Country: Japan

Another superbly constructed piece of cinema that really captures the imagination and warms the heart.

Unlike many Hollywood takes on a similar subject, ‘Kikujiro’ prides itself on its unpredictability and genuine heart.

Tsukamoto proves that he can stand with the filmic legends as he proudly represents a unique sense of style in a densely populated medium.

Aside from a few glimpses of the impressive skills of Rina Takeda, ‘Kunoichi’ doesn’t really have anything else to offer.

A rewarding stand-alone experience, ‘Elegant Slaughter’ is also an irresistible taster for stories yet to come. The queue starts here.

‘Lala Pipo’ is nevertheless a brave film on certain levels, often funny and will push some viewers out of their comfort zone even when they find themselves laughing out loud.

Despite taking a little longer to settle than other Miyazaki movies, ‘Laputa: Castle In The Sky’ emerges as one of his most magical and charming outings to date.

‘Laundry’ is predominantly the story of two people who need a friend. While that may not sound much to hang a film on, this production has a great deal on offer.

It just takes a while to get going with too much wandering around, the leads randomly and conveniently bumping into everyone, and their romance clogging up too much of the runtime.

A 4 hour, yes 4 hour, epic about love, religion and all manner of weirdness from one of Japan’s most out there directors, Sion Sono.

Buoyed by Fukasaku’s energetic direction, copious action, and some still to this day impressive special effects, ‘Message from Space’ delights in being two hours of ambitious infectious fun.

‘Messengers’ takes time to gain momentum, but when it does the two-hour running time flies by effortlessly.