Tadanobu Asano

Director Takeshi Kitano takes on Japanese cinematic legend Zatoichi. Kitano stars as the blind wanderer with a distinctive red cane and a shock of platinum blonde hair. Softly-spoken, he makes a living as a masseur and by gambling, but his humble, shuffling facade masks a lightning-fast, deadly swordsman. (Miramax)

Two young guys work in a plant that manufactures oshibori (those moist hand-towels found in some Japanese restaurants). Their weird bond is based on uncontrollable rage--something neither can articulate or control--and the strange jellyfish that they keep as a pet. (imdb)

A residential neighborhood in Tokyo, 2003. Yoko, a freelance writer researching musical legend Jiang Ewn-Ye, befriends Hajime, the owner of a secondhand bookstore. They spend many hours together in the district's coffee shops and train stations. Yoko feels she can tell the quiet, calm Hajime anything. When she is with him, she experiences an unusual peace of mind, a calmness of spirit. For his part, Hajime loves Yoko profoundly, but remains silent... (Wild Bunch)

When a Yakuza boss named Anjo disappears with 300 million yen, his chief henchman, a sadomasochistic man named Kakihari, and the rest of his mob goons go looking for him. After capturing and torturing a rival Yakuza member looking for answers, they soon realize they have the wrong man and begin looking for the man named Jijii who tipped them off in the first place... (imdb)

A suicidal, obsessively compulsive Japanese librarian is forced to lie low in Thailand with a pot-smoking woman coping with the recent loss of her sister.

A comic, violent, tragically hip first feature that brings a fresh new look to a classic genre, the couple-on-the-run. Derived from a manga, the bizarre collection of characters in this gangster story have been brought to life in an eruption of vivid color, surf punk music, flashy designer wear, outlandish campyness and one long, fast paced chase. (Two Boots Pioneer Theater)

Set during Japan's Shogun era, this film looks at life in a samurai compound where young warriors are trained in swordfighting. A number of interpersonal conflicts are brewing in the training room, all centering around a handsome young samurai named Sozaburo Kano. The school's stern master can choose to intervene, or to let Kano decide his own path. (imdb)

A spell of time in the life of a family living in rural Tochigi prefecture, north of Tokyo. Though her husband is busy working at an office, Yoshiko is not an ordinary housewife, instead working on an animated film project at home. Uncle Ayano has recently arrived, looking to get his head together after living in Tokyo for several years. Meanwhile, Yoshiko's daughter Sachiko is mainly concerned with why she seems to be followed around everywhere by a giant version of herself. (imdb)

Four short films, based on stories by Japanese mystery writer Rampo Edogawa, explore dark themes of obsession, sex and death. In "Mars Canal," a naked man wanders alone through a swamp recalling a former lover. "Mirror Hell" follows a serial killer with a fixation on hand mirrors. "Caterpillar" centers on a crippled veteran, his sadistic wife and their unhealthy relationship. And in "Crawling Bugs," a chauffeur plots to seduce a starlet.

After inadvertently killing his girlfriend, a man (Asano) flees Macau for Thailand in an attempt to cope with his guilt, and avoid possible arrest. But the relocation doesn't prevent his problems from following him, as his new friends could be potential enemies. (imdb)

A man continually trying and failing to get his wife to stay dead; a self-absorbed ad agency creative director who comes up with one unworkably inane idea after another; a Brittish hitman who only wants to know everyone's function in life; and an unfortunate office worker and father whose brain is left scrambled after a stage hypnotist is murdered in mid-performance. Starting off as unrelated plot lines, they intertwine with each other as they continue on their respective ways. (IMDB)

Believing that the world will end that very day, three mental patients Coco, Tsumuji, and Satoru set out upon a journey... (imdb)

A young woman's husband apparently commits suicide without warning or reason, leaving behind his wife and infant... (imdb)

Teenage drama; schoolgirls, enjo-kosai (compensated dating) (imdb)

Benkei, a master fighter and killer, vows never to take another life after his conversion to Buddhism. His faith in pacifism, however, is shaken and ultimately broken by the attacks from a trio of fighters known only as "the demons". Taking up his sword once more, he sets out to end their murderous terror. (imdb)

A young boy gets jolted with electricity as he's climbing a tall cable pylon. As he gets older, he experiences intense fits of violence in which bolts of electricity burt from his fists. Elsewhere in Tokyo, there is an electronics wizard who also happens to be a vigilante with a taste for electric weapons. When the pair catch each other's attention, the result is a battle that will light up the city. (imdb)

Hiroshi is a medical student plagued with amnesia after a road accident that took the life of his girlfriend Ryoko. Settling back into his parents' concrete apartment with his mind a blank sheet, he sleepwalks through the days like a ghost. (Midnight Eye)

Yukio is living a charmed life: he is a respected young doctor with a successful practice and a beautiful wife. His only problem is that his wife is suffering from amnesia, and her past is unknown. Things begin to fall apart, however, when both his parents die suddenly, killed by a mysterious stranger with Yukio's face. Only when Yukio confronts this stranger will the mystery of his identity, and his wife's past, be revealed. (imdb)

Naisu no Mori: The First Contact is the only film that features an ejaculating Ass-Television that plugs into a schoolgirl's navel to save an alien planet and give birth to a tiny sushi chef. (SFIndie.com)

The movie opens to two men practicing Ju-Jitsu, one of them, Micchan (whom believes he has cancer after he forces his doctor to tell him that's what it is after the doc insists it's just a stomach ulcer) and he dedicates his life to helping his friend, Fujio, learn Ju-Jitsu, so once zombies start sprouting from the graves, why not practice on them? (shop.hkdvdstore.com)

Tomiko is a conductor in a rural bus driven by the handsome Niitaka. Tomiko had received a letter from her best friend Tsuyako, a conductor in another bus company, just after Tsuyako was killed in a bus accident. Tsuyako wrote that she felt that her fiance and driver, Niitaka, planned to kill her. Tomiko therefore plans to take revenge on Niitaka... (imdb)

In twelfth-century Mongolia, nine-year-old Temudgin, who will grow up to become the warrior known as Genghis Khan, must flee his home shortly after choosing the spirited Borte as his bride when his father is murdered and a rival seizes power. With the help of his blood brother, tribal prince Jamukha, the adult Temudgin battles his rivals and works to unite the region's warring clans under his authority. (oscar.com)

Machi, a high school student unsure of where her life is heading starts making up stories with her two friends. Soon they all agree to work on one tale together each picking up where the last one left off. (Twitchfilm)

A story set in the year 1872 in Japan. In a poor district of Edo lives a young samurai named Soza. He has been sent by his clan to avenge the death of his father. He isn't an accomplished swordsman however, and he prefers sharing the life of the residents, teaching the kids how to write etc. When he finally finds the man he is looking for, he will have to decide whether he follows the way of the samurai or chooses peace and reconciliation.

A radio broadcast issues a public service announcement reminding listeners of the third anniversary memorial service for the victims of the Ark of Truth cult disaster, a biological terrorist attack that introduced a genetically engineered virus into the nation's water supply, leading to the deaths of 128 people and an additional 8,000 illnesses. (filmref.com)

A.D. 2015: A virus has been spreading in many cities worldwide. It is a suicidal disease and the virus is infected by pictures. People, once infected, come down with the disease, which leads to death. They have no way of fighting against this infection filled with fear and despair. The media calls the disease "the Lemming Syndrome" (imdb)

Asano had an amazing memory since his youth spent in Okinawa. Words have tangible shapes, tastes and colours for him. He chances upon the Dive Bar, that soon turns out to be the haven of comfort he has been seeking since his youth. The bar is run by the flamboyant, hospitable Kevin, who is also an alcoholic, eclectic lover and a perfect confidant to Asano. But Kevin keeps forgetting all kinds of things and that gets him into trouble sometimes. (imdb)

Seven characters, introduced at the start of the film, get thrown together into the same hotel room: a thief who's stolen a suitcase of money from the mob, his ex-girlfriend, her obsessive boyfriend, the mob soldier sent to retrieve the briefcase, another mobster sent to kill them, master voyeur Captain Banana and his new apprentice, The Mister Yellow. (imdb)

Kenji, abandoned by his mother, scrapes out a meager existence doing odd jobs including driving bar hostesses and their customers home. Besides this he takes care of the sister of an old friend in jail and a young illegal immigrant. But his life reaches a turning point when he happens to meet Chiyoko, his long lost mother. She is now married to Mamiya, the owner of an express package delivery service. They also have a teenage son, Yusuke. (imdb)

Based on a play by Hisashi Inoue, it focuses on the sufferings of the survivors of Hiroshima. The film takes place during 4 days in the summer of 1948, as the ghost of her father visits Mitsué (Rié Miyama). He had somehow learned that she has fallen in love, and tries to convince her to start her new life. (imdb)

A 1996 commercial short film by Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai that he made for Japanese fashion designer Takeo Kikuchi. The title contains the initials of Wong Kar-wai and Takeo Kikuchi, the year of release, the length, 7 minutes 55 seconds, and "hk" for Hong Kong. (Wikipedia)

"Ambivalent Future" provides an intimate portrait of the filming of Kurosawa Kiyoshi's "Bright Future". But more than that it provides a rare and candid look at the unique working process of Japan's foremost director. (The Auteurs Europe)

The film opens with mobster Yasuo (Ken Mitsuishi) getting out of jail only to learn that his gang's don is dead, and that his own future is in doubt. Seething from the bad news, he sees his old high school friend Kenji (Tadanobu Asano). (allmovie.com)

This enticing period melodrama depicts a long-suffering woman's relationship with her brilliant but self-destructive writer husband in postwar Tokyo. Based on a semi-autobiographical 1947 novel by Osamu Dazai, the story centers less on the womanizing, heavy-drinking, suicidal hero than on the wife who loves him. (imdb)

Set in the distant future where multi-wheeled flying air-cars replaced today's four-wheel vehicles, Redline follows the intertwined journeys of competitors in the deadliest car-racing game in the universe. (madhouse)

3 short stories of how the guys found themselves at the dead end. in the first part a guy kills a girl by mistake and this is the first sight love. The second one is a psychological duel, and the final story is about who wants to die most

It has been two years since unsuccessful cartoonist, Tsube (Asano), started to live with Kuniko (Fujitani) in a small apartment which they had to leve because of their depts. One day Kuniko visits Tsube at the apartment while Kimoto is out. Tsube secretly tries to steal some money from Kuniko's purse and surprisingly finds a condom instead. He starts to suspect her infidelity. At one point the film becomes increasingly surreal, with Tsube having more and more alienated erotic experiences (division 1656)

It is 1965. High-school student Takeyoshi Fujiwara Yasufumi Hayashi) hears "Pipeline" by the Ventures, and is mesmerized by their unique sound. With three friends, he forms a band called "The Rocking Horsemen." (imdb)

Alcoholic hi-flyer civil servant, his career falling apart, wakes in a Tokyo park aside hostess with whom he's impulsively made a suicide pact. Tho he's secretly now reconsidered, he will go with her to Hokkaido, where she wants to end it all - her birthplace, fled to Tokyo for independence & making a happy family. Hubby died in accident & she too loses it all. Tho similarly crushed by life the 2 are like oil & water on the surface - can they mix to redeem each other?

"Kaabee" depicts the hardship of a woman in pre and during WWII, raising her kids alone after her husband imprisoned for "thought crime". This movie was directed by Yamada Youji, and as expected the atmosphere of this movie is really wonderful. Although the historical correctness of some scenes, most notably the beach scene, is a suspect. (8thSin)

Izawa is a lowly production assistant in the corporate monolith Media Station, housed in a gleaming building that towers above the ruins of Tokyo. He lives in squalor among pigs and chickens in an old tailor's house, and he perpetually contemplates suicide. A noose invitingly hangs from his ceiling if the mood were to strike. Media Station's number-one idol is the beautiful but malicious Ginga. Ginga becomes enraged when her advances on the thoroughly uninterested Izawa are thwarted.

Woman of Water is set in and around a public bathhouse in rural Japan run by Ryo (UA) and her elderly father. All the major events in her life are accompanied by rainfall, most significantly the day that both her father and boyfriend die in separate incidents during an unrelenting downpour. Now alone, Ryo must run the bathhouse herself and come to grips with her strange powers. She meets Yusaku (Tadanobu Asano), a young man obsessed with fire, whom she hires to stoke the bathhouse's furnace. (rottentomatoes.com)

A salesman from Delta Works, a London-based computerized database, offers a one month free trial that seems uninteresting until he mentions that an operator, always selected from a group of young women in their 20's nick-named "Delta Ladies", will also be supplied in the trial period. Poo arrives at the one-man Aida Detective Agency with the Delta Mazelan 'F' Series hardware. A dragon fish has been stolen by Tetsu Tobiyama and biologist Thomas Earwing seeks its return... (imdb)

An editor arrives at a Sumo village to find the missing award-nominated writer Deko just in time to bring him to an award ceremony. There, the editor learns that Deko's weird friends have been desperately trying to kill him because of the book Deko wrote about their embarrassing memories. Despite their countless attempts at murder, Deko's dumbness keeps him from even noticing his friends' intentions. (Nippon Connection)

An omnibus of short films by auteur directors based on Dreams. (imdb)

A young lawyer is tasked with defending a client from a murder charge and has to rely on the testimony of a 500-year-old ghost.

In Hanari-cho, a small and quiet bayside town by the sea, the firemen have not seen a fire for nearly twenty years. Each day passes eventlessly... until one day. The monotony of their daily lives is interrupted by the appearence of a bautiful femaile college student, Momoko (Suzuki Kyoka), who comes to visit her aunt. After catching a glimpse of Momoko, both Tatsuya (Takenaka Naoto) and Nobuyuki (Akai Hidekazu) can't stop thinking about her. Since then, the small town is not so quiet anymore... (KG)

This is a biographical film about the late Yoko Araki, who was the wife of Japan's leading photographer, Nobuyoshi Araki. (imdb)

A prison officer hands in his resignation after his wife's death, to drive to the port where she wants her ashes scattered at sea. (imdb)

A band of samurai set out to avenge the death and dishonor of their master at the hands of a ruthless shogun. (imdb)

In the countryside, Hidenori Yamane & Nanase Ogawa live together under the same roof, in a tense & awkward state. Hidenori hides in the attic and peeks through a hole into Nanase's room. Meanwhile, Nanase, who wears old sweaters and glasses, refers to Hidenori as her "brother" (even though they aren't related). A case happened 10 years ago, and since that time, Nanase awaits for punishment. One day, a couple moves into their neighborhood and a crack emerges in their closed off relationship (asianwiki.com)

In late Meiji period Japan, a group of Army surveyors set out to map one of the last and most dangerous unexplored mountains in the country.

Interpol Inspector Zenigata begins a world-wide hunt for the infamous thief Arsene Lupin III. (imdb)

After losing everything in a tsunami, 10-year-old Hana is taken in by 26-year-old distant relative Jungo Kusarino. They live as father and daughter but share a profound sense of loss. In wintry Hokkaido, Jungo and Hana both desire to fill their empty, love-starved hearts as they set foot into a forbidden world. (imdb)

When violence is the only life you know, will love save you or just unravel everything? (imdb)

After the forced suicide of Nobunaga Oda at the Incident at Honno-ji, powerful figures Katsuie Shibata, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, Nagahide Niwa and Tsuneoki Ikeda meet to decide on a successor. The conference would become Japan's first group made political decision. The meeting was known as the Kiyosu Kaigi. (imdb)

Suzuki is a former middle school teacher. His girlfriend was killed, which led him to quit his job and attempt to take revenge on her murderer. To do so, Suzuki has to infiltrate the underground world of criminals. Kujira is a contract killer for hire. He makes his targets fall into confusion and eventually commit suicide. Semi is a contract killer who uses a knife to take out his targets. (AsianWiki)

Mizuki's husband (Yusuke) drowned at sea three years ago. When he suddenly comes back home, she is not that surprised. Instead, Mizuki is wondering what took him so long. She agrees to let Yusuke take her on a journey. (imdb)

Mum Nobuko is highly troubled, but delighted, as her dead son has returned as a benevolent spirit, 3 years after his death. Now it is a matter of tactfully getting fiance Machiko to accept her beloveds death and make a life for herself instead of deciding to be a defacto "memorial" in memory of Koji.

War photjournalist Yasuyuki Tsukahara (Tadanobu Asano) married popular manga artist Yuki Sonoda (Hiromi Nagasaku) and had children. Because of Yasayuki's drinking problems the couple divorced. (KG)

The harmony of a Japanese family is crippled by an uncanny visitor.

In the seventeenth century, two Jesuit priests face violence and persecution when they travel to Japan to locate their mentor and propagate Christianity. (imdb)

Portrait of the Wind centers on Tamio, a world-traveling photographer who came home to take over the family business after his father's death. One day at the photo studio, he finds a kindred spirit in Ayako and the requisite sparks fly between them. The beginning of the film deal with their budding romance, and it isn't long before the two become a serious couple, and Ayako is pregnant. As compelling as all of this proves to be, the romance merely sets the viewer up for a tragic narrative turn. (lovehkfilm.com)

Over the course of several decades, a deal between the Japanese army and criminals in Shanghai plays out with violence and betrayal.

Tamako is a 13-year-old girl in her first year at high school. Her grandfather (Kenzo) returns home from prison and proceeds to deal with her school bullies. As Tamako starts to gain respect for her grandfather the pair find themselves being summoned by the local Yakuza leader. (imdb)

A small and intrusive reporting crew are reporting on the actions of a man who monitors transmissions in a documentary they are filming. When suddenly a weapon is introduced the nerd and the events turn tupsy turvy and the results are not sublime. (imdb)

An epic set in post-WWII Japan and centered on an American former G.I. who joins the yakuza. (imdb)

Based on the manga series "Shinjuku Swan Kabukicho Skauto Sabaibaru" by Ken Wakui (first published 2005 in Weekly Young Magazine). Tatsuhiko Shiratori (Gou Ayano) works as a scout, recruiting girls to work in the adult entertainment business. He movies to Yokohama from Shinjuku, Tokyo. He comes into conflict with Masaki Taki (Tadanobu Asano) who is the CEO of a scout company. (imdb)

A 40-year old man sees his life change when his wife gets pregnant. He already has a daughter from his first marriage whom he rarely sees and two step-daughters, from his wife's first marriage. The youngest of his step-daughters is looking forward to a baby brother or sister, but the oldest doesn't welcome the news and suddenly decides that she wants to live with her father. (imdb)

Adaptation of the novel by Raymond Chandler.

A tribute from filmmakers and critics around the world to the Taiwan New Cinema movement in the 1980s (imdb)

An ugly but talented actress gains the power to copy the bodies of beautiful actresses temporarily. But how long can she maintain the facade? (imdb)

Since his childhood in Okinawa, Asano has had a mnemonic memory. For him, words have tactile forms and tastes that make them constantly present in his mind; as a result, he can't forget a word once he's heard it. Now he is in "gridlock," his memories blocking the flow of life. Asano finds himself in Hong Kong's Dive Bar, drawn by the colour of the gay club's couches, a shade of blue which reminds him of the sea. (imdb)

The story of the Battle of Midway, told by the leaders and the sailors who fought it. (imdb)

Rica and Kengo have been living together for the past four years. It's been a very happy time for Rica; the only dark spot being an accident she caused during a shoot for a commercial in which Kengo's good friend, Shibata, nearly lost his life. The memory of this event weighs heavily on Rica's conscience. One night Kengo tells Rica that he has fallen in love with a charming but "inscrutable" woman named Hanako. Kengo moves out of their apartment and, although Rica is terribly hurt and confused,

The story centers on a group of young people who travel back in time when they are in a movie theater just before closing time. They witness deaths during the closing days of Japan's feudal times and on the battlefront in China before they are sent to Hiroshima just before the Aug. 6, 1945, atomic bombing of the city. (imdb)

In search of employment and a permanent position and having committed murder the ronin Kake Junoshin tells the Kurokaze ('black wave') Han clan that a religious cult is aiming for their destruction. This gets him in, but he is soon disproved and arrested. Given the death sentence and awaiting death he has to be quick on his feet and figure out a way to get himself out of the hole. Then the resurrection occurs.

War photographer W. Eugene Smith travels back to Japan where he documents the devastating effect of mercury poisoning in coastal communities. (imdb)

MMA fighter Cole Young seeks out Earth's greatest champions in order to stand against the enemies of Outworld in a high stakes battle for the universe.

A story about the lifestyles of women whose lives intersect in this world dominated by social media. (imdb)

A female assassin has 24 hours to get vengeance on her murderer before she dies.

A girl finds an old handgun in her attic and the symbolic object conjures a mystical scene of samurai gathering within the moss-grown location of Kasosan Shrine in Tochigi Prefecture.

The year is 1947, during the war-torn period of the Showa era. The story begins when a man, presumed to have been killed in battle, returns home. Who was this man? Before the war, he had a bright future ahead of him as the proficient and popular rakugoka, Usagi Morinoya. However, because of an injury sustained during the war, his face is covered in bandages, and he suffers from total amnesia. As if trying to recover his memory, the man only keeps mumbling in a hollow voice his trademark...

The 2011th Fall Special Edition of Fuji TV's "Bizarre Tales". Hosted by veteran comedian Tamori, who yet again introduces us to five different tales of the unknown and unnatural. 1. Tsukareru (Possessed) - starring Matsushita Nao. 2. JANKEN - starring Miura Haruma. 3. Baby Talk A Jou (Tablet 'Baby Talk A') - starring Mizukawa Asami. 4. Mimikaki (Earpick) - starring Asano Tadanobu. 5. Ijimerarekko (Bullied Child) - starring Shida Mirai.

10-year-old Sota lives with his grandfather and a dog named Chibi in a small snowy village. They live in such a poverty that Sota cannot even afford to go to school, but however hard the situation is, Sota never holds a bad feeling against anyone around and keeps his dream alive to become a painter. (asianwiki.com)

A scientist desperately wanting to prove that mermaids exist is ostracized from the scientific community in Japan. He settles down in Australia steadfast in his hypothesis when a Japanese student visits him in Australia with strange questions about mermaids, how the young man survived in the ocean, and why he doesn't remember anything.

A sequel to the 1980 movie The Legend of the Stardust Brothers. As well as being a rock musical comedy, it also borrows elements from other genres such as road movies, westerns, and meta-fiction.

Shōgun follows "the collision of two ambitious men from different worlds and a mysterious female samurai: John Blackthorne, a risk-taking English sailor who ends up shipwrecked in Japan, a land whose unfamiliar culture will ultimately redefine him; Lord Toranaga, a shrewd, powerful daimyo, at odds with his own dangerous, political rivals; and Lady Mariko, a woman with invaluable skills but dishonorable family ties, who must prove her value and allegiance" (wikipedia.org).

Three short dramas using the backdrop of food.

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)

While attending the wedding of a school friend, four teenage sisters investigate the murder of the bride on board a luxury liner.

Lord Oda Nobunaga plans to control Japan where rival warlords battle by waging war against several clans. His vassal Araki Murashige stages a rebellion and promptly disappears (imdb)