Tag: cinema
October 5, 2023 · 0 comments
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
By Andrew Osmond. Dolls, dogs, gods, children and their relationships with neurotically self-conscious humanity come under philosophical investigation in Mamoru Oshii’s sequel to his film, Ghost in the Shell. Rendered in a blend of drawn and computer animation, the sequel’s first half looks like a sleekly beautiful variant on the future-noir aesthetic of Blade Runner, […]
September 26, 2023 · 0 comments
The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store
By Jonathan Clements. There’s something weird about the Hokkyoku Department Store – all the customers are animals. There’s an owl who can’t find a something to placate his wife; there’s a wolf in search of a proposal gift to win another wolf’s heart; there’s a sea mink that just can’t find the right present for […]
July 28, 2023 · 0 comments
The Night is Short, Walk On Girl
By Andrew Osmond. Here’s a funny thing; there aren’t many out-and-out anime comedy films. Of course, there are plenty that have comedy – some of anime’s best comic characters are from films, like the indomitable trans heroine Hana in Tokyo Godfathers and the clingy BFF Tomohiro in A Silent Voice. But these films aren’t comedies; […]
June 28, 2023 · 0 comments
Samurai Reincarnation
The late Kinji Fukasaku is most fondly remembered for his hold-no-bars yakuza flicks, characterised by their hard-as-nails anti-heroes and brutal action. However, in the late 1970s, the director began to expand his cinematic palette, first by dipping into the jidaigeki genre with Shogun’s Samurai (1978). Also known as The Yagyu Clan Conspiracy, the film starred semi-frequent Fukasaku collaborator Shinichi […]
June 22, 2023 · 0 comments
Isao Yukisada’s Go
By Tom Wilmot. What is nationality? That is the question at the heart of Go (2001), Isao Yukisada’s award-winning film adapted from Kazuki Kaneshiro’s 2000 novel of the same name. The movie explores the endlessly complex subject of nationality and ethnic belonging, via a coming-of-age story sprinkled with romance. A critical and box office success […]