AFL: Year of Release 1989 ~ 1980

2020/3/11

Year of Release: 1989
Sadako Story, Senbazuru (千羽づる) © Kyohdoh Eiga/Kohyama Production	At the age of two, Sadako Sasaki’s home in Hiroshima was bombed. Miraculously, she survived with barely a scratch and grew up into a healthy, active girl with a love of sports. Towards the end of fall while Sadako is in the 6th grade, she caught a bad cold which made her lymph nodes painful. Even so, she remained a cheerful girl. However, because she didn’t seem to recover, she was eventually examined by a member of the A-Bomb Casualties Commission on the advice of a neighbourhood doctor. It turned out that it was not a cold she was suffering from but leukemia, caused by the A-bomb that was dropped on her city when she was an infant. Duration: 96mins Genre: Drama, War Director: Seijiro Kohyama (神山征二郎) Cast: Tamami Hirose, Gin Maeda, Chieko Baishoh, Mako Ishino and Mamiko Tayama
Misty Kid of Wind (The Glass Cape) (風の又三郎、ガラスのマント) © Asahi Shinbunsha & Tokyu Agency & Nippon Herald Eiga Group	Karin has lived alone in a secluded mountain village with her consumptive mother since her father died. Her worried grandfather advises her to send her mother to a sanatorium and be adopted by him, although she refuses to accept. On the Buddhist All Soul’s Day Festival in August, a messenger from her grandfather pays a sudden visit to her house. Duration: 107mins Genre: Drama, Fantasy Director: Shun'ya Ito (伊藤俊也) Cast: Misato Hayase, Yuu Kobayashi, Junichi Shiga, Toshiyuki Amagasa and Asao Uchida
Knockout (どついたるねん) © Arato Production	Eiji Adachi, who dreamed of being a boxer since his childhood, achieves his goal of becoming a champion, only to lose his title in a match against Eagle Tomoda. Worse, he is seriously injured and forced to retire. Angrily, leaving the small National Gym where he once trained, he opens his own gym in partnership with a wealthy boxing devotee. Duration: 90mins Genre: Drama Director: Junji Sakamoto (阪本順治) Cast: Hidekazu Akai, Masaharu Owada, Yoshio Harada, Haruko Sagara and Akaji Maro
A Sandcastle Model Home Family (砂の上のロビンソン) © Nikkatsu	Shuhei Kido is a typical office worker living in an apartment complex with his wife and three children. For them, like most urban middle-class dwellers, owning a home of their own is an impossible dream One day, however, an unexpected chance arises that may give the Kidos a chance of owning a superb house. A real estate company is looking for an ideal family to live in one of their model houses for a year. After that, they will receive the house and land on which it stands. It is a campaign and there are conditions attached. They must show it to prospective clients. Duration: 105mins Genre: Family, Drama Director: Jun'ichi Suzuki (すずきじゅんいち) Cast: Yasuo Daichi, Yoko Asaji, Shunichi Hashimoto, Takejiro Suzuki, Natsuki Asakawa and Hitomi Takahashi
Sen-Rikyu (千利休－本學坊遺文) © Seiyu	Although 27 years have passed since the great tea master Sen no Rikyu died on the order of the taiko, Toyotomi HIdeyoshi, his favourite and last disciple, Hongakubo, communicates with him daily as if he were still alive. One day, Hongakubo receives a surprise visit from Lord Oda Urakusai, who has become obsessed with the reason Hideyoshi had become so angry with Sen no Rikyu and why he ordered him to commit ritual suicide. Duration: 107mins Genre: Drama, History Director: Kei Kumai (熊井啓) Cast: Eiji Okuda, Toshiro Mifune, Shinsuke Ashida, Kinnosuke Yorozuya, Tsunehiko Kamijo and Go Kato
Buddies (あ・うん) © Toho	Spring, 1935. Shuzo Kadokura, president of a successful munitions factory, still has an eye for the ladies, even though he is married. Senkichi Mizuta, a modest businessman, is very much family oriented. However, despite their differences in personality, they have been friends for more than 20 years. Kimiko, Kadokura’s wife, arranges a meeting between Mizuta’s daughter Satoko and Yoshihiki, a university student. Mizuta is against the match, yet Satoko and Yoshihiko are attracted to each other and secretly continue to meet. Duration: 114mins Genre: Drama Director: Yasuo Furuhata (降旗康男) Cast: Ken Takakura, Nobuko Miyamoto, Eiji Bando, Junko Fuji, Yasuko Tomita, Kuroudo Maki and Mie Yamaguchi
Beijing Watermelon (北京的西瓜) © Shochiku	Based on a true story, the film centers around Shunzo, a popular greengrocer who lives in a city near Tokyo. His life, and that of his wife and two children, undergoes a dramatic change when he encounters Li, a poor college student from China. Duration: 135mins Genre: Drama Director: Nobuhiko Obayashi (大林宣彦) Cast: Bengal, Masako Motai, Toru Minegishi, Takashi Sasano and Akira Emoto

Year of Release: 1988
Memories of You (ラブ・ストーリーを君に) © Toei & Osca Promotion	On a street in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Akira, a university student happens to meet Yumi. He had tutored her some years ago and is surprised that the once little girl has grown into a lovely fourteen-year-old high school student. Duration: 104mins Genre: Drama, Romance Director: Sin'ichiro Sawai (澤井信一郎) Cast: Kumiko Goto, Toru Nakamura, Tomomi Sato, Shingo Yanagisawa and Osami Nabe
Lady Camellia (椿姫) © Shochiku	Kakujiro, a taxi driver, meets a geisha called Koyuki at a year-end party for drivers held in a hot spring resort town. He is impressed by her exceptional beauty and refinement. And when she suddenly sings the aria from ‘La Traviata,’ however unsuitable for such a party, Kakujiro, and opera fan, is completely captivated. Duration: 95mins Genre: Drama, Romance Director: Yoshitaka Asama (朝間義隆) Cast: Keiko Matsuzaka, Kenichi Kato, Kei Suma, Michiru Akiyoshi, Shuji Otaki and Misuzu Nakamoto
Tomorrow (明日) © Light Vision, Sawai Production & Soei Shinsha	This film is a series of loosely-related vignettes of people carrying on their daily lives in Nagasaki the day before the atomic bomb was dropped. Duration: 105mins Genre: Drama, Historical Director: Kazuo Kuroki (黒木和雄) Cast: Kaori Momoi, Kaho Minami, Atsuko Sendo, Arthur Kurota and Shiro Sano
Tombstones for Fireflies (火垂るの墓) © Shinchosha	In June 1945 during the air raid in Kobe, Seita and his sister Setsuko lose their mother as a result of an incendiary bomb raid. As their father has been out of contact since he had gone off to war, the brother and sister are taken in by a distant relative in Nishinomiya. Unable to stand the ill-treatment by their aunt, Seita and Setsuko move into a bomb shelter to live alone together. As the war worsens, Setsuko gradually wastes away. Seita cheers Setsuko and tries his best to survive while reminding himself of their kind mother, strict father, and the peaceful days only a few months back. Finally, the day of Japan’s defeat arrives. Duration: 88mins Genre: Animation, Drama, War Director: Isao Takahata (高畑勲) Cast: Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Yoshiko Shinohara and Akemi Yamaguchi
Forest of the Little Bear (イタズ、熊) © Kobushi Pro	In the snowy winter of 1928, the old hunter Ginzo finally arrives at his village on a horse-drawn sleigh. He is returning after a ten-year prison term. The old man was known as the best bear hunter in the village and was called ‘dead shot Ginzo’ as he could kill a bear with only one shot. But he was inclined to get violent when he drank, and in a drunken fight ten years previously he had injured several people seriously. Consequently, he was sent to prison. On his return, he learns that his son, a soldier, was killed in action in Siberia seven years ago, and now he has just his daughter-in-law Kimi and his grandson Ippei, whom he must now take care of. Duration: 117mins Genre: Drama Director: Toshio Goto (後藤俊夫) Cast: Takahiro Tamura, Junko Sakurada, Hirofumi Miyata and Sanji Kojima
Rock Requiem (ロックよ、静かに流れよ) © Premier International, Janny's Office & Toho	Shunsuke, a high school student in Tokyo, is forced to move to Matsumoto with his sister and just-divorced mother. On the first day at this new school two students, Minesa and Tonda, pick a fight with him. Being angry at being beaten by them, he waits for Minesa after school and starts to fight him again in the storage yard. But both of them are tired and find the quarrel meaningless. Then Shunsuke notices a hamster peeping out of Minesa’s jacket pocket. Surprised such a person would keep such a gentle pet, he also learns that Minesa is a great fan of the rock group Crime as he is, the two become good friends. Tonda is not pleased with this growing friendship, and refuses to recognize Shunsuke. Duration: 100mins Genre: Drama Director: Shun'ichi Nagasaki (長崎俊一) Cast: Kenichi Okamoto, Shozi Narita, Kazuya Takahashi and Koyo Maeda
Tsuru (つる－鶴－) © Toho	One snowy night a girl of exceptional beauty pays a surprise visit to the humble cottage of the peasant Taiju. Saying that her name is Tsuru (Crane), she maintains that she will make a hard-working and devoted wife to the young man. The film Tsuru is based on the folk tales 'Repayment from a Crane' and 'A Crane Wife'. Duration: 94mins Genre: Fantasy, History Director: Kon Ichikawa (市川崑) Cast: Sayuri Yoshinaga, Hideki Noda, Kirin Kiki and Takuzo Kawatani

Year of Release: 1987
The Story Of Jiro (次郎物語) © Toho Co., Ltd	The Story of Jiro depicts the character building of Jiro, who passed his boyhood, influenced by circumstances, such as the fall of his wealthy family, and the ever-changing turbulence in the early Showa period. Duration: 110mins Genre: Drama Director: Tokihisa Morikawa (森川時久) Cast: Ise Masato, Higuchi Tsuyoshi, Takahashi Keiko, Kato Go and Otsuka Michiko
River of Fireflies (蛍川) © Kinema Tokyo = Nichiei Films	‘River of Fireflies’ sensitively captures the first love of a 14 year old boy. His friendships and the world of adults are recounted through his eyes. The beautiful sceneries the four seasons provide in snow country established a background for the spectacular scene of one million fireflies. Duration: 115mins Genre: Drama, Family Director: Eizo Sugawa (須川栄三) Cast: Sakazume Takayuki, Sawada Tamae, Mikuni Rentaro, Toake Yukiyo and Naraoka Tomoko
Sayonara Fraulein (さよなら」の女たち) © Toei & Osca Promotion	Ikuko Adachi, a college student in Sapporo, Hokkaido is fired from her part-time editorial job just before her graduation. Discouraged, she returns to her home, only to find that her retired school teacher father wants to return to the stage as a singer and her mother wants to become a dolphin trainer. Duration: 92mins Genre: Drama Director: Kazuki Omori (大森一樹) Cast: Yuki Saito, Izumi Yukimura, Hiro Komura, Riki Takeuchi and Tatsuo Yamada
Hachiko (ハチ公物語) © Tokyu Group, Mitsui Bussan & Shochiku	This heart-warming movie is about a dog's devotion to his master and is based on a true story. It also embodies the virtue of loyalty that is so prized by the Japanese. A puppy is sent from Akita Prefecture in northern Japan to Professor Ueno of Tokyo University. Though ailing, it soon recovers, and although the professor's daughter promises to take care of it, she soon marries and leaves home. As the professor's wife disapproves of the dog and their servant despises any four-legged animal, it is left to the professor to look after the dog. He names it Hachi. Duration: 108mins Genre: Drama, Family Director: Seijiro Kohyama (神山征二郎) Cast: Tatsuya Nakadai, Kaoru Yachigusa, Mako Ishino, Toshiro Yanagiba, Toshinori Obi and Hiroyuki Nagato
Bu.Su (Bu・Su) © Toho & Nippon Television Network	Brought up in a remote country village, unhappy, disagreeable Mugiko Morishita goes up to Tokyo to stay with her aunt, Kocho, who runs a geisha establishment, to try to improve herself. While attending high school, she also serves as an apprentice geisha with the name Suzume. Yet she still remains unable to communicate with the people around her and retires into a shell. At school, she falls in love with Kunihiko Tsuda, the school boxing club hero who already has a girlfriend, the pretty and popular Kyoko. Duration: 95mins Genre: Drama Director: Jun Ichikawa (市川準) Cast: Haruko Tomita, Michiyo Ogusu, Kazue Ito, Masahiro Takahashi and Minako Fujiyo
Tora-San Goes North (男はつらいよ－知床慕情) © Shochiku	The inveterate traveling street peddler, Tora-san, returns to his uncle’s confectionary shop in Tokyo only to find it closed and his uncle in the hospital. He immediately offers to help his aunt with the shop, but his good intentions create more trouble than help. Realising, as usual, that he would be more useful absent than present, he sets out on the road again. Duration: 107mins Genre: Comedy, Drama Director: Yoji Yamada (山田洋次) Cast: Kiyoshi Atsumi, Toshiro Mifune, Keiko Awaji, Keiko Takeshita and Gin Maeda
Children of the Island (二十四の瞳) © Shochiku	It is 1928, and Hisako Oishi becomes the teacher of the primary school on Shodo Island in the Seto Inland area. Her pupils, the sons and daughters of the village shopkeepers number an even dozen. Her habit of wearing Western clothes in an age when the kimono was still the norm, and or riding a bicycle instead of sedately walking as a respectable teacher should, at first makes the villagers uneasy. Yet Hisako quickly gains the confidence of the children and experiences the heartbreaks and happiness of one who is sincerely interested in and dedicated to the welfare of her pupils. Duration: 129mins Genre: Drama Director: Yoshitaka Asama (朝間義隆) Cast: Yuko Tanaka, Tetsuya Takeda, Sumie Sasaki, Misako Konno and Taro Kawano

Year of Release: 1986
Tora-san's Island Encounter (男はつらいよ－柴又より愛をこめて) © Shochiku	Following another of his seemingly endless selling journeys, Tora returns to a Tokyo confectionary shop, Toraya, owned by his aunt and uncle, the place he calls home. He returns to a crisis, which has affected his brother-in-law’s boss. The recently married daughter of the man who runs a printing shop next door has run away apparently because she is dissatisfied with her husband. Duration: 105mins Genre: Comedy, Drama Director: Yoji Yamada (山田洋次) Cast: Kiyoshi Atsumi, Komaki Kurihara, Chieko Baisho and Gin Maeda
Big Joys, Small Sorrows ( 新・喜びも悲しみも幾歳月) © Shochiku = Tokyo Hoso = Hakuhodo	A lighthouse keeper and his family follow work from town to town, each time making new friends and receiving a visit from his troublesome father. This movie emphasises family problems such as elderly parents, education of children, marriage and lonely lives apart from one's family. It also describes the diversified work of a lighthouse keeper; from sea rescue to the supervision of water pollution controls and smuggling in a modernized environment full of electronic gadgetry. Duration: 135mins Genre: Drama Director: Keisuke Kinoshita (木下恵介) Cast: Kato Go, Ohara Reiko, Shinoyama Yoko, Okamoto Hayao and Konishi Kunio
Tora-san's Bluebird Fantasy (男はつらいよ－幸福の青い鳥) © Shochiku	After telephoning his family who lives in Shibamata, the lower east side of Tokyo, that all is well, the itinerant peddler Tora-san resumes his journey to Kyushu in Southern Japan. This journey which has already lasted a year is unusually lengthy for the hero. Duration: 104mins Genre: Comedy, Drama Director: Yoji Yamada (山田洋次) Cast: Kiyoshi Atsumi, Chieko Baisho Etsuko Shiomi, Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi and Masami Shimojo
Final Take (キネマの天地) © Shochiku	The stage is set in the early 1930s when silent movies were being replaced with talkies. During this era, there are directors who are content to make comedy and routine “flicks,” while others strive for more creative endeavours. Ogura is one of the former, bur Kenjiro, his young assistant, despises popular “grind outs” and wishes to make film an art form. Duration: 117mins Genre: Drama Director: Yoji Yamada (山田洋次) Cast: Arimori Narimi, Atsumi Kiyoshi, Nakai Kiichi, Baisho Chieko and Matsumoto Koshiro
Young Girls in Love (恋する女たち) © Toho	This story of a young girl’s first love is told from the heroine’s point of view. Surrounded by various people who are all experiencing love in different ways, she finally begins to awaken to her own feelings as a woman. Duration: 98mins Genre: Drama, Romance Director: Kazuki Omori (大森一樹) Cast: Saito Yuki, Takai Maiko, Sagara Haruko, Kobayashi Satomi and Harada Kiwako
A Promise (人間の約束) © Kinema Tokyo & Toho Toa	Yoshio Morimoto’s mother, Tatsu, is found dead in their home. Two police detectives, Tagami and Yoshikawa, speculate that the old woman might not have died a natural death. Consequently, they were not surprised when Yoshio’s father, Ryosaku, gave himself up that evening and confessed that he had strangled her to death. Yoshio and his wife, Ritsuko were stunned. However, the old man, who dirtied his clothes during the interrogation, was senile. Duration: 124mins Genre: Drama Director: Yoshishige Yoshida (吉田喜重) Cast: Rentaro Mikuni, Sachiko Murase, Choichiro Kawarazaki, Orie Sato and Tetsuta Sugimoto
Comic Magazine (コミック雑誌なんかいらない！) © New Century Producers	One of the typical Japanese TV program called "the Wide-Shows" provides mainly the gossips on film or TV stars and singers to housewives during the daytime. There are usually specialized reporters to chase after the stars and try to expose their privacy. Usually, these "star-chasers" are master storytellers and with their narrative skills, they exaggerate and report the incidents, which enlarge the viewing audiences, and make money for the different networks. In this film, Kinameri is one of these chasers. He is a poor talker but is highly praised for his pushy interviews. This film deals with true incidents occurring in 1985. Describing Japanese society sometimes as serious documentary, it satirizes, using pathos, as parody. The end resolve being that reality may be more amusing than comic magazines. Duration: 124mins Genre: Comedy Director: Youjiro Takita (滝田洋二郎) Cast: Uchida Yuya, Watanabe Eriko, Aso Yumi, Harada Yoshio and Komatsu Hosei

Year of Release: 1985
Waiting for You, Akira (まってました転校生) © Nikkatsu Children's Films	The film tells the story of a child actor with an itinerant theater troupe, who is forced to change schools repeatedly. He makes new friends and falls in love for the fist time at a school in a working class section of Tokyo, but in the end he has to leave. The theatre troupe is like a large family for the boy, and the family bonds which the group exhibits are of particular interest since traditional extended families are being replaced by smaller nuclear families in present day Japanese society. Duration: 97mins Genre: Drama Director: Katsuhiko Fujii (藤井克彦) Cast: Minagawa Tetsuya, Sato Ai, Maeda Yuki, Tsuboi Chikara and Takahashi Nobuteru
Tora-san's Forbidden Love (男はつらいよ－寅次郎真実一路) © Shochiku	One autumn day in the Shibamata area of Tokyo, a fracas breaks out at Toraya, a small shop selling Japanese sweets. At the center of the commotion is Akemi, the daughter of the head of a small printing company located behind Toraya. Akemi came home because she had a fight with her husband over what she served for dinner. Her father is now angrily trying to send her back to her husband. The confusion grows wilder when Tora-san suddenly returns from his travels to find the scene in his family’s shop. Tora-san gets involved in Akemi and her father’s fight, but only makes it worse. Duration: 107mins Genre: Comedy, Drama Director: Yoji Yamada (山田洋次) Cast: Atsumi Kiyoshi, Ohara Reiko, Yonekura Masakane, Baisho Chieko and Shimojo Masami
Miss Lonely (さびしんぼう) © Toho = Amuse Cinema City	Hiroki, the only son of a Buddhist priest, is in high school. His mother follows him around nagging him to study or practice the piano. One day, Hiroki and his two friends are helping Hiroki’s mother clean the temple when they upset a box filled with photos of his mother when she was young. From that day on, a young girl in oversized clothes and a white face begins to appear to him. Duration: 114mins Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance Director: Nobuhiko Obayashi (大林宣彦) Cast: Tomita Yasuko, Omi Toshinori, Fujita Yumiko, Kobayashi Nenji and Sunagawa Shingo
Song of the Spring Pony (春駒のうた) © Kyodo Eiga Zenkoku Keiretsu Kaigi = Gunma Kyodo Eiga-sha	On August 5 1945, Hoshino Bunzo who makes a living selling burning charcoal receives a letter which tells him that his son has died in battle. At the same time, he hears the first cry of his son’s newborn baby. This posthumous child is named Keiji. The child is brought up by his grandparents. When he is in the first grade of primary school, he suffers from infantile paralysis and becomes a cripple. Duration: 108mins Genre: Drama Director: Seijiro Kohyama (神山征二郎) Cast: Tamura Takahiro, Hidari Sachiko, Tosaka Takahashi, Chigira Kaori and Kagawa Kyoko
And Then (それから) © Toei	'And Then' is based on a novel by Natsume Soseki (1867 - 1916). Set in the upper crust at the end of the Meiji era, ‘And Then’ depicts the life of a thirty year old man, who is well off in spite of having no occupation, and his anguish because of his love for his best friend’s wife. Duration: 130mins Genre: Drama Director: Yoshimitsu Morita (森田芳光) Cast: Matsuda Yusaku, Fujitani Miwako, Kobayashi Kaoru, Ryu Chishu and Nakamura Katsuo

Year of Release: 1983
Tora-san's Son of Love (男はつらいよ－旅と女と寅次郎) © Shochiku	Tora, the itinerant peddler, this time journeys to Sado, and island in the Japan Sea, where he encounters a seemingly sad young woman who is also traveling alone. Of course Tora finds himself attracted to her. Unknown to Tora, the young woman is none other than Harumi Kyo, a popular singer known throughout Japan. Duration: 101mins Genre: Comedy, Drama Director: Yoji Yamada (山田洋次) Cast: Kiyoshi Atsumi, Chieko Baisho, Gin Maeda, Masami Shimojo and Chieko Misaki
Tora-san goes Religious? (男はつらいよ－口笛を吹く寅次郎) © Shochiku	While on the road along the Western part of Japan, Tora-san, the itinerant peddler, thinks of a visit to the grave of his brother-in-law, Hiroshi’s father. He drops by at the temple graveyard. There, he sees the beautiful daughter of the head priest and as a matter of course falls in love with her. One day, Tora-san holds a service in place of the head priest who has a terrible hangover. By his fluent speech, Tora-san is liked by all the believers who are attending the service. Consequently, Tora-san decides to stay at the temple for a while. Duration: 105mins Genre: Comedy, Drama Director: Yoji Yamada (山田洋次) Cast: Kiyoshi Atsumi, Chieko Baisho, Keiko Takeshita, Kiichi Nakai, Masami Shimojo and Chieko Misaki
The Makioka Sisters (細雪) © Toho International Co., Ltd	The ‘Makioka Sisters’ follows the lives of four sisters who gather in Kyoto to view cherry blossoms. Tsukuro, the eldest and heiress to their late father is married to Tatsuo who works at a bank. Sachiko, the second, has a home in the suburbs of Osaka with her husband Teinosuke who works in a department store. The third, Yukiko and the fourth and youngest, Taeko, live with Sachiko having had trouble with Tatsuo. Duration: 140mins Genre: Drama, Romance Director: Kon Ichikawa (市川崑) Cast: Keiko Kishi, Yoshiko Sakuma, Sayuri Yoshinaga, Yuko Kotegawa and Koji Ishizaka
Aiko Sweet Sixteen (アイコ十六歳) © Amuse Cinema & Chubu Nippon Hoso	Aiko is a freshman at a public high school in Nagoya City. On the last day of the first semester, she sees "him", who she used to go out with, flirting with another girl. She has not seen him since the juniour high graduation, yet she has often thought about him.Aiko Sweet Sixteen follows the life of Aiko who is struggling to get over the problems of human relation in her small but double-faced world Duration: 98mins Genre: Drama Director: Akiyoshi Imazeki (今関あきよし) Cast: Tomita Yasuko, Kawai Misa, Fujita Yumiko, Inuzuka Hiroshi and Konno Misako
Home Village (ふるさと) © Shochiku	Deep in the mountains of Japan, where a dam is scheduled for construction, the residents of a village which will be submerged after the project is completed are busily preparing to relocate. Seventy-eight year old Denzo is the patriarch of one such family. Following the death of his wife, he became senile. Busy preparing to move, the couple have no time for him. They build a detached room and instruct him to stay in it while they are out working. Sentaro, the son of a neighbour, sympathises with the lonely old Denzo. On learning that the senior citizen was once an expert at angling the boy asks him to teach him farming. Duration: 106mins Genre: Drama Director: Seijiro Kohyama (神山征二郎) Cast: Yoshi Kato, Hiroyuki Nagato, Fumie Kashiyama, Gin Maeda, Shin Asai, Saburo Shinoda and Nana Okada
My Stiffnecked Daddy and Me (ボクのおやじとボク) © Nikkatsu Corporation	Tatsuo and his father look for a treasure which they believe is hidden under their house, but they fail to find it. Then one day when Tatsuo’s mother asks him to go and get something from under the house, he comes across the treasure urn. Duration: 90mins Genre: Drama Director: Shun Nakahara (中原俊) Cast: Isao Natsuki, Akemi Higashiyama, Miki Sanjo and Masayuki Hidaka
The Time Traveller (時をかける少女) © 1983 Kadokawa Pictures	Kazuko , a high school student fainted in the chemistry laboratory surrounded with the fragrance of Lavender. After that, her sense of time has become confused. She told the mystery to Kazuo and when she went to his greenhouse she happened to smell the fragrance of Lavender and lose her consciousness again. Back to the Chemistry laboratory with Kazuo, she saw him there. But he is now the doctor in the year of 2660 A.D. Eleven years later, Kazuko happened to see Kazuo but they walked away as if nothing ever happened between them. Duration: 104mins Genre: Romance, Sci-Fi Director: Nobuhiko Obayashi (大林宣彦) Cast: Harada Tomoyo, Takayanagi Ryoichi, Omi Toshinori, Negishi Toshie and Kishibe Ittoku
Barefoot Gen (はだしのゲン) © Gen Productions	‘Barefoot Gen’ is an animated film based on a cartoon series written by Nakazawa Keiji. While a first grade student in primary school, he survived the Atomic bombing of Hiroshima. He lost his father, sister and brother. The story of ‘Barefoot Gen’ reveals not only the tragedy and the fear of the A-bomb victims, but also how a boy named Gen survived the desperate times, without a loss of faith in humanity and without bitterness. Duration: 84mins Genre: Animation Director: Mamoru Masaki (真崎守) Cast: Issei Miyazaki, Yoshie Shimamura Masaki Koda and Takao Inoue

Year of Release: 1982
Hearts and Flowers for Tora (男はつらいよ－寅次郎あじさいの恋) © Shochiku	On the day of the Aoi Festival in Kyoto, Tora runs into an old man who seems lonely and poor. After fixing the old man’s sandal, he is invited to the old man’s home and discovers that the old man is actually a famous ceramic artist and designated as a living national treasure. Duration: 110mins Genre: Comedy, Drama Director: Yoji Yamada (山田洋次) Cast: Kiyoshi Atsumi, Chieko Baisho, Ayumi Ishida, Masami Shimojo and Chieko Mizaki
Fall Guy (蒲田行進曲) © Shochiku = Kadokawa Haruki Films	A famous star Ginshiro is playing the main role in ‘Shinsengumi’ which is now at the height of shooting. However, he is uneasy because he fears he is being outrivaled by Tachibana, a rising new actor. Yasu, who adores Ginshiro, is a bit player who is always working with him. To Yasu, Ginshiro is a generous boss, and he is always ready to do anything for him. One day, Ginshiro, who has been asked to clean up his private life as a means to enhance his image, brings Konatsu, an actress who is four months pregnant with his child, to Yasu’s flat and tells the bit player to marry the woman and be the father to the child. Yasu, out of blind devotion to his idol, accepts. Duration: 108mins Genre: Comedy, Romance Director: Kinji Fukasaku (深作欣二) Cast: Matsuzaka Keiko, Kazama Morio, Hirata Mitsuru, Takami Chika and Harada Daijiro
I are You, You am Me (転校生) © 1982 Toho Co., Ltd.	Kazuo is a third grade student at junior high school. One day, a new girl, Kazumi is introduced to his class. Immediately, they recognize each other from kindergarten. Kazumi is thrilled with the reunion. Kazuo on the other hand feels it a nuisance as she remembers every little trouble he caused. On their way home from school, he tries to push away Kazumi who hangs about him. As Kazumi totters, he tries to help her, but in panic they both fall down a long flight of stone steps from a hilltop shrine. While they are unconscious momentarily, they go through an exchange of their bodies. Duration: 112mins Genre: Comedy Director: Nobuhiko Obayashi (大林宣彦) Cast: Oom Toshinori, Kobayashi Satomi, Sato Makoto, Kiri Kirin and Shishido Jo
Matagi (マタギ) © Seido Productions	An old man lives in the snowy mountains of northern Japan. When young he fought with a great bear and still has the scars. He often tells his young grandson stories of this mighty animal. Then one day a young girl in the village is attacked by a bear and killed. The old man examines the tracks and comes to believe that this is the bear against which he originally fought. Taking with him the young hunting dog which he trained, he sets off into the mountains, armed only with a spear, his young grandson following him. Duration: 103mins Genre: Drama Director: Toshio Goto (後藤俊夫) Cast: Ko Nishimura, Junzaburo Ban and Mihoko Fujita
The Longest Tunnel (海峡) © Toho	In September, 1954, a ferry sank during a storm in the narrow Tsugaru Channel between Hokkaido and the mainland, killing 1,426 passengers. The accident brought about a demand for the building of a tunnel beneath the channel, despite the tremendous amount of time and money it would require. Akutsu Go is sent to cape Tappi at the tip of the Tsugaru Peninsula to conduct a preliminary survey for the tunnel construction. One winter day, he finds a woman standing on a precipice, obviously about to attempt suicide. Duration: 142mins Genre: Drama Director: Shiro Moritani (森谷司郎) Cast: Takakura Ken, Yoshinaga Sayuri, Morishige Hisaya, Miura Tomokazu and Otani Naoko

Year of Release: 1981
Station (駅) © Toho	Eiji, a detective, has lost his wife through his devotion to the force and to his avocation. He is an Olympic sharp-shooter and has spent all of his time practicing. His coach, and superior, blames him for the divorce. But then the coach is killed, shot by a young cop-killer. Eiji set out to solve the case and meets a young woman with whom he falls in love. She, however, happens to find her old boyfriend and moves in with him. The boyfriend is the cop-killer. When Eiji shoots and kills him, the girl misunderstanding, thinks he professed love only to get near her in order to kill her boyfriend. Duration: 132mins Genre: Drama Director: Yasuo Furuhata (降旗康男) Cast: Takakura Ken, Baisho Chieko, Ishida Ayumi, Kotegawa Yuko and Karasuma Setsuko
The Wild Daisy (野菊の墓) © Toho	Masao, 15 and his cousin, Tamiko 17, have been on good terms with each other since their childhood days. Masao’s house is an old-established brewery on the riverside of the Yedogawa River where the country unrolls itself into the vase distance. Tamiko comes to live in Masao’s house to take care of him mother, Kiku who is a sickly woman. The two become the subject of gossip among the employees because of their closeness. Duration: 90mins Genre: Drama, Romance Director: Sin'ichiro Sawai (澤井信一郎) Cast: Seiko Matsuda, Tadashi Kuwabara, Tetsuro Tamba, Haruko Katoh, Shogo Shimada
Muddy River (泥の河) © Toho	On a rainy morning, Nobuo (9) runs into Kiichi, a boy of about the same age while he is trying to steal iron scraps from a bridge near his house. He turns out to be a boy living in a shabby boat moored on the other side of the river. He has a tender-hearted sister named Ginko (11) and a mother who always speaks across the wooden wall without showing herself. Nobuo tells his father that he has become friends with Kiichi. Nobuo’s father Shimpei instantly forbids Nobuo from visiting Kiichi out on his boat. Duration: 105mins Genre: Drama Director: Kohei Oguri (小栗康平) Cast: Takahiro Tamura, Yumiko Fujita, Mariko Kaga, Nobutaka Asahara, Minoru Sakurai and Maiko Shibata
Yuki - Snow Fairy (ゆき) © Nikkatsu	Based on the novel by Ryusuke Saito, the film depicts simple villagers who, encouraged by Yuki’s gentle braveness, try to regain their peaceful life. Yuki, as pure as snow, shows her bravery by dashing through mountains and fields riding Blizzard, a white stallion. Duration: 89mins Genre: Animation Director: Tadashi Imai (今井正)

Year of Release: 1980
Tora's Tropical Fever (男はつらいよ－寅次郎ハイビスカスの花) © Shochiku	Once again Tora-san comes back to Shibamata, Tokyo, where a letter from Lily, the singer, awaits him. It says she is ill, alone and helpless in Okinawa. She wants to see him before she dies. Despite his acrophobia, he flies to Okinawa to help the woman he once loved. Duration: 104mins Genre: Comedy, Drama Director: Yoji Yamada (山田洋次) Cast: Kiyoshi Atsumi, Chieko Baisho, Gin Maeda, Masami Shimojo and Chieko Misaki
Dreamy Fifteen (翔んだカップル) © Toho	Yuusuke, a 10th grader from Kyushu, hoping to be admitted to a good college and become a lawyer, enrolls in a prestigious high school in Tokyo. He is supposed to live in his uncle’s house, part of which is rented while the uncle is abroad on business. To his surprise, a realtor’s mistake leaves Yuusuke sharing the house with Kei, his classmate and most beautiful girl in the school. Yuusuke and Kei, fearing that their unexpected ‘co-habitation’ will be discovered by school officials, spend anxious months under the same roof. While he grows increasingly attracted to her, Yuusuke is often irritated by Kei’s innocent and nonchalant attitude toward their predicament. Unable to express their feelings about one another, Yuusuke and Kei develop other Romantic attachments, but turn to each other when their living together is discovered. Duration: 106mins Genre: Drama Director: Shinji Somai (相米慎二) Cast: Shingo Tsurumi, Hiroko Yakushimaru, Mieko Harada and Hiroshi Madoka
A Distant Cry From Spring (遙かなる山の呼び声) © Shochiku	Tamiko Kazami is desperately trying to make a living by running a small dairy farm with only her small son to help her. Her life begins to change when a man suddenly appears at her door on a stormy night asking for a place to stay. Duration: 124mins Genre: Drama Director: Yoji Yamada (山田洋次) Cast: Ken Takakura, Chieko Baisho, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Mizuho Suzuki and Hajime Hana

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