Japanuary is a tradition started by a user on Letterboxd, with the purpose of watching only Japanese films on January every year. It began in 2021, and I was part of it for the first time this year. The user created a list with movies of 31 different Japanese directors so that everybody has a wide range of genres, and categories to choose from.
I would like to share all the films I watched during the challenge, and give a brief description and review to the 5 that I liked the most.
My Japanuary challenge 2024:
- Ikiru (1952) by Akira Kurosawa
- Night Is Short, Walk on Girl (2017) by Masaaki Yuasa
- Pulse (2001) by Kiyoshi Kurosawa
- Pornostar (1998) by Toshiaki Toyoda
- Thunder (1982) by Takashi Ito
- Perfect Blue (1997) by Satoshi Kon
- A Silent Voice (2016) by Naoko Yamada
- Imprint (2006) by Takashi Miike
- The Machine Girl (2008) by Noboru Iguchi
- Bullet Ballet (1998) by Shinya Tsukamoto
- Atman (1975) by Toshio Matsumoto
- Labyrinth of Dreams (1997) by Gakuryu Ishii
- Redline (2009) by Takeshi Koike
- Metastasis (1971) by Toshio Matsumoto
- Ornamental Hairpin (1941) by Hiroshi Shimizu
- Onibaba (1964) by Kaneto Shindō
- The Masseurs and a Woman (1938) by Hiroshi Shimizu
- The Ghost of Yotsuya (1959) by Nobuo Nakagawa
- Killers on Parade (1961) by Masahiro Shinoda
- Tokyo Fist (1995) by Shinya Tsukamoto
- Ugetsu (1953) by Kenji Mizoguchi
- Love/Juice (2000) by Kaze Shindo
- Three Outlaw Samurai (1964) by Hideo Gosha
- Picnic (1996) by Shunji Iwai
- Noroi: The Curse (2005) by Koji Shiraishi
- Two in the Shadow (1967) by Mikio Naruse
- Puparia (2020) by Shingo Tamagawa
- Paprika (2006) by Satoshi Kon
- Funeral Parade of Roses (1969) by Toshio Matsumoto
- Biotherapy (1986) by Akihiro Kashima
- Rain Town (2011) by Hiroyasu Ishida
- Street of Shame (1956) by Kenji Mizoguchi
- Ghost in the Shell (1995) by Mamoru Oshii
- Angel’s Egg (1985) by Mamoru Oshii
- Mirrored Mind (2005) by Gakuryu Ishii
- Mona Lisa (1973) by Toshio Matsumoto
- Phantom (1975) by Toshio Matsumoto
My 5 favorite films from Japanuary 2024 were:
1. Perfect Blue (1997) by Satoshi Kon
This film displays the story of a retired pop singer who aspires to have an acting career. However, she’s being stalked by a crazy fan and a different persona of her own self. It definitely played with my head, I was as confused and frustrated as her, and I just wanted everything to end. Not only was my favorite movie from the challenge, but I consider it to be my favorite Japanese film. It deserves the hype it has had for decades. You should watch it!
2. Funeral Parade of Roses (1969) by Toshio Matsumoto.
A film set in Tokyo in the late 60s that takes you on a journey to the nether-regions of the city. I consider it to be ahead of its time; it addresses prostitution, homosexuality, etc. The reason I loved it is because it reminded me of my uncle. He was a transvestite in his youth and he shared with me his experience of self-acceptance and how much he struggled in life.
3. Two in the Shadow (1967) by Mikio Naruse
A dreadful yet beautiful film. A man is involved in a car accident. He is blameless but is still the company he worked in decided to transfer him. Before he leaves, he wants to meet the widow of the man he “killed” and he decides to give her a large sum of money to make up for the damage. To me it is a film you should watch more than once, and support each of point of view. It was lovely.
4. A Silent Voice (2016) by Naoko Yamada
A teenager named Shouya Ishida starts bullying the new girl in class Shouko Nishimiya just because she is deaf. Years later, an older and wiser Shouya wants to redeemed himself since he’s being tormented by his past sins. What I loved the most about the movie is how Shouya grow to become a better person and realized what he did was wrong, he approached Shouko in the best way possible and he had the best intentions. “Starting tomorrow, I’ll do everything properly.”
5. Three Outlaw Samurai (1964) by Hideo Gosha
An action film full of battles with swords. Shiba, a wandering ronin encounters some people who kidnapped the daughter of their dictatorial minister. Shiba decides to help them since they have the right to fight for the reduce of taxes. Later, two other samurais Sakura and Kikyo join him, and the three outlaws battle to death the army the minister sent after them. It was such a fun and entertaining film to watch.
Sign on Letterboxd and follow the original creator for more challenges that could expand your knowledge in foreign cinema: https://boxd.it/r4Cda
