2 Best Movies to Watch by Hisako Hara

Not to be confused with the American cop thriller with the same name, Shōhei Imamura’s Black Rain is about the atomic bomb, but it’s not really concerned about nuclear warfare. Sure, the film opens with gruesome shots of the day the bomb dropped, not sparing the viewers from the gore and the titular nuclear fallout, that in black and white looks the same. And yes, much of the conflict occurs because of the lingering effects of the radiation. However, Imamura is much more concerned with the way Japanese society had tried to deal with it through going back to tradition– through going through the motions of matchmaking and propriety and social status and through excluding those who suffered directly from the bomb. Black Rain has a singular perspective, one that stands out due to the country’s denial of war crimes.

Genre: Drama, History

Actor: Akiji Kobayashi, Etsuko Ichihara, Fujio Tokita, Hideji Ōtaki, Hisako Hara, Kazuko Shirakawa, Kazuo Kitamura, Kenjirou Ishimaru, Masato Yamada, Noboru Mitani, Norihei Miki, Sabu Kawahara, Shoichi Ozawa, Taiji Tonoyama, Takashi Miike, Tamaki Sawa, Toshie Kusunoki, Yoshiko Tanaka

Director: Shōhei Imamura

While it would be easy to make comparisons to The Good Place and other shows and films dealing with the afterlife, Hirokazu Kore-eda's film is devoted to a single thing: commemorating the ordinary moments that make our life precious. Through little more than workplace banter and documentary-style interviews (with an ensemble delivering uncannily naturalistic performances), After Life reminds us how beautiful the mundane can be and how important it is for us to be present for each other in the everyday. And as the fim's characters prepare to create reenactments of each person's most precious memory, Kore-eda also defines filmmaking itself as an act of comfort and empathy. No existential crises here; an overwhelming sense of peace floods After Life, making it all the more memorable.

Genre: Drama, Fantasy

Actor: Akio Yokoyama, Arata Iura, Erika Oda, Hisako Hara, Kazuko Shirakawa, Kei Tani, Kotaro Shiga, Kyōko Kagawa, Miyako Yamaguchi, Natsuo Ishido, Sadawo Abe, Sayaka Yoshino, Susumu Terajima, Tae Kimura, Takashi Naito, Taketoshi Naitô, Tōru Yuri, Yûsuke Iseya

Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda