Asian American / Asian Research Institute
The City University of New York
Departures (Japan, 2008) Running Time: 131 Minutes Freshly unemployed, young cellist Daigo (Masahiro Motoki) has an epiphany in which he realizes he’s been heading down the wrong career path. Retreating to his hometown, he trains for a new professional role as a nakanshi, or one who prepares the dead for burial. Tsutomu Yamazaki provides comic … Read more
Iikiru (Japan, 1952) Running Time: 143 Minutes When a stoic government official (Takashi Shimura, with a BAFTA nomination for Best Foreign Actor) in post-war Japan learns he has terminal cancer, he realizes he has squandered his life on meaningless red tape and has no close family or friendships to lean on. He resolves to use … Read more
Japan’s meteoric economic rise from the end of World War II through the 1980s and then its rapid descent into economic stagnation is one of the greatest reversals of economic fortunes among the industrialized democracies. Japan’s public finances followed a similar arc, with Japan, a former model of fiscal discipline and restrained spending, becoming virtually … Read more
Hula Girls (Japan, 2006) Running Time: 120 Minutes When a Japanese mining company announces the closure of a coal mine in Iwaki, a group of brave young women defies their community by signing up to become hula dancers at the company’s new Hawaiian tourist center in this heartwarming dramedy. Amid union workers’ protests and against … Read more
Train Man (Japan, 2005), Running Time: 101 Minutes While riding the train, a desperate geek meets the girl of his dreams, prompting the socially deprived but brave young nerd to start a chat room thread asking his faceless Internet compatriots, “How do you talk to girls?” The courtship advice he receives from his online pals … Read more
Nana (Japan, 2005), Running Time: 114 Minutes Based on the popular manga, this series follows the adventures of two girls named Nana who depend on each other’s help to realize their dreams: Nana Komatsu yearns for true love, while Nana Osaki wants to get her punk band off the ground. The two meet on a … Read more