The Kanto Region Is Also Expanding

Smoking Guns

June 2016 •English

A young gambler makes a large, risky bet on a horse race. When the odds turn in his favour, more than one party has sudden interest in the winning betting slip, and they'll do anything to get their hands on it.

Shooting Straight

July 1930 •English

A gambler wanted for murder hides under the guise of a clergyman.

The Scent of Incense

May 1964 •Japanese

After her mother runs away from home, Tomoko is raised to be a geisha. One day Tomoko meets her mother in a red-light district in Tokyo and her life deeply gets in trouble.

Two Portraits of MIYAGINO

May 2010 •Japanese

In Edo-era Japan, a ukiyo-e artist languishes in his master’s shadow. Creatively stifled, he finds consolation in the company of a prostitute, and becomes entangled in a love triangle. A mystery emerges involving two portraits and the sudden disappearance of the artist Sharaku. Helmed by Cannes-selected director Tatsuji Yamazaki, the film employs kabuki-inspired sequences and stylised sets.

Level

November 1994 •Japanese

The Grand Master

October 1948 •Japanese

Shogi, a Japanese form of chess, is a game that requires skill and determination. When poor sandal-maker Sakata decides to pursue his dream of becoming the Shogi Grand Master Champion, everything is at stake – including his family. What will it cost for Sakata to follow his passion?

An Actor's Revenge

January 1963 •Japanese

In Edo Japan, a kabuki actor seeks revenge against the three men who drove his parents to their deaths years ago.

Kids Return

July 1996 •Japanese

Shinji and Masaru spend most of their school days harassing fellow classmates and playing pranks. They drop out and Shinji becomes a small-time boxer, while Masaru joins up with a local yakuza gang. However, the world is a tough place.

The Castle of Sand

October 1974 •Japanese

Two detectives are tasked to investigate the murder of an old man, found bludgeoned to death in a Tokyo rail yard.

Bright Future

January 2003 •Japanese

Two friends who work together at a Tokyo laundry are increasingly alienated from everyday life. They become fascinated with a deadly jellyfish.

Boiling Point

September 1990 •Japanese

Masaki, a baseball player and gas-station attendant, gets into trouble with the local Yakuza and goes to Okinawa to get a gun to defend himself. There he meets Uehara, a tough gangster, who is in serious debt to the yakuza and planning revenge.

The Face of Another

July 1966 •Japanese

A businessman with a disfigured face obtains a lifelike mask from his doctor, but the mask starts altering his personality.

Uptown Saturday Night

July 1974 •English

Two blue-collar buddies search the underworld for a winning lottery ticket lost in a nightclub holdup.

Enlightenment Guaranteed

January 2000 •German

Two middle aged German brothers - one New Age and recently divorced, the other uptight and sceptical - travel to a Zen monastery in Japan in search of enlightenment, or perhaps just in search of themselves.

Buffalo '66

January 1998 •English

Billy is released after five years in prison. In the next moment, he kidnaps teenage student Layla and visits his parents with her, pretending she is his girlfriend and they will soon marry.

Crying Freeman

April 1995 •English

A lethal assassin for a secret Chinese organisation, who sheds tears of regret each time he kills, is seen swiftly and mercilessly executing three Yakuza gangsters by a beautiful artist. She is captivated by the grace of his kill and later falls in love with him. An intense power struggle for the leadership of the Yakuza Clans ensues as they seek vengeance for the death of their leader.

Beverly Hills Ninja

January 1997 •English

Haru, an orphaned American who washes ashore in Japan and is mistaken for the great White Ninja of legend. Raised among the finest Ninjas, Haru grows strong and big - very big. With the grace of all Three Stooges rolled into one body, Haru is an embarrassment to his clan. But when a beautiful blonde pleads for his help, Haru is given one dangerous, disastrously funny chance to prove himself.

Ichi the Killer

December 2001 •Japanese

As sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer Kakihara searches for his missing boss he comes across Ichi, a repressed and psychotic killer who may be able to inflict levels of pain that Kakihara has only dreamed of.

Love Never to End

January 2007 •Japanese

He is Kikuji Murao (Etsushi Toyokawa), a former best-selling novelist who has had a decade-long dry spell that has reduced him to university teaching and magazine hackery. After divorcing his wife (Reiko Takashima) and leaving behind his teenage daughter (Shihori Kanjiya), he meets Fuyuka Irie (Shinobu Terajima), a housewife and mother of three who is a longtime fan.

March Goes out Like a Lamb

April 2017 •Japanese

The time spent between professional Shogi player Kiriyama and his three stories helps to heal his wounds. As he prepares to secure another win in an upcoming tournament, the father who left the three sisters appears and disturbs the peace.