Chikamatsu Monogatari(1954)

Early Spring(ja)

A young salaryman and his wife struggle within the confines of their passionless relationship while he embarks on an extramarital affair.

Dolls(ja)

Dolls takes puppeteering as its overriding motif, which relates thematically to the action provided by the live characters. Chief among those tales is the story of Matsumoto and Sawako, a young couple whose relationship is about to be broken apart by the former's parents, who have insisted their son take part in an arranged marriage to his boss' daughter.

The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice(ja)

The arranged marriage between a capricious woman from Tokyo high society and a quiet and rustic man is tested by a marital crisis.

The Sea of Trees(en)

In Japan's Aokigahara Forest, a troubled teacher meets a mysterious lost stranger who takes him on a life-changing journey of love and redemption.

Norwegian Wood(ja)

Toru recalls his life in the 1960s, when his friend Kizuki killed himself and he grew close to Naoko, Kizuki's girlfriend, and another woman, the outgoing, lively Midori.

An Autumn Afternoon(ja)

Widower Shuhei Hirayama's caretaker is his 24-year-old daughter, Michiko. Gradually, he comes to realize that Michiko should not be obliged to look after him for the rest of his life, so he arranges a marriage for her.

Romance Doll(ja)

It was a pre-destined love and marriage for Sonoko and Tetsuo. They tied the knot and became husband and wife no questions asked. All is well then. Well, perhaps not. Each holds a secret that even the binds of matrimony cannot untie.

My Happy Marriage(ja)

An unhappy young woman from an abusive family is married off to a fearsome and chilly army commander. But the two learn more about each other, love may have a chance.

Not Easily Broken(en)

A car accident and shifting affections test the bond between a married couple.

Blind(en)

A novelist is blinded in a car crash that killed his wife and several years later rediscovers his passion for life and writing when he embarks on an affair with the neglected wife of an indicted businessman.

Ali and Nino(en)

Muslim prince Ali and Georgian aristocrat Nino have grown up in the Russian province of Azerbaijan. Their tragic love story sees the outbreak of the First World War and the world’s struggle for Baku’s oil. Ultimately they must choose to fight for their country’s independence or for each other.

Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy(ja)

An unexpected love triangle, a seduction trap, and a random encounter are the three episodes, told in three movements to depict three female characters and trace the trajectories between their choices and regrets.

The Lower Depths(ja)

Residents of a rundown boardinghouse in 19th-century Japan, including a mysterious old man and an aging actor, get drawn into a love triangle that turns violent. When amoral thief Sutekichi breaks off his affair with landlady Osugi to romance her younger sister, Okayo, Osugi extracts her revenge by revealing her infidelity to her jealous husband.

Say 'I Love You'(ja)

Mei Tachibana is a high school student. Due to a traumatic incident when she was a kid, Mei has been unable to make friends or have boyfriends. By mistake, Mei then injures the most popular male student named Yamato Kurosawa. Somehow, Yamato Kurosawa likes Mei Tachibana and tells everyone unilaterally that Mei is his friend. One day, Yamato Kurosawa saves Mei Tachibana from a stalker by kissing her. From that kiss, their love story begins.

Restless(en)

Two outsiders, both shaped by the circumstances that have brought them together, forge a deep and lasting love.

Memoirs of a Geisha(en)

In the years before World War II, a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a maid in a geisha house.

Early Summer(ja)

In postwar Tokyo, Noriko lives with her extended family. Although she enjoys her career and her social life, her more traditional family worries about her single marital status at the advanced age of 28. 40-year-old business associate Takako proposes, Noriko's family press her into accepting, but when her widowed childhood friend Kenkichi returns to the neighborhood, she finds her heart leading in another direction.

Blue Spring Ride(ja)

In middle school, Futaba Yoshioka was madly in love with Tanaka Kou but he moves away with his mother. She is reunited with him later in life but he is not the same person anymore.

The Magic of Ordinary Days(en)

Pregnant out of wedlock, an educated young woman is pressured by her father into an arranged marriage with a lonely farmer in this drama set during WWII.

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans(en)

A married farmer falls under the spell of a slatternly woman from the city, who tries to convince him to drown his wife.

Potential Inertia(en)

Declan Holmes is graduating college, a hard enough time as it is, and heading out into the real world. The loss he experiences is like nothing he has ever known before. 'Potential Inertia' is the story of his journey through a very difficult time, and the relationships that can either build you up or tear you apart.

River's Edge(ja)

High schooler Haruna befriends loner Yamada, then is drawn into the tangled relationship between him, a model and the girl who loves him unreasonably.

Kristína(sk)

Hunter in the Dark(ja)

Yataro Tanigawa, a one-eyed hired assassin, impresses yakuza boss Gomyo Kiyoemon with his skill. Gomyo hires Tanigawa as his bodyguard, or yojimbo, to protect him during an inter-clan conflict. Tanigawa quickly rises in stature in the clan, but finds his boss's enemies almost overwhelming.

One Sings, the Other Doesn't(fr)

The intertwined lives of two women in 1970s France, set against the progress of the women's movement in which Agnes Varda was involved. Pomme and Suzanne meet when Pomme helps Suzanne obtain an abortion after a third pregnancy which she cannot afford. They lose contact but meet again ten years later. Pomme has become an unconventional singer, Suzanne a serious community worker - despite the contrast they remain friends and share in the various dramas of each others' lives, in the process affirming their different female identities.

The Wings of the Dove(fr)

A 20th-century prostitute (Dominique Sanda) arranges for her lover (Michele Placido) to wed a wealthy, dying millionairess (Isabelle Huppert) in Venice.

Pää pystyyn Helena(fi)

Grandmother Helena Junkkeri is working on a farm that her widowed son Arttu is unable to take on. Taina Raitalo who arrives at the house as a childminder makes the grieving man smile again, and Artu's little sister Päivi in turn delights the entire Junkkeri family with her achievements.

Mr. Perfect(te)

Vicky breaks his engagement with Priya, his childhood friend, after he learns that she is making many compromises for his sake. However, time makes him realise the need for compromises in life.

100% Love(te)

Balu and Mahalakshmi are both very competitive in college, which leads to ego clashes. When they meet again after a few years, they try to outdo each other until they realize that they are in love.

Last Days of the Samurai(ja)

Seppuku Day 17 Ako ronins, including Kuranosuke Oishi, who were entrusted to the Hosokawa family, and the events of the two days before are depicted as a tragic romance between one of the ronins, Jurozaemon Isogai, and Omino. An adaptation of Seika Mayama play "Genroku Chusingura, the Last Day of Oishi", which tells about the torments of life and death of samurai living in feudal times.

William & Kate(en)

Inspired by the royal wedding and retelling the highs and lows of the nine-year courtship of Kate Middleton and Prince William. The couple struggles to keep their relationship together in the face of intense media scrutiny and family pressures, but the story ultimately ends in a fairytale wedding.

Death of a Scoundrel(en)

A Czech refugee uses women to advance his business interest.

Records of loyal vassals(ja)

In the 15th year of the Genroku era (1688), the world praised the 47 ronin who avenged the death of their master Asano Takumi-no-kami. Shogun Tsunayoshi, who ruled at that time, experienced difficulties in what punishment to impose on the soldiers. As a result, it was decided to sentence them to seppuku (ritual suicide).

Downfall(ja)

Kaoru Fukazawa is a manga artist. His manga series was published for eight years, but has now finished. He doesn't have any ideas for his next work. His situation seems bleak, with his editor seeming to not care about him anymore and his relationship with his wife Nozomi Machida being troubled. He spends his days in despair and darkness. Kaoru visits a business that provides sexual services and meets a prostitute named Chifuyu, who attracts him. They decide to head to Chifuyu's hometown together.

Meet My Valentine(en)

When Tom learns that he has terminal brain cancer, he decides to find a replacement husband for his wife and a father to his daughter, before it is too late. Unbeknownst to his wife Valentine, Tom sets up an on-line dating profile for her, and realizes that he doesn't know much about her anymore. Tom endeavors to get to know Valentine, and learns why he fell in love with her all those years ago... just in time to say goodbye.

Fukuzawa Yukichi(ja)

Fukuzawa Yukichi opens a school for samurai, who aim to learn Dutch language, most common for overseas trading. But when he was in Yokohama he learned that English language is one way more global one. His struggle against patriarchal mindset leads his school to become one of the oldest universities in Japan.

Wall of Noise(en)

The lives and loves behind the scenes at the racetrack are detailed in this thoroughbred soap opera. An ambitious young trainer, Joel Tarrant (Ty Hardin), enters into an illicit affair with the stable owner's wealthy wife, hot-to-trot Laura Rubio (Suzanne Pleshette), in the hope that someday he'll have enough dough to buy his own horses and stable.

Small Sacrifices(en)

A peculiar and disturbing case catches the attention of the police when a young mother and her children, all severely injured, show up in a hospital's emergency room.

The Barbarian and the Geisha(en)

Townsend Harris is sent by President Pierce to Japan to serve as the first U.S. Consul-General to that country. Harris discovers enormous hostility to foreigners, as well as the love of a young geisha.

Mili(ml)

Mili is a motivational film about Mili, an introvert girl who is very depressed. But she finds it in herself to think of her nadir as but a stepping stone to success. She chooses to rise above the challenges and take back the reins of her life.