Death of a Tea Master

Death of a Tea Master 1989

5.30

Years after the death of legendary tea master Rikyu, his disciple Honkakubo attempts to resolve the mystery of the master's death.

1989

Sharaku

Sharaku 1995

6.10

A crippled kabuki player is taken into a strolling company of itinerant actors. An influential publisher notices his honest, bold drawings, and nurtures him despite persecution and betrayal. The film explores the eternal relationship between artist and producer, and describes the emanicipation of a man who refuses to let himself become the plaything of power and money.

1995

Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights 1988

6.20

Young Kinu Yamabe is drawn to low-born Onimaru, who is vital and charismatic, but viewed by his father as a demon. After her first period, Kinu suffers the fate of any women born near the Sacred Mountain: she must leave the Mountain and serve as a priestess.

1988

The Story of Jiro

The Story of Jiro 1987

1

Adaptation of the classic masterpiece about the relationship between parents and their children.

1987

Night Train to the Stars

Night Train to the Stars 1996

5.70

“Night Train to the Stars” is a biography of the fascinating life of Kenji Miyazawa, one of Japan's most beloved fantasy novelists. Miyazawa is an idealist pledging with his friend Kanai to work for the improved life of farmers. Troubled by his family’s interest in money making and social status, he leaves home after graduating high school to join a Buddhist sect in Tokyo. After falling out with a friend, and receiving news about his sister re-emerging pneumonia, he decides to return home where starts his own experimental school, teaching new farming methods to young local farmers while also instructing them in music and arts. It was only after his death, through the help of his brother Seiroku, that his writings became widely read.

1996

Crepe

Crepe 1993

1

Based on the story of the same name by Shizuka Ijûin. Ran as a double feature with Chibusa (1993).

1993

The River with No Bridge

The River with No Bridge 1992

6.00

A widow and her two sons, Seitaro and Koji, live in the small town of Komori, where Buraku people are forced to reside. The two boys are continuously harassed by their teachers and classmates through their childhood as a result of their Buraku heritage. In the midst of the 1918 Great Rice Riots in Osaka, Seitaro meets with Asako, the daughter of a rice shop owner, and falls in love with her. She too is of Buraku descent. At the same period, Hideaki, an old friend of the brothers returns to Komori, and he along with Koji and the townspeople create "Zenkoku Suiheisha", the National Levelers Association, an organization pledged to build a bridge over the river of discrimination, making all people equal in every way.

1992

Shikibu monogatari

Shikibu monogatari 1990

1.00

Toyoichi Otomo suffers from psychological and spiritual troubles after a horrific industrial accident. He lives with his elderly mother and wife near Mt. Aso in rural Kyushu. He seeks solace in a small religious group run by Buddhist nun Chishu-bo who claims to be the 68th descendant of famed 11th century poet Izumi Shikibu. The members of her sect regard her as a living saint. Yet instead of balming his soul, she riles his libido by playing a sexual cat-and-mouse game with the fragile Toyoichi. When she does bed him, it leads to a miracle healing -- followed by a terrible calamity.

1990

One More Time, One More Chance

One More Time, One More Chance 1996

1

A romance that takes place one summer in the countryside between an out-of-job musician, Hanabi, and a girl, Hibana.

1996

Chibusa

Chibusa 1993

1

Based on the novel of the same name by Shizuka Ijûin. Played as a double feature with Crepe (1993).

1993

Focus

Focus 1996

5.70

A short, direct and to-the-point media-commentary thriller. A sleazy TV producer trying to exploit a quiet otaku (an obsessive hobbyist) whose hobby is electronic eavesdropping ends up getting a lot more than he bargained for when they eavesdrop on the wrong conversation and he prods said otaku into helping him "investigate" the lead, only to find out that some things (and people) are not always as they seem, when a minor altercation causes things to take a rather nasty turn....

1996