The Tale of Zatoichi (1962) -
A blind swordsman with abnormally heightened senses gets mixed up in a clan rivalry.
If Zatoichi were alive today, I think he would have a youtube channel full of clickbait titles. BLIND JAPANESE MAN WITH AMAZING SWORDSMANSHIP SHOCKS PASSERSBY
The Eel (1997) -
Years after murdering his adulterous wife, an emotionally detached man attempts to start a new life post-improsonment. There's a great cast of eccentrics, and a tone that ranges from dismal and sad to dryly funny.
Parasite (2019) -
A smart, desperate poor family cons their way into the employ of an extremely gullible rich family. Very entertaining and unpredictable story with a lot of clever comedy and Hitchcockian tension.
The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi (2003) -
Very unorthodox storytelling. It feels clunky, but in a good way; unusual and largely unpredictable. It's far from perfect, but I doubt something this free-spirited was at all interested in being a cohesive tale. It seems more about flexing the creative personality behind the tale, and telling its story in a way that no others would. I was expecting a dry and serious attempt to be 'badass,' but ended up laughing more than I have at a movie in a long time. The rhythmic stick fighting instructional killed me. A new favorite.
Black Rain (1989) -
Two NYPD cops botch transporting a wanted Yakuza member back to Japan, and must treat every member of the Japanese police like they're stuck-up bureaucrats that just don't understand real bloody-knuckled policework. The Japanese-New York cop dichotomy is embarrassing to watch at first (especially when Andy Garcia partakes in nightclub karaoke to loosen up his new partner), but it has a great dark & steamy late-80s vibe with exactly the kind of airy percussion & Eastern plucky score you'd expect.
A blind swordsman with abnormally heightened senses gets mixed up in a clan rivalry.
If Zatoichi were alive today, I think he would have a youtube channel full of clickbait titles. BLIND JAPANESE MAN WITH AMAZING SWORDSMANSHIP SHOCKS PASSERSBY
The Eel (1997) -
Years after murdering his adulterous wife, an emotionally detached man attempts to start a new life post-improsonment. There's a great cast of eccentrics, and a tone that ranges from dismal and sad to dryly funny.
Parasite (2019) -
A smart, desperate poor family cons their way into the employ of an extremely gullible rich family. Very entertaining and unpredictable story with a lot of clever comedy and Hitchcockian tension.
The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi (2003) -
Very unorthodox storytelling. It feels clunky, but in a good way; unusual and largely unpredictable. It's far from perfect, but I doubt something this free-spirited was at all interested in being a cohesive tale. It seems more about flexing the creative personality behind the tale, and telling its story in a way that no others would. I was expecting a dry and serious attempt to be 'badass,' but ended up laughing more than I have at a movie in a long time. The rhythmic stick fighting instructional killed me. A new favorite.
Black Rain (1989) -
Two NYPD cops botch transporting a wanted Yakuza member back to Japan, and must treat every member of the Japanese police like they're stuck-up bureaucrats that just don't understand real bloody-knuckled policework. The Japanese-New York cop dichotomy is embarrassing to watch at first (especially when Andy Garcia partakes in nightclub karaoke to loosen up his new partner), but it has a great dark & steamy late-80s vibe with exactly the kind of airy percussion & Eastern plucky score you'd expect.