Miwa Nishikawa’s “Under the Open Sky”
This story of an ex-Yakuza trying to go straight after spending much of his life in prison deals effectively with specific social commentary on the Japanese system while never quite feeling completely authentic or fully realised
Yôji Yamada’s “What a Wonderful Family!”
Rabidly conservative family “comedy” that is at best bland and predictable and at worst offensive and patronising
Kinji Fukasaku’s “Battle Royale”
The violent and melodramatic sugar rush Lord of the Flies shows its age but still works as an entertaining absurdist parable of adolescence
Hirokazu Koreeda’s “Broker”
Beautiful and complex yet tender story of family and human connections that touches on hefty concepts while being extremely engaging dented slightly by its denouement
Shinichirou Ueda’s “One Cut of the Dead”
A hilarious ode to guerilla filmmaking with an innovative three act structure that pays homage to low-budget horror