Yuka is a troubled young woman who suddenly begins working part-time as a high-class call girl. During her trysts with various clients she finds unexpected romance while on the job.

At an all female high school, a senior of the broadcast club becomes fascinated with the club's newest member. As graduation approaches and the summer heat rises, so does the sexual tension between the girls. Inspired by the photo book of photographer Yuki Aoyama.

In this tale of star-crossed love, two troubled young lovers - a gambler and a stripper - run off to the tranquil Japanese countryside to marry and start a new life. But their dark past follows them in the form of a veteran loan shark.

Based on the semi-biographical novel by Jun Miura, "Oh, My Buddha" is the classic summer coming-of-age story that is burned to a crisp with teenage angst, youthful dreams and kick-ass psych folk. The narrator is a first-year student at an all-boys Buddhist school. Jaded by his dull, ordinary life, he longs for the type of creative, liberal and forward life his idol Bob Dylan leads, writing rock songs alone in his room, imitating his hero's signature croon, until one day he got invited on an island trip of "sexual liberation" with his good buddies.

Joe Odagiri (Air Doll, I Wish, My Way) stars as Fumiya Takemura, an aimless 20-something devoid of friends, ambitions or money; he has been a student for 8 years and has acquired great debt with loan sharks. Meanwhile, Fukuhara, a debt collector with the baddest mullet you've ever seen, offers Fumiya a strange proposition: he will cancel the debt as long as Fumiya agrees to walk with him across Tokyo to the police station, where he intends to turn himself for a crime he deeply regrets. Not having much of a choice, Fumiya accepts the deal. As they walk, talk and fumble through the streets of Tokyo, their arrangement starts to transform into an unlikely friendship. Based on the original novel by the 125th Naoki Prize winner Yoshinaga FujitaIn, this is an offbeat comic gem, filled with bizarre encounters, strange characters and thoughtful conversation.

A casual scam triggers a surreal series of events, which turns everyone into "ME" who eventually turns on each other. This quirky metaphysical tale of "self-multiplication" hits all the trademarks of cult director, Satoshi Miki ("Adrift in Tokyo", "Instant Swamp"), who has made a name with his original worldview that encapsulates all of his films. Kazuya Kamenashi of popular boy-band, KAT-TUN, stars as Hitoshi, who is at first disoriented in the world that is inhabited by so many Hitoshis, yet unexpectedly finds the uncomplicated relationships among "himselves" quite comfortable.

In the aftermath of the great earthquake and nuclear meltdown that devastated the Northeast coast of Japan, two families whose homes fall on opposite sides of the evacuation border must confront hard choices about whether to leave, and whose orders to follow. The elderly Onos have deep reasons for not wanting to abandon their dairy farm, while their son Yoichi and his wife Izumi fear the insidious effects of radiation on Izumi's pregnancy. Meanwhile, the Suzukis' son helps his girlfriend search for her parents in a devastated landscape.

Twelve-year-old Koichi lives with his mother and retired grandparents in the southern region of Japan. His younger brother Ryunosuke lives with their father in the northern region of Japan. The brothers have been separated by their parents' divorce, and Koichi's only wish is for his family to be reunited. When he learns that a new bullet train line will soon open linking the two towns, he starts to believe that a miracle will take place the moment these new trains first pass each other at top speed. With help from the adults around him, Koichi sets out on a journey with a group of friends, each hoping to witness a miracle.

Exquisitely detailed family drama shines with warmth and understanding. Lushly photographed story incorporates elements of director Hirokazu Kore-Eda's personal experience. On the 15th anniversary of the death of the Yokoyama family's youngest son, the remaining siblings visit the quaint home of their parents with their own families in tow. New relatives become acquainted tell stories and squabble over sizzling tempura. An elegant graveside ritual is performed. "***** (highest rating). A new classic... moviemaking of a rare emotional subtlety" -Rothkopf, Time Out NY

Cult director Takashi Ishii (Flower and Snake, Gonin) puts his signature touch on this perverse detective story, where a hardboiled private investigator finds himself lured into a strange world filled with violence and sex when he takes on an odd job to retrieve a lost Rolex for his mysterious employer.

Visually stunning, bursting with over-the-top action and campy sexual tension, Princess Sakura follows the mad journey of a rebellious princess who ventures into prostitution in order find the mysterious tattooed intruder she met on a fateful night.

When Katsutoshi finds trouble at work and hides out at his friend's titular nightclub, lives intersect and strange situations arise in this dark comedy set in the seedy underbelly of Tokyo nightlife.

After her husband kills himself, future prospects for the demure and beautiful Mitsuko Fuji look incredibly bleak. Fortunately, her dead husband's largest creditor, Mr. Kito, is there to offer a shoulder to cry on as he offers to settle all her debts. But, sure enough, Kito's charity comes with certain strings attached; namely that Mitsuko becomes his personal sex slave. Things become even more complicated when Kito's son Kazuhiko falls for the helpless widow, throwing into jeopardy his own marriage plans.

Acclaimed Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda (Nobody Knows, Still Walking) won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival for this touching drama. The life of go-getting workaholic architect Ryota -- one of comfort and quietly ordered affluence with his wife Midori and son Keita -- is violently overturned when hospital administrators reveal the unthinkable: Keita is not his biological son. Switched at birth by the maternity ward nurse, his "true" son has been raised in the disheveled but warm-hearted home of working-class shopkeeper Yudai and his wife. The different approaches of both couples to their excruciating dilemma and the gradual emotional awakening of the all-too-rational Ryota are at the core of this sensitive drama of family feeling, which showcases Kore-eda's rich sense of humanity.

TSUBOI and KINOSHITA have just arrived at a desolate town because FUNAKI tempted them to come there. But he hasn't arrived yet. They happen to meet with Atsuko and make a journey. But one day, Atsuko suddenly disappears...
(c)2003 Bitters End, Vap

The final portrait in a series on the lives of dictators by Alexander Sokurov, THE SUN is a re-imagining of Emperor Hirohito's final days in power during the waning days of WWII. Hirohito wanders through his palace in a child-like state of denial. But reality soon intrudes as American soldiers overrun his manicured gardens and visions of Hiroshima invade his dreams. No longer a God among men, Hirohito is forced accept the terms of the occupation and, even more dramatically, the renunciation of his divinity. ."..Staggering and brilliant." - Keith Uhlich, TIME OUT NY.