Drama
-
Episode #16 – Sakuran (さくらん)
Enjoy a stylistic look at the old Yoshiwara red-light district in Mika Ninagawa’s 2006 film, Sakuran.
-
Episode #15 – Rashomon (羅生門)
Akira Kurosawa’s classic adaptation of a story by Ryunosuke Akutagawa is the focus of this episode. You’ve no doubt seen it before. But what you may not know is some of the historical context for the story’s Heian setting and how that compares to postwar Japan.
-
Episode #5 – Initiation Love (イニシエーション・ラブ)
Set in the late 1980s. Suzuki has just graduated from university and moved to Tokyo for a new job, far from his girlfriend, Mayu. But can their relationship survive the long distance between Tokyo and Shizuoka or the demands of working for a Japanese company? And can Suzuki resist the temptations of his attractive co-worker?
-
Episode #3 – Shoplifters (万引き家族)
A Japanese couple stuck with part-time jobs and hence inadequate incomes avail themselves of the fruits of shoplifting to make ends meet. They are not alone in this behaviour. The younger and the older of the household are in on the act. The unusual routine is about to change from carefree and matter-of-fact to something more dramatic, however, as the couple open their doors to a beleaguered young girl. The reasons for the family's habit and their motivations come under the microscope.
