The best Midori Kiuchi’s movies
We present our ranking of the best Midori Kiuchi’s movies. Do you love cinema? Or are you looking for a movie of your favorite actor to watch tonight? Surely you have some to see or that you did not know yet about Midori Kiuchi.
Magic Kimono
5.7/10
“Magic Kimono” tells the story of middle-aged Japanese woman Keiko, who has been living in a shell for decades due to a family tragedy in Kobe. The modest act of eating and the sensations it gives us provided Keiko a lifeline to survive. Unwillingly, she joins a group of Japanese women traveling to Northern Europe to participate in a kimono show in the fairytale-like art nouveau world of Riga. During her performance, Keiko suddenly comes face to face with her husband, who disappeared twenty years ago and now wants to read-dress their relationship and who Keiko has become.
Maborosi
7.5/10
A tragedy strikes a young woman's life without warning or reason. She continues living while searching for meaning in a lonely world.
0.5 mm
7.3/10
Sawa, a home helper for a middle class family with an elderly infirm grandfather, is forced to stretch her morals to keep her job. As a result, she finds herself broke and out on the street. She survives her first night by striking up an ambiguous friendship with a kindly old man, gaining access to a portion of the immense wealth held by Japan's aging population. She continues with similar encounters, and while these begin as scams or revenge on rampant sexism, they ultimately become vulnerable intergenerational exchanges.
Crying Out Love in the Center of the World
7.2/10
While searching for his fiancee Ritsuko, Sakutarou rediscovers through flashbacks the void deep within him caused by the events from his high school days.
Last Letter
6.9/10
It is only at their sister's and mother's funeral when a woman meets her niece after many years. The niece is now a grown girl. The sister takes on the task of informing the deceased's friends of the death while the daughter cannot bring herself to symbolically accept the demise of her mother. In the midst of all this an old flame messages the sister to say he is still in love with her, but is he messaging the living sister or the dead one?
The Sting of Death
6.8/10
Miho and Toshio, putting their children and household at stake, duel for control in their degrading, middle-aged marriage.
A Long Walk
7.3/10
A lonely retired girl's High School Principal who's lost his wife to alcoholism moves to an old apartment in a country town. There he forms a relationship with a neglected little neighborhood girl.
Girl in the Sunny Place
6.7/10
A new salesman named Kosuke Okuda happens to meet Mao Watarai, a friend from his middle school days. Back then, Mao was called stupid and bullied, but now she is an attractive woman. Kosuke and Mao fall in love and decide to marry, but Mao has a secret…
For Business
4.2/10
Two TV salarymen uphold their duty by taking on a rival talent agency during the late-'80s bubble economy.
The Last Song
7/10
Junkichi is the son of a rich landlord, while Koyuki is the daughter of a poor lumber worker. The mismatched pair soon finds love, and against his father's wishes, Junkichi decides to run away with Koyuki to start a new life. But when Junkichi is called off to war, they make a pledge to sing the song of engagement everyday until they are able to reunite
Shanti Days 365 Days, Happy Breath
5/10
21-year-old Misora Honzawa went to Tokyo from Aomori. Misora Honzawa happens to see Kumi on TV who is a yoga Instructor and model. By chance, the two women begin to live together. At first Misora Honzawa, who is easygoing, and Kumi, who is high maintenance, do not get along with each other. Because they share interests in yoga they eventually become closer and think about happiness and life.
The Last Dance
6.8/10
A successful Japanese movie director in his 60s becomes increasingly ill while working on his latest film. His family, friends, and doctor try to keep the secret of his terminal cancer from him, but it gradually becomes clear. Coming to terms with his own mortality is painful, and involves some major conflicts with his wife and the hospital staff.
Karafuto 1945 Summer
7.1/10
The film is set in Karafuto after the radio broadcast of the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War. On August 15, 1945, Soviet forces invaded Karafuto. On August 20, the postal telegraph office in Maoka suspended operations and nine of the twelve telephone operators committed suicide by taking potassium cyanide while the city was being invaded.
After the Sunset
Little Towa lives with his parents Satsuki and Yuichi in a coastal town on Nagashima. Yuichi is a fisherman, Satsuki runs a restaurant. What Towa doesn’t know is that he is adopted. As a baby, he was abandoned in an internet café, completely emaciated. While his new parents are secretly fighting for custody of him and want to protect him from his past, the family’s happiness begins to falter. Satsuki and Yuichi aren’t the only ones who are worried about Towa’s future.
Falling into the Evening
6/10
"Falling into the Evening" tells the story of a young woman’s confusion when her boyfriend starts a relationship with another. Rica and Kengo have been living together for the past four years. It’s been a very happy time for Rica; the only dark spot being an accident she caused during a shoot for a commercial in which Kengo’s good friend, Shibata, nearly lost his life. The memory of this event weighs heavily on Rica’s conscience. One night Kengo tells Rica that he has fallen in love with a charming but „inscrutable“ woman named Hanako.
The Yen Family
6.6/10
Set in Japan during the bubble era, this unique home comedy cheerfully and humorously depicts the daily life of a strange family that works together to accumulate a small amount of money, while mixing irony and satire.
Namonaihi: A day with no name
A human drama about the strange fate of the three brothers, played by Masatoshi Nagase, Joe Odagiri, and Nobuaki Kaneko, set in Nagoya.
Teacher's suitcase
Tsukiko is in her late 30s and living alone when one night she happens to meet one of her former high school teachers, 'Sensei', in a bar. He is at least thirty years her senior, retired and, she presumes, a widower. After this initial encounter, the pair continue to meet occasionally to share food and drink sake, and as the seasons pass - from spring cherry blossom to autumnal mushrooms - Tsukiko and Sensei come to develop a hesitant intimacy which tilts awkwardly and poignantly into love.
Gondola
7.2/10
Ryo came from Aomori Prefecture to Tokyo. He works as a window washer for high-rise buildings. For his job, he uses a gondola to clean the windows. Meanwhile, 11-year-old Kagari lives with her musician mother at a high-rise apartment. Her mother is always busy and Kagari plays with her two pet birds. One day, Kagari finds one of her birds injured. Ryo, who is washing the window right outside of the room, sees Kagari. Ryo takes Kagari with her injured bird to a veterinary clinic.
Wakare no uta
Richness, severity and pureness of love is beautifully and sentimentally depicted.
