The main hero of this film is the spirit of the once very popular wooden statuette called Billiken. It's a small god with a pointed head, a fat belly and a characteristic smile. When the casket in which the statuette was found is broken, the spirit of Billiken is free. After that he tries to fulfill the wishes of all those who had prayed to him, but it doesn't always works.
The main hero of this film is the spirit of the once very popular wooden statuette called Billiken. It's a small god with a pointed head, a fat belly and a characteristic smile. When the casket in which the statuette was found is broken, the spirit of Billiken is free. After that he tries to fulfill the wishes of all those who had prayed to him, but it doesn't always works.
1996-08-03
0
Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist.
Right before her wedding, a young woman finds herself abducted and held for ransom. As the initial days pass, she begins to develop a strange bond with her kidnapper.
When a depressed woman is burglarized, she finds a new sense of purpose by tracking down the thieves alongside her obnoxious neighbor. But they soon find themselves dangerously out of their depth against a pack of degenerate criminals.
The protagonist is Carmen X, a sexy female member of a terrorist gang. She asks her uncle Jean, a washed-up film director if she can borrow his beachside house to make a film with some friends, but they are in fact planning to rob a bank. During the robbery she falls in love with a security guard. The film intercuts between Carmen's escape with the guard, her uncle's attempt to make a comeback film, and a string quartet attempting to perform Beethoven.
While returning to Leningrad from a visit to his brother, Professor Artyom's car breaks down and he finds assistance at an isolated farmhouse occupied by Alexey, his wife, a Vietnamese laborer, and a stranger who wanders around the farm. When his car is repaired, Artyom leaves, drunk on moonshine, and students Valera and Angelika arrive. After Valera gets drunk, the stranger abducts Angelika.
Godzilla has become a distant memory for Japan when the destruction of a US submarine raises alarms for Admiral Tachibana. His estranged daughter Yuri investigates the legend of the guardian monsters, who must rise to protect Japan against the vengeful spirits within Godzilla that seek to destroy both the nation and its people for the suffering they inflicted in the Pacific conflict.
A university student is kidnapped by young men in a car. No ransom is asked as the men are just bored roving thugs who have nothing better to do nor do they have any specific mission or purpose. Fascinated by the men's close bonds, the abused student slowly turns from victim to accomplice.
One day a puppy comes to the house of Akari, who has just turned twelve, and was trying hard to act strong after her mother suddenly fell ill. She immediately falls in love with the puppy and names it "Socks" after the paws which looked like they had white socks on. Akari was together with Socks day and night. However, as Akari grows up, her feelings and interest moves away from Socks. Year by year, their distance grows, which also leads to her physical distance as she moves to a far off city, and must leave Socks behind to a childhood friend.One day Akari remembers the 10 promises that she had made with Socks and her deceased mother...
A bandit leader kidnaps the wife of the policeman who killed his sister, but later falls in love with her.
Two new dads are putting their newly adopted newborn son to sleep when something unexpected happens...
In Edo-era Japan, a ukiyo-e artist languishes in his master’s shadow. Creatively stifled, he finds consolation in the company of a prostitute, and becomes entangled in a love triangle. A mystery emerges involving two portraits and the sudden disappearance of the artist Sharaku. Helmed by Cannes-selected director Tatsuji Yamazaki, the film employs kabuki-inspired sequences and stylised sets.
Giovanni currently lives a dreary life of near non-stop work. At school, his peers ridicule him incessantly, and his employer at work is distant and cold. As his isolation from society becomes unbearable, he suddenly finds himself on a train heading far away from his miserable home. Accompanied by Campanella, an acquaintance from school, Giovanni embarks on a journey that will define the rest of his life.
Reality and fantasy melds as a Korean documentary film director attempts to capture life in the small town of Gojo, Japan.
Set during World War II, the film follows a young brother and sister as they attempt to survive the aftermath of the firebombing of Kobe City.
A rich man's daughter is held captive in an abandoned apartment by two former convicts who abducted her and hold her ransom in exchange for her father's money.
Satoshi Nomura, a top-level bureaucrat of a prefecture government, has passion for his career. One day, he is hired by the fixed-term personnel exchange training between public and private businesses. This personnel exchange training is part of some big prefecture project. This project is very big, so success of this personnel exchange training will probably determine his career. Nomura goes to a supermarket called "Mantendo".
A celebrated Broadway actress and a wealthy widowed businessman are brought together through their shared affection for a young orphan.
Inventor Goro Ibuki creates a humanoid robot named Jet Jaguar. It is soon seized by an undersea race of people called the Seatopians. Using Jet Jaguar as a guide, the Seatopians send Megalon as vengeance for the nuclear tests that have devastated their society.
Rick, a down-and-out American boxer, is hired to transport a sword to Japan, unaware that the whole thing is a set up in a bitter blood-feud between two brothers, one who follows the traditional path of the samurai and the other a businessman. At the behest of the businessman, Rick undertakes samurai training from the other brother, but joins his cause. He also becomes romantically involved with the samurai's daughter.
An adaptation of the Rankin/Bass cartoon, "The King Kong Show". King Kong is brought in by the evil Dr. Who to dig for Element X in a mine when the robot Mechani-Kong is unable to do the task. This leads to the machine and the real Kong engaging in a tremendous battle atop Tokyo Tower.