The best Mayu Matsuoka’s drama movies
If you love cinema, you will share this ranking of the best Mayu Matsuoka’s movies, although you may have ordered them differently. In any case, we hope you love it and with a little luck discovering a movie that you still don’t know about Mayu Matsuoka.
A Silent Voice: The Movie
8.1/10
Shouya Ishida starts bullying the new girl in class, Shouko Nishimiya, because she is deaf. But as the teasing continues, the rest of the class starts to turn on Shouya for his lack of compassion. When they leave elementary school, Shouko and Shouya do not speak to each other again... until an older, wiser Shouya, tormented by his past behaviour, decides he must see Shouko once more. He wants to atone for his sins, but is it already too late...?
Shoplifters
7.9/10
After one of their shoplifting sessions, Osamu and his son come across a little girl in the freezing cold. At first reluctant to shelter the girl, Osamu’s wife agrees to take care of her after learning of the hardships she faces. Although the family is poor, barely making enough money to survive through petty crime, they seem to live happily together until an unforeseen incident reveals hidden secrets, testing the bonds that unite them.
Love Exposure
8/10
The story of a teenage boy named Yu, who falls for Yoko, a girl he runs into while working as an "up-skirt" photographer in an offshoot of the porn industry. His attempts to woo her are complicated by a spot of cross-dressing - which convinces Yoko that she is lesbian - dalliances with kung-fu and crime, and a constant struggle with the guilt that's a legacy of his Catholic upbringing.
Little Forest: Summer/Autumn
7.6/10
Abandoned by her mother, young Ichiko leaves her life in the city to live off the land in Komori, a small town nestled among the mountains in rural Japan. Despite the void left by her mother’s disappearance, Ichiko comes to enjoy her independence and revels in her new-found connection with food and the elements. Visually luxuriant, this film follows Ichiko through one summer and autumn, as she learns to use and respect the time-honoured wisdom of rural folk and read the cycle of life and connectedness in the environment around her.
Little Forest: Winter/Spring
7.6/10
Ichiko (Ai Hashimoto) lived in a big city, but goes back to her small hometown Komori, located on a mountain in the Tohoku region. She is self-sufficient. Ichiko gains energy living among nature and eating foods she makes from seasonal ingredients.
Theatre: A Love Story
6.6/10
Nagata works as a writer and director for theater company Oroka. His work has not received positive responses and ticket sales has not increased. Making things worse, his relationship with the theatrical troupe is not good. Nagata feels lonely. One day, he sees a woman named Saki on the street. She is wearing the same sneakers as he is. Nagata talks to her. Saki is a university student and she dreams of becoming an actress. Nagata and Saki fall in love.
The Kirishima Thing
7.2/10
A story about the disappearance of Kirishima, a star athlete of the volleyball club, and how his disappearance affects every person in school.
Chihayafuru Part III
7.2/10
Story takes place 2 years after "Chihayafuru Part 2" and Chihaya is now a high school senior.
Chihayafuru Part II
6.9/10
After successfully won the Tokyo qualifying tournament, Chihaya and her friends are set to go on to the nationals. As they prepare, Chihaya is faced with new personal issues as her childhood friend and inspiration, Arata, has announced that he has quit competitive karuta. Not only that, but a new rival emerges in the reigning female champion karuta player, Shinobu Wakamiya, a karuta prodigy who became the nation's and the world's greatest female karuta player as a 9th grader. All of this forces Chihaya to reexamine her love of the game in the midst of preparing for one of the biggest tournaments of the year.
blank 13
6.4/10
Thirteen years after abandoning his wife and two sons by stepping out for a pack of cigarettes and never returning, deadbeat gambler Masato dies of stomach cancer. At his funeral, a motley crew of fellow mahjong players, pachinko parlor employees and former drinking buddies gather to pay their respects and tell stories, revealing aspects of Masato’s life that complicate his sons’ resentment towards him.
Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction
6.4/10
Hayami Teruya is a dedicated salaryman who does a workman like job as the chief editor for a magazine. He has personal charm, get along with both the publisher and subordinates and runs the ship well. Chatting with his direct boss he picks up a certain vibe. Did he misunderstand that the magazine is doomed and will be terminated? If so, he is not going down without a fight. He will fight to make it through and keep his, and the others', jobs.
Cats Don't Come When You Call
6.6/10
Mitsuo is a boxer who prefers dogs but ends up looking after two cats that his brother rescues.
Chihayafuru Part I
6.9/10
When Chihaya Ayase was in the 6th grade of elementary school, she met Arata Wataya. Arata Wataya transferred from Fukui Prefecture. Taichi Mashima was Chihaya Ayase's friend since they were little. Arata got close to Chihaya and Taichi from the card game karuta. Four years later, Chihaya is a high school student. Chihaya learns that Arata, who went back to Fukui Prefecture, doesn't play karuta anymore. Believing they will meet Arata again, Chihaya and Taichi starts a karuta club at their high school.
One Night
6.5/10
A family reunites after 15 years. They each have a story to tell as they have not forgotten what happened years ago.
Dawn of a Filmmaker: The Keisuke Kinoshita Story
6.8/10
Keisuke Kinoshita sits easily alongside Ozu, Kurosawa and Naruse as one of Japan’s most respected legends of cinema. Made to commemorate the centenary of Kinoshita’s birth, this biographical drama chronicles formative hardships and personal encounters to provide a rare glimpse into the life of one of Japan’s most acclaimed screen directors. Includes archival footage from 49 of the films he produced during his career at Shochiku.
Chips
6.8/10
Tadashi Imamura is a burglar who idolises Ozaki, a star baseball player he shares a birthday with. One day he realises their connection is much deeper than that and decides to find out more. Based on a short story by Kotaro Isaka.
Samulife
4.9/10
Nagaoka is a former high school teacher. He decides to start a school with an ideal learning environment. To achieve this goal, he struggles to make money by running a bar and a publishing company.
