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Toshiyuki Teruya, better known by his stage name Gori, returns to Okinawa in his latest feature, “Kanasando,” a well-intended but uneven drama. Before this film, Teruya had directed “Born Bone Born” and was one of the directors of the anthology movie “Adventures of Paradise: Tales from Okinawa.” The main cast are Ruka Matsuda, Keiko Horiuchi, and Tadanobu Asano. The movie's title, “Kanasando,” is a traditional Okinawan love song.

Kanasando is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival

Following her mother's passing and an emergency call, Mika returns to the island of Okinawa to see her father, Satoru, before he passes away due to being in critical condition with dementia. Yet, the lead has not felt fondly about him for years due to his continuous infidelity when her mom was alive. Things are only made more difficult by the fact that Satoru no longer recognizes his daughter, mistaking her for his deceased wife,...

It’s been something of a long wait for the latest release from “Dreams for Sale” director Miwa Nishikawa. Her fifth feature film, “The Long Excuse” is a considered look at grief, and continues where her last film left off, looking at the concept of self-deception and how people cope with times of crisis.

“The Long Excuse” screened at the New York Asian Film Festival

Sachio (Masahiro Motoki), a writer whose career has turned more to TV celebrity than literary genius, receives a haircut from his hairdresser wife. Slightly drunk, they have a discussion where he shows his annoyance at his status and how his name is that of a baseball legend. Leaving for a trip with her best friend Yuki (Keiko Horiuchi), Natsuko’s (Eri Fukatsu) bus soon crashes on its way through the mountains, killing both, while her husband has an affair with a younger woman.

Having grown cynical,...

Yesterday, the supporting cast of Yasuhiro Kawamura’s Akko’s Secret was revealed to Japanese media via press release.

The film is a live-action adaptation of Fujio Akatsuka’s classic “Himitsu no Akko-chan” manga series (1962-1965) about a 10-year-old girl who receives a magical mirror which lets her transform into whatever she wishes. In this live-action version, Haruka Ayase stars as Akko-chan after using the mirror to transform herself into a 22-year-old woman.

It was previously known that Masaki Okada would play Naoto Hayase, an elite employee of a cosmetics company Akko-chan begins working for.

The newly-announced additions include Teruyuki Kagawa as the spirit of the magical mirror, Shosuke Tanihara and Kazue Fukiishi as fellow company employees, Muga Tsukaji as a security guard who befriends Akko-chan, and Ren Osugi as the company’s former president.

Smaller supporting roles include Riko Yoshida as 10-year-old Akko-chan, Keiko Horiuchi as her mother, Shungiku Uchida...