We have seen Iranian films before. This time our topic is the best Japanese movies to watch before you die, where we list five movies.
In my previous article, I made some movie suggestions from Iran, which is right next to us, and made a list of five Iranian movies you should watch. Now we are sailing towards Asia in the great sea of cinema. With humble suggestions from Japanese cinema, which played a major role in the shaping of American cinema, inspired by almost all American directors, whose films we go to the cinema to watch today and whom we call masters, the must-see before death best japanese movies I’m talking about.
The best Japanese movies you should watch
The Face of Another – Another’s Face
Shot by master director Hiroshi Teshigahara in 1966, the film is timeless, so to speak. To explain this timelessness, it is a masterpiece that can be watched and impressed even in 3022. The subject of the film, in which phenomena such as de-identification, the basic element that constitutes identity, and the importance of image for people are examined, can be briefly written as follows.
As a result of a work accident, our main hero has irreparable burns and wounds on his face. He succumbs to a psychology that cannot go into public without covering his entire head with bandages. Even his wife is disgusted and tense with him without help. The psychiatrist tells him the idea of making a realistic mask, and our hero, who accepts this, buys the face of a poor worker and brings the idea to life.
The Woman in the Dunes – Sand Woman
The film, shot by master director Hiroshi Teshigahara in 1964, broke new ground in the thriller genre. Adapted to the cinema from Kobo Abe’s novel of the same name, the production made an impact both in Japan and in the world during its time. So much so that he received the special jury award at the Cannes film festival and sprinkled two Oscar nominations next to it. Throughout the film, power relations between opposite sexes, helplessness and death are examined. In order to convey all this feeling to the viewer, they were shot in a cramped space with as little light as possible.
Coming to the subject, our hero, who goes to a sandy region of Japan on the weekend to collect insects, has to spend the night there due to unavoidable reasons. He reaches the village standing right next to it and goes down a ladder made of sand, explaining his situation to the villagers. The villagers place him in the house of a widow, but when our hero wakes up in the morning, he sees that the ladder made of sand has gone and captivity begins here.
The Seven Samurai – Seven Samurai
It was shot in 1954 by master director Akira Kurosawa, whose name most of us have heard frequently and some of us mention it to show off. The black and white film, which has a length of more than three hours, is undoubtedly considered one of the most important works of world cinema. Of course, it can be shown as the signature work of our director. We can say that every branch of the production, which has characters that the audience can see as one of their families, and war scenes that can be a lesson to current movies, has been carefully prepared. Without further ado, if we come to the subject; Villagers are desperate when their crops and money are plundered by a band of bandit samurai.
They consult with Gisaku, the wise elder of the village. Gisaku tells them to find samurai to protect them. When the villagers say that they do not have such a budget, that only the samurai can fill his stomach, Gisaku tells them to find hungry samurai. The villagers, who are sometimes harsh and sometimes sarcastic turns by every samurai they ask, eventually come across a ronin (masterless samurai). This ronin convinces other samurai like him, and the story continues by branching out from there.
Kaidan – Ghost Story
Following the epic cinema created by Akira Kurosawa, combining a pinch of Japanese culture and a pinch of Japanese history, Masaki Kobayashi, one of the greatest representatives of the innovative movement, shot the movie Kaidan in 1965.
Bringing four stories carefully selected from Lafcadio Hearn’s book of the same name to the big screen, Kobayashi tells about regret in the first story, betrayal in the second, loneliness in the third, and despair in the fourth. Especially considering the use of composition and make-up, it can be shown as a lesson in schools even now. At the same time, it showed people how important and effective the use of sound and music in cinema is.
Gate of Flesh – Gate of the Body
There is an old saying, “the place where the tail of the calf is cut off”. It would be appropriate to use this term for the director in the last film of our list, because he is like an acrobat on a thin rope pulled between madness and genius. Seijun Suzuki, who shot the movie Gate of flesh in 1964, is such a director ahead of his time.
The films he made were generally not well understood and ignored during his period. It has become difficult to understand and be liked by many viewers, as an improvisational approach is used while conveying the story to the audience. In the film, a subject in which sexuality is examined through the prostitutes who became ghetto after the war is discussed.