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A Tale of Samurai Cooking 2013 star_border 7.1
In this love story set in the Edo period, 27-year-old Oharu is a genius in the kitchen. Oharu attracts the attention of the master chef of the Kaga Domain, who arranges for her to marry his son and heir, 24-year-old Yasunobu. But, Yasunobu is cold to his new wife, and he's more interested in swordplay than cookery.

Fly with the Gold 2012 star_border 6
Kota hears about an impending 1.5 billion yen gold bar heist from his friend Kitagawa, a former college classmate, and decides to take part. The gold bar sits in the basement of the HQ of Sumita Bank. Helping Kota and Kitagawa are bank security employee Noda, a North Korean spy pretending to be a college student, Kitagawa's younger brother Haruki and a former elevator engineer. These 6 men are about to carry the boldest of schemes to bypass the bank's high-tech defense system.

Cold Bloom 2012 star_border 6.2
Industrial Hitachi City is the location for this post-3.11 drama. Still recovering from the tsunami, Shiori receives news of her husband’s accidental death, which marks the start of a personal recovery that mirrors the town’s for Shiori as well as forgiveness of surviving coworker Takumi.

Abacus and Sword 2010 star_border 6
Set during the Meiji Restoration period of Edo era Japan, Naoyuki belongs to the 8th generation of the Inoyama family, a wealthy family known for finance & accounting. He is also a gifted mathematician and uses the abacus with extreme skills. Naoyuki works under the declining Kaga domain. Because of this, Naoyuki and his wife Koma suffer hardships as their stature and wealth dissipates.

Soup Opera 2010 star_border 8
Sakai plays Rui, a 35-year-old single woman forced to live alone after the aunt who raised her suddenly decides to get married and move out. Through an unexpected set of circumstances, she winds up becoming roommates with an aging ladies’ man named Tony and a timid younger man named Kosuke.

Toilet 2010 star_border 5.6
A 30-something Gundam fan and engineer is forced to live with his recluse brother Maury and younger sister Lisa to take care of their Japanese grandmother after their mother's funeral.

Railways 2010 star_border 7
A heartwarming tale about the turning point in the life of an elite business man in his fifties and a local train that has been running since 1911. Hajime is in line to be the next head of a prominent electronics company. He toils day and night over his work and has no time for his family. But one day, his mother in Shimane falls ill, and his best friend dies in an accident. Grief-stricken, Hajime returns home, where memories of his childhood dream come back to him. He had always wanted to be a train conductor and drive the local "bataden" Ichibata Electric Railway.

About Her Brother 2010 star_border 6.3
Ginko's younger brother Tetsuro, a failed comedian, is the oddball of the family. Embarrassing, loud and plain inappropriate at times causes Ginko to disown him. The two reunite when she discovers Tetsuro is terminally ill. Tetsuro’s impending death marks the beginning of love and toleration.

Air Doll 2009 star_border 7
A life-size, inflatable sex doll suddenly comes to life one day. Without her owner knowing, she goes for a walk around town and falls in love with Junichi. She starts to date Junichi and gets a job at the same store where he works. Everything seems to be going perfectly for her until something unexpected happens.

A Lush Life 2009 star_border 4
The story involves an aloof thief, a young man who turns to God after his father’s suicide, a manipulative marriage councilor, a man who recently lost his job, and several others whose lives become intertwined in various unexpected ways.

Still Walking 2008 star_border 7.8
A family gathers together for a commemorative ritual whose nature only gradually becomes clear.

All Around Us 2008 star_border 7.4
Kanao, a courtroom portrait artist, observes crimes, scandals and the decline of Japanese values without passing judgement. As he and his wife endure the tragedy of their first child’s death, hope slowly unfolds and their love story flickers to life once again.

Kabei: Our Mother 2008 star_border 7.2
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.

Kaidan 2007 star_border 6.2
Japan, 250 years ago. Soetsu is a moneylender who is killed by the cruel samurai Shinzaemon. His body is dumped in the Kasenega-Fuchi river. According to legend, all who drown in the river will never surface again. 20 Years later, Shinkichi, the handsome son of Shinzaemon, coincidentally meets Toyoshiga, the daughter of Soetsu. They fall in love. It is a doomed love, as the spirit of Soetsu is far from dead

Tokyo Towers: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad 2007 star_border 6.9
Adapted from the bestselling Japanese autobiography of the same title, this gentle coming-of-age drama concerns an adolescent boy, Boku - Masaya, torn between the inherited recklessness of his father Oton and the inherited responsibility, wisdom and emotional strength of his mother Okan. Following a period of intensely rebellious behavior, Boku learns that his mom has contracted cancer; suddenly, his mother comes to live with him in Tokyo the entire emotional landscape of his life is altered.

Sea Without Exit 2006 star_border 5.9
Koji Namiki is a young pitcher who has shown great promise on the diamond by winning the National High School Basketball Championships. Shortly after entering college, however, Namiki's athletic career is called into question after he suffers a severe elbow injury. But despite a disheartening diagnosis, Namiki is determined to make a comeback. With a little help from his teammates it appears that he is getting back on track, too. Recently, he's even developed a new slow ball that he and his teammates have christened "the magic pitch". Fate can be a cruel mistress though, and when World War II breaks out Namiki the entire team join the navy and begin a training regiment specifically designed to prepare them for the ultimate darkness, an submarine attack method also known as "The Human Torpedo".

Sway 2006 star_border 6
A psychologically thrilling portrait of the severe dysfunction behind a family clinging to decorum and pride.

It's Only Talk 2006 star_border 6.5
Based on an award winning novel, It's Only Talk is about the life of Yuko, a 35-year old woman. She is single and unemployed, and suffers from manic depression. The movie begins with Yuko moving to Kamata Town.

Big Bang Love, Juvenile A 2006 star_border 6.5
An unknown future. A boy confesses to the murder of another in an all-boy juvenile detention facility. More an exercise in style than storytelling, the story follows two detectives trying to uncover the case. Homosexual tension and explosive violence drives the story which delivers some weird and fascinating visuals.

Kazuo Umezu's Horror Theater: Snake Girl 2005 star_border 5.3
Yumiko has been invited by her cousin to spend summer vacation in a rural village. Once they arrive, she is mad to feel very unwelcome by the mysterious locals who keep referring to her as "Snake Girl."

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Prayer Beads 2004
Prayer Beads, also called "omoinotama" or "nunju" in Japanese, are the small wooden beads strung on a loop used in Buddhist worship. The number of beads is typically 108, corresponding to the 108 earthly desires or sins that the beads have the power to extinguish. "Prayer Beads" is a series of 9 episodes of 30-minute dramas strung together, with the characters in each episode designing one thread of fate. The short independent episodes are skillfully linked together to become one story. The protagonists' dreams and fears and feelings about this life are all taken up and spun around to reach a dramatic conclusion in the final story.