Tag Archives: Ryusuke Hamaguchi

Busan International Film Festival 2026, Oct. 11

Posted on October 11, 2026 by philipbrasor

I was finally able to see Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s All of a Sudden yesterday at the only screening that would be taking place while I’m in Busan. I had missed it when it opened in Japan and, since it is mostly … Continue reading →

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Review: Evil Does Not Exist

Posted on April 26, 2024 by philipbrasor

Almost deceptively, Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s latest film initially comes across as a conventional story about a big, bad corporation invading a rustic village for profit. The simplicity of the premise is what works for me, since I love stories that explain … Continue reading →

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Best Movies 2023

Posted on December 27, 2023 by philipbrasor

Owing to Japanese distributors’ habit of taking their time to promote overseas releases, foreign films often don’t show up in theaters here until well after they’ve shown up elsewhere. This trend was exacerbated by COVID and thus I figure more … Continue reading →

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Review: Third Time Lucky

Posted on January 22, 2022 by philipbrasor

When it premiered at the Locarno Film Festival in 2015, Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Happy Hour revived interest in Japanese art house cinema among those who had mostly given up on it since the dawn of the 1990s. A long, intimate portrait … Continue reading →

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Review: Asako I & II

Posted on September 8, 2018 by philipbrasor

I have yet to see Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s previous film, the internationally lauded 5-hour domestic drama Happy Hour, which, probably due to its length, hasn’t been picked up by WOWOW. But having read about its charms for almost a year I … Continue reading →

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