Kabei: Our Mother 2008

Set in Tokyo in 1940, the peaceful life of the Nogami Family suddenly changes when the father, Shigeru, is arrested and accused of being a Communist. His wife Kayo works frantically from morning to night to maintain the household and bring up her two daughters with the support of Shigeru's sister Hisako and Shigeru's ex-student Yamazaki, but her husband does not return. WWII breaks out and casts dark shadows on the entire country, but Kayo still tries to keep her cheerful determination, and sustain the family with her love. This is an emotional drama of a mother and an eternal message for peace.

Ten Nights of Dreams 2007

Based on renowned Japanese writer Natsume Soseki's same-titled short story collection, Ten Nights of Dreams brings ten fantastical dream sequences to film with great visual and psychological panache. Representing the combined efforts of eleven directors, this outstanding anthology delves into the surreal subconscious with ten madly imaginative, reality-subverting visions that range from wonderfully wacky to nightmarishly unsettling.

Enlightenment: A Second Night of Dreams 2007

A samurai suffers to achieve enlightenment while being forced by a Zen Buddhist.

Return Of Happiness 2000

Free and Easy 9 1997

Hama-chan’s sales department gets a new supervisor, a hard-working taskmaster that’s the very opposite of carefree, irresponsible Hama-chan. The veteran employee decides to find his boss, a divorced father, a new wife. The supervisor loves a bar hostess “mama-san,” but is unable to confess his true feelings until Hama-chan comes to his rescue.

The Setting Sun 1992

A Japanese soldier is forced to question alliances when he meets and falls in love with the leader of the rebel movement.

Stray Wolf 1982

Matoba Kokingo, who once served as a retainer for a hatamoto, becomes disillusioned with his master and elopes with his lover, Oyuki. They flee their lord's household, taking with them 30 ryō of official funds. However, the money is stolen from them at an inn, and shortly after, Oyuki dies of illness. Eight years later, Kokingo has fallen into disgrace, now making a living as a ronin who specializes in extortion. One day, he attempts to extort a restaurant owner named Hanzo, only to discover that Hanzo was the very thief who stole the 30 ryō from him eight years ago…

Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor 1969

Near the end of the nineteenth century, as the balance of power shifts from Shogunate towards the Emperor, Japan restlessly awaits the dawning of a new age. But not all are content...The Shinsengumi, a small army of samurai, farmers and peasants, band together to do battle against the tide of history. Their leader, Isami Kondo is a man who rises from farmer to fighter to head the fierce Shinsengumi brigade. Using a stern hand and a heart of gold, he rallies his men in defense of the tottering Shogunate. But bloodshed and treachery lurk around every corner.

Samurai Banners 1969

Kansuke Yamamoto is a samurai who dreams of a country united, peaceful from sea to sea. He enters the service of Takeda, the lord of Kai domain. He convinces Takeda to kill the lord of neighboring Suwa and take his wife as a concubine. He then convinces the widow, Princess Yu, to accept this arrangement and to bear Takeda a son. He pledges them his life. He then spends years using treachery, poetic sensibility, military and political strategy to expand Takeda's realm, advance the claim of Yu's son as the heir, and prepare for an ultimate battle with the forces of Echigo. Has Kansuke overreached? Are his dreams, blinded by love, too big?

Still I Live On 1951

About the struggles of day labourers to achieve dignity and a standard of living above the starvation level. Utilising the Zenshinza theatrical troupe.