In Tokyo, lonely patrons pay to sleep ("soine") with someone. Massage, cuddle, sleep… for comfort and nothing more than the warm embrace of another. Tasuku, a young man fresh out of a relationship, starts a new job as one of the cuddlers. He's nervous and reticent, but soon finds himself with a procession of clients, male as well as female. In his unique position as their companion, he finds himself privy to the true selves they keep closeted. Tender performance and contemplative writing elevate an exploration of the human need for comfort and tenderness, while learning to be true to oneself.
In modern-day Helsinki, two lonely souls in search of love meet by chance in a karaoke bar. However, their path to happiness is beset by obstacles – from lost phone numbers to mistaken addresses, alcoholism, and a charming stray dog.
A family spends three summer days in a beautiful lake mansion close to Berlin. Together with her new lover, Irene visits her brother Alex, who still inhabits the house with Irene's writer son Konstantin. Konstantin's girl-friend pops in, too, and all of them drift away from each other more and more.
Seven-year-old Rio visits her grandparents in Japan for the first time. She observes the beauty and unfamiliarity of the household, sensing a distance between her American family and the Japanese relatives. When her mother, Seiko, reveals an open secret during tea, the children are excused from the room and something happens behind closed doors.
The story contrasts the life of two doctors, former classmates and now both assistant professors at Naniwa University Hospital in Osaka. The brilliant and ambitious surgeon Goro Zaizen stops at nothing to rise to a position of eminence and authority, while the friendly Shuji Satomi busies himself with his patients and research.
A court fortune-teller loses his mind after a conspiracy leads to the death of his lover. Hope appears to be on the horizon after he becomes romantically involved with his dead lover's twin sister, but more complications arise thanks to a chance encounter with a clan of shape-shifters.
The seven secretaries who consist of the "Shadow Army" enjoy peaceful days. They receive a new request from Koichi Ogata, who runs a ramen restaurant in Nagano prefecture. He is furious at land development that is carried out by Alps Raicho Group. The Alps Raicho Group and their Alps Raicho Resort are run by the Tsukumo family. That family exerts tremendous influence around the region. The Tsukumo family seem like a well mannered family, but, in reality, they are a vicious family who will do anything for their own interests.
A student's increasingly intimate line of questioning causes his interview with a local horror host to take a vulnerable turn.
In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.
Brash, loudmouthed and opportunistic, Kikujiro is the unlikely companion for Masao who is determined to see the mother he has never met. The two begin a series of adventures which soon turns out to be a whimsical journey of laughter and tears with a wide array of surprises and unique characters along the way.
Elizabeth has just been through a particularly nasty breakup, and now she's ready to leave her friends and memories behind as she chases her dreams across the country. In order to support herself on her journey, Elizabeth picks up a series of waitress jobs along the way. As Elizabeth crosses paths with a series of lost souls whose yearnings are even greater than her own, their emotional turmoil ultimately helps her gain a greater understanding of her own problems...
Detective Onihei better known as "Heizo the Demon" heads a group of skilled officers, however, one of those special officers got himself into a web of betrayal and deceit, and become the very thing Heizo the Demon investigates daily.
A passionate telling of the story of Sada Abe, a woman whose affair with her master led to an obsessive and ultimately destructive sexual relationship.
Every night while the city sleeps, Ahmad, a former Pakistani rock star turned immigrant, drags his heavy cart along the streets of New York. And every morning, he sells coffee and donuts to a city he cannot call his own. One day, however, the pattern of this harsh existence is broken by a glimmer of hope for a better life.
Yuki's family is nearly wiped out before she is born due to the machinations of a band of criminals. These criminals kidnap and brutalize her mother but leave her alive. Later her mother ends up in prison with only revenge to keep her alive. She creates an instrument for this revenge by purposefully getting pregnant. Yuki never knows the love of a family but only killing and revenge.
In a small Tokyo apartment, twelve-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and shows no sign of returning.
Although his alcoholism has been treated, Alain still feels he is deeply unwell and does not feel he can leave the detoxification clinic once and for all. His wife, living in New York, continues to pay for his treatment, but no longer contacts him directly. He intends to commit suicide, but first takes a ride to Paris to catch up with old friends.
After the death of her husband, silence and loneliness reign in this old lady's house. She made routine her best friend and faith her shelter. Only in her dreams she runs away from those four walls to a timeless magic land where the sea speaks without using words. Her days go by like this; between the real life and dreams… until a street dog comes to her door.
There were five Marines and one Navy Corpsman photographed raising the U.S. flag on Mt. Suribachi by Joe Rosenthal on February 23, 1945. This is the story of three of the six surviving servicemen - John 'Doc' Bradley, Pvt. Rene Gagnon and Pvt. Ira Hayes - who fought in the battle to take Iwo Jima from the Japanese.