Tales of the Bizarre: 2009 Spring Special 2009

A Brief Message from the Heart 1995

A young woman tries to reconcile with her mother, who left their family for another man.

Last Friends 1995

Following the lives of three college rugby players drafted to serve in the military during WWII. Though they believe their service will help to benefit their loved ones back home, they are unprepared for the hardships of war. Through their shared trials and sacrifices, they grow closer as friends, and hope to return together to better days. This movie was released in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the end of WWII.

The Tomb & the Divorce 1993

Yoshinori sells plots of land in a cemetery, and is involved in a stale ten-year-old marriage with bored housewife Atsuko. When Atsuko makes a male friend at her leather-working class, Yoshinori has a fit. This is on top of the myriad of odd clients that he must appease.

Kita no kuni kara '92 Sudachi Part 1 1992

There is a man who divorced his wife. He moved to rural Hokkaido from Tokyo where he lived with his family without running water or electricity. He has his son and daughter in tow and works hard for them. The folk in the area try to help. A couple of years pass and the older son moves back to Tokyo, attends school and works part-time. The daughter commutes to the city to attend school. She wants to become a nurse. To become a registered nurse she needs to study a further three years. This takes money.

The Yen Family 1988

Set in Japan during the bubble era, this unique home comedy cheerfully and humorously depicts the daily life of a strange family that works together to accumulate a small amount of money, while mixing irony and satire.

Edo Porn 1981

The world-famous woodblock artist Hokusai (1760-1849), a widower in need of a steady income, lives with his daughter Oei in the house of his friend Bakin.

Tokyo Air Raid Glass Rabbit 1979

Based on an autobiographical novel by Toshiko Takagi, set close to the end of World War II

Fighting Against The Incurable Disease Aplastic Anemia – Now You Are In The Light 1978

Film distributed by ATG.

The Far Road 1977

Set in the time of steam locomotives and covering a period of almost 30 years, this sensitive film tells the story of the wife of a railroad worker in the northern part of Japan. The ferocious local class restrictions work to keep her husband in his place, as does his lack of education.

The Castle of Sand 1974

Two detectives are tasked to investigate the murder of an old man, found bludgeoned to death in a Tokyo rail yard.

Rika: The Mixed-Blood Girl 1972

First film of a trilogy following the dramatic life of Rika, a half-Japanese/half-American woman who becomes the tough-as-nails leader of an all-girl crime gang.

Cleopatra: Queen of Sex 1970

Three people from the future, who travel spiritually to the era of the Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII Philopator and her Roman lovers Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, become their closest friends as they try to unravel the nature of the plan developed in their own time by a sinister enemy.

Lost Virgin 1968

Story of a nineteen-year-old office girl who loses her virginity.

Story of a Prostitute 1965

Volunteering as a "comfort woman" on the Manchurian front, where she is expected to service hundreds of soldiers, Harumi is commandeered by the brutal Lieutenant Narita but falls for the sensitive Mikami, Narita's direct subordinate. Seijun Suzuki's Story of a Prostitute is a tragic love story as well as a rule-bending take on a popular Taijiro Tamura novel, challenging military and fraternal codes of honor, as seen through Harumi's eyes.