Kôbô Abe

An entomologist searching for insects in the desert is trapped into a large hole where lives a women in an old house... (imdb)

A businessman facially scarred in a laboratory fire receives psychotherapy from a psychiatrist, and obtains an amazingly lifelike mask from the doctor... (imdb)

Grungy streets of a city, night, rain. A man in a topcoat and fedora stops in front of a large cardboard box on the sidewalk across from his flat. The box is upside-down, a narrow slit near the top. The man is startled when two eyes stare out at him from the box... (imdb)

A man wanders into a seemingly deserted town with his young son in search of work. But after a bit of bad luck, he joins the town's population of lost souls. (imdb)

A day in the life of Ako, a 16 year old Japanese girl, and her friends and co-workers. An alarm clock wakes her in a dorm; she gets ready for work and travels to a large bakery. We see her with friends, chatting and laughing, as well as working. They go out, seven of them jammed in an old Pontiac: bowling, then to an amusement park, then driving around. Car trouble may put her at risk. Is she going to be okay? (imdb)

A private detective is hired to find a missing man by his wife. While his search is unsuccessful, the detective's own life begins to resemble the man for whom he is searching. (imdb)

mysterious meditation on the power of poetic imagination. A worker fired from a factory for demanding higher wages is plagued by ghastly nightmares. Based on a story by novelist Kobo Abe. (dailymotion)

Drama about a group of rank-and-file Japanese soldiers jailed for crimes against humanity adapted from the diaries of real prisoners. (criterion.com)

Very fast-moving sketches of a corrupt politician, a jaded geisha, an impoverished family with 18 children and a boarder who works as a day-laborer and manufactures atomic bombs at night. (Audie Bock)

A nameless man gives up his identity to live with a large cardboard box over his head, to meet a range of characters as he wanders in Tokyo. (imdb)