Kōen Okumura

A Japanese Yakuza gangster’s deadly existence in his homeland gets him exiled to Los Angeles, where he is taken in by his little brother and his brother’s gang.  (more)

When Wabisuke's father-in-law unexpectedly dies, the family goes through a series of random events and occurrences as the funeral unfolds over three days in their home.  (more)

Harada is a successful scenario writer, and his best buddy has just announced an intention to propose to Harada's ex-wife. Recovering from the shock, Harada indulges in melancholy, mainly on his failure as a husband and father, and goes to a 'Rakugo' show, where a ...  (more)

Toru Hayashi is an unremarkable bachelor who lives with his mother, until one day a young woman named Rumi moves in in the apartment upstairs. Rumi is a self-proclaimed master thief, but she needs socially awkward Toru's help to actually kickstart her so-called career.  (more)

In a small town, high school students in their final year try to balance their studies while also playing together in a rock band.  (more)

Yukio is an ex-farmer working as a dump-truck driver in Kashima. Haunted by the drowning of his two young sons, whose names he has had tattooed on his back in penance, and locked in a sibling rivalry with his traditional but urbane younger brother who lives in ...  (more)

It is 1965. High-school student Takeyoshi Fujiwara hears "Pipeline" by the Ventures, and is mesmerized by their unique sound. With three friends, he forms a band called "The Rocking Horsemen." A warm and comic glimpse into high-school and small-town life in Japan ...  (more)

A middle-aged journalist looking to make her big break. After working the same beat on the "women's page", Yumiko gets promoted to editorials.  (more)

People from all walks of life all receive mysterious messages from loved ones who were killed 3 months earlier in a shipwreck. They are instructed to go to a small island in the Inland Sea that evening.  (more)

Karate expert Katayama (Takeda) investigates the robbery of a bank in Hokkaido, where an apple seed left at the scene holds the answer to the robbers' whereabouts.  (more)

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Elementary schoolgirls find a puppy and decide to take care of it. Learning and giving lessons in supportive-ness, loyalty, and friendship.  (more)

Ayase Shinsuke, a popular writer of a series of girl novels, visits Otaru, the town he grew up in. He meets a strange boy who calls himself by the author's real name.  (more)

Set in Sapporo during the oil crisis of the early '70s, the film centers on the Hokkaitei soba stand run by a stoic patriarch and his perky wife. One New Year's day, a haggard-looking mother and her two adorable moppets poke their heads into the restaurant and ask ...  (more)

After a passenger ship sinks in 1954, Go Akutsu devises a life-saving project in the form of a tunnel under the Tsugaru Strait. While working on this project Akutsu becomes involved with Tae Makimura leading to his estrangement from his wife.  (more)

The film begins with some Polaroids of a young boy and a young girl. A female voice over tells us who these people are. they are brother and sister, she is seven and he is eight. She goes on to say that when she was seven and he was eight, she told her brother that ...  (more)

A young boy, Atsu, grows up along the banks of the Shimanto River in rural southern Shikoku. He comes to grips with the unfairness of life and the emotional pain involved in the loss of innocence. The film is based on an autobiographical novel written by Kyuzo Sasayama.  (more)

The film opens with kidnappers of a corporate executive making an unusual ransom demand: that a wizened executive from another company haul large bags of money through downtown Tokyo as the media documents his every move. When the first old man almost dies from ...  (more)

A wealthy matriarch is kidnapped by a gang of three. She is insulted by the amount of money they propose to demand as ransom, and a strange interchange of roles takes place.  (more)

Based on real-life events, this erotic thriller tells the sad and sadistic tale of a Japanese geisha whose behavior spiraled out of control.  (more)