2 Best Movies to Watch by Kou Maehara

Staff & contributors

As an adaptation of a story written to commemorate the Louvre’s comics-focused exhibit, Rohan at the Louvre expands the short story into a riveting, nearly two-hour supernatural mystery film that contemplates Japanese art in context with the world. The original story is a spin-off of the popular manga Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, so this film adaptation may shock fans expecting the same plot points and the vibrant, colorful style of the manga. However, the shadow-heavy cinematography, alongside Issey Takahashi’s performance, casts the eeriness needed to make this story work on film. It’s a change that fits a story all about art as a depiction of pain and desire, severing the self from the past, and escapism through stories.

Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Mystery

Actor: Fumino Kimura, Issey Takahashi, Katia Tchenko, Kayoko Shiraishi, Kei Kagaya, Kento Nagao, Kou Maehara, Léa Bonneau, Makoto Nakamura, Marie Iitoyo, Masanobu Ando, Minami, Robin Barde, Ryo Ikeda, Ryosuke Otani, Tomoya Masuda

Director: Kazutaka Watanabe

There are plenty of submarine thrillers that work in the present, but when it comes to the genre, the most memorable stories are set during the Cold War, where major superpowers made as much advances in tech as they can without bringing war to the world. The Silent Service depicts an alternate history, where, tired of both the U.S. and Japan, making underhanded moves against each other in their supposed alliance, one submarine captain commits mutiny to declare his nuclear submarine as one nation. Amazon Prime has expanded the film into an eight episode show, which gives much more detail to the sub battles, tech, and underwater escapades. However, because of focusing too much on the step-by-step events, The Silent Service loses sight of the thrilling and terrifying potential of having one crew being in control of nuclear weapons in an undetectable, high-tech submarine that can go anywhere.

Genre: Drama, War, War & Politics

Actor: Aleks Paunovic, Aoi Nakamura, Asami Mizukawa, Aya Ueto, Hiroshi Tamaki, Isao Hashizume, Kou Maehara, Koudai Matsuoka, Takao Osawa, Takashi Sasano, Tao Okamoto, Tomoya Nakamura, Toru Tezuka, Yoshi Sakou, Yosuke Eguchi, Yui Natsukawa, Yusuke Santamaria

Director: Kohei Yoshino