The Samurai and the Prisoner (黒牢城)

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  • 黒牢城 (The Samurai and the Prisoner)

8/5/26 (Wed)

Kurosawa Kiyoshi makes a rare venture into period pieces with this detective story posing as a samurai drama, based on a Naoki Prize-winning novel of 2021. The creative Japanese title translates as “Black Prison Castle”, referring to the dungeon in which one character is held, the castle itself that the lord has effectively made a prison, and the dark mindset in which the lord resides. I thought this might be an historical nickname for the real-life structure, which is actually named Arioka Castle, but it’s apparently an invention by the book’s author and is not mentioned in either the book or screenplay. It’s been noted that “kuro” (black) is part of the hostage’s name (Kuroda) and thus may be a subtle reference to him as well. Whatever. I assume that US distributors felt it necessary to throw “samurai” in as a marketing ploy, but I really wish they’d use some imagination. (For one thing, the lead is a daimyo, not a mere samurai, though I’m sure the distributors will argue that it’s a comment on the role reversal in the story.)

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A Useful Ghost (ผีใช้ได้ค่ะ )

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  • A Useful Ghost (ผีใช้ได้ค่ะ )

7/28/26 (Tues)

I put Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke’s 2025 film on my must-see list when I learned it was about a woman who dies and comes back as a vacuum cleaner. I had thought that the last word in reincarnation was My Mother the Car, a short-lived TV series in the 1960s about a woman who returns as her son’s automobile. (It’s now ranked one of the worst TV shows ever made, but I remember enjoying it as a kid – maybe I have a thing for haunted appliances.) In the Thai tale, however, what starts as a deadpan comedy turns into something deeper, if a bit convoluted.

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The Black Lizard (黒蜥蜴, 1968 film)

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  • 黒蜥蜴 (The Black Lizard, 1968 film)

7/5/26 (Sun)

I decided to watch Fukasaku Shinji’s 1968 film of Mishima Yukio’s nutty detective comedy upon the death of its star, the cross-dressing Miwa Akihiro, just last week at the age of 91. The part in the original 1962 stage show was played by an actual female, the venerable Mizutani Yaeko, but Miwa (reputedly Mishima’s lover) became closely associated with the show over the years. Despite claims to the contrary, Miwa was not playing the role in drag, which implies some sort of parody, but in utmost seriousness as a woman in a Japanese tradition going back centuries. That fits the hall-of-mirrors free-flow of identities throughout, not least when Miwa disguises himself as a man – a Victor Victoria touch that highlights the moment in a way that actresses can’t touch. (Miwa performs here under his real name Maruyama, but I’ll refer to him below by his much better known stage name.)

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Bye Bye Love (バイバイラブ)

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  • バイバイラブ (Bye Bye Love)

7/4/26 (Sat)

A gender-bending piece of 1974 by Fujisawa Isao, his only feature movie after stints as assistant director to Hiroshi Teshigahara (on Woman in the Dunes and The Face of Another, no less) and on yakuza films. I can see the influence of the former in the slipperiness of identity, and Bonnie and Clyde is an obvious inspiration (others frequently mention Pierrot le Fou, which I haven’t seen). It’s not the first Japanese film with an overtly gay character – the wild Funeral Parade of Roses beat it by five years – but it has an arresting take on the subject. While the film was apparently a relative success at the time, it had been thought lost for years and was only rediscovered in 2022.

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Bacurau

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  • Bacurau

6/14/26 (Sun)

This 2019 Brazilian film is classified offputtingly as “Weird Western”, but the generally positive reviews lured me to it. I had assumed vaguely that the title referred to salted cod (bacalhau), but it actually means either a nocturnal bird (nightjar or nighthawk) or, according to one source, “the last chance to make it home at night”. Either is pretty obscure in the context of the film. I must be missing something.

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Safety Last!

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  • Safety Last!

6/13/26 (Sat)

A film deserving of its exclamation point. Harold Lloyd was hugely successful in his day and is often mentioned as the third great silent comedian along with Charles Chaplin and Buster Keaton, both of whom he outgrossed in theaters. The still of him in this film dangling precariously from a skyscraper clock may be the most iconic image of the entire silent era. But somehow his reputation has not lasted to their extent; I’m sure many people assume that the man on the clock is Chaplin. Visually he is not as distinctive with that spiffy college look and could blend easily into the background. So I figured it was about time to catch up with him and see what the praise is all about.

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Police Story (警察故事)

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  • 警察故事 (Police Story)

6/9/26 (Tues)

Jackie Chan conceived, co-wrote and directed this 1985 film after his unhappy experience with The Protector, the misconceived vehicle that was supposed to have been his US breakthrough. The producers in that film were trying to fit him into typical US action star mode, clearly not understanding his unique brand of choreographed comedy action. So he took matters into his own hand – to spectacular results.

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The Searchers

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  • The Searchers

6/6/26 (Sat)

John Ford’s 1956 classic features John Wayne as a complex character whose obsessive hatred of the Comanche tribe recalls his self-destructive pursuit of revenge on his own disciple in Red River. The roots of his loathing are signaled in a gravestone revealing that his mother was murdered by the tribe – but the equally fanatical Scar, the head of the tribe, recalls that his children were killed by the white settlers. The cycle of vengeance thus continues unbroken.

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The Grandmaster (一代宗师)

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  • 一代宗师 (The Grandmaster)

5/31/26 (Sun)

Wong Kar-wai’s 2013 tribute to Ip Man (葉問), the legendary grandmaster and propagator of the Wing Chun (詠春) style of kung fu, which he brought from mainland China to Hong Kong. His most famous student was Bruce Lee, securing his legacy for future generations. His eventful life is fascinating and has been the subject of numerous films, this being the most high-minded. The story is rather disjointed, but I found out later that I was watching the severely cut US version (108 min vs. original’s 130 min – not to mention a separate European cut at 123 min). Even in the shortened version, it’s clear that Wong was aiming for a more intellectual approach to a kung fu film, perhaps analogous to the concept-minded Wing Chun style itself.

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Good Morning (お早う)

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  • お早う (Good Morning)

12/19/21 (Sun)

Ozu’s 1959 film was supposed to be a remake of his 1932 silent classic I Was Born, But…, but the only resemblance was the presence of two young brothers rebelling against their parents (hunger strike in earlier film vs. vow of silence here). One of the last films he ever made, it still feels fresh and fun.

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