Drama
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SPECIAL – An Interview with Takeshi Fukunaga
Takeshi Fukunaga's latest movie, AINU MOSIR, is a beautiful coming-of-age story featuring Kanto, a young boy who lives in the Ainu village of Akan and struggles with his cultural identity. I spoke with the director about his influences, inspiration, ideas of cultural identity. and more.
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Episode #36 – Tokyo Story (東京物語)
Perry is joined by Singapore-based scholar Richard Davis, who is very knowledgeable about early Japanese cinema. In this episode, they explore Yasujiru Ozu’s classic Tokyo Story.
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Episode #28 – The Twilight Samurai (黄昏清兵衛)
Perry is joined by Konner and Michael from The KMP Podcast to discuss the first film in Yoji Yamada’s samurai trilogy. Get ready for a more realistic look at the end of the samurai era as they talk about some of the history of the samurai at that time and how some of the ideas and themes are reflected in contemporary Japan.
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Episode #27 – Throne of Blood (蜘蛛巣城)
Japanese-style Shakespeare takes the stage in this episode. Perry is joined by Aaron Shelton of the Kame House Party podcast to talk about Throne of Blood, Akira Kurosawa’s 1957 adaptation of Macbeth. While not our favorite Kurosawa film, this conversation definitely goes into some interesting and unexpected areas!
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Episode #21 – Letters From Iwo Jima (硫黄島からの手紙)
A more nuanced view of Japanese soldiers in World War II is the focus of Clint Eastwood’s 2006 Letters From Iwo Jima and why it’s one of the most powerful anti-war films ever made.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
