of a small community and its preparations for a wedding between a local girl and a Japanese teacher. On the periphery of these events is Reishu (Kaoru Kobayashi), who quits his job on a US military base and uses the extra time to catch snakes and play with ants – and get the bride-to-be pregnant. Takamine’s leisurely-paced film is full of uniquely Okinawan touches that mix in aspects of the island's folklore, accompanied by Haruomi Hosono’s spare and evocative score.

7/10

Documentary about the eclectic Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto during the recording sessions for his 1984 album "Illustrated Musical Encyclopedia".

7.6/10

On The Beach is a compilation of music from the Crown library, with sounds of ocean waves. The video version pairs the music and sounds with scenes of summer, featuring plenty of waves, sand, and much more

Starring Yellow Magic Orchestra and David Brooks Palmer, YMO Propaganda is 1984 Musical film directed by Shin Saito. Originally premiered theatrically throughout Japan in 1984 and is considered by some to be the best visual work from 'Y.M.O.'

8.5/10

Yellow Magic Orchestra concert recorded in late December 1981 at the Shinjuku Koma Theater.

Eiji, also known as Choji, quits the shipyard to start Izakaya [Snack Bar] Choji with his wife Shigeko on the outskirts of Hakodate. Eiji once had a girlfriend by the name of Sayo, but she is supposed to be happily married to a pasture owner in the countryside. Then, suddenly one day Sayo shows up at Choji before opening. Sayo is still in love with Eiji. The story expressively portrays the lives of random Choji customers and the daily interaction between Eiji and Shigeko, while also focusing on the feelings between Eiji and his past girlfriend Sayo.

6.2/10

A domestic live tour in 1981 when YMO released two masterpiece albums, "BGM" and "Technodelic". A live concert filmed at the Shinjuku Koma Theater, "WINTER LIVE 1981" focuses on songs from "BGM" and "Technodelic" and symbolizing the mid-term YMO catalogue along with artistic performing art. The audio is also remastered, giving the viewer a more realistic feel.

The Taisho era was a time of turbulence in Japan. From new marks of modernity to full-blown riots, a sense of revolution filled the air. The Dam Dam Group is a small anarchist organization lead by Daijiro, a silver tongued "Benshi", a performer who provides narratives for silent films, playing multiple roles. In other words, he was a master at the art of deception, a handy talent when it came to 'doing jobs' for his group. His revolutionary ideals attracted many to his squadron, but among them was a young girl who was oblivious to his group's activities. Her name was Shino.

6.4/10

Yellow Magic Orchestra playing songs from the album Service in the Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan in the 22 Dec. 1983