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Films based on the making of a movie is something that’s no stranger to cinema, with the site even making a list of our favorites on the subject not too long ago, proving the diversity of the subject matter out there. Now, director Paul Young throws his latest attempt at the genre into the mix with this brazen horror/comedy feature screening at Japan Film Fest Hamburg.

“Ghost Master” is screening at Japan Film Fest Hamburg:

Arriving on the set of his newest film, director Atushi Suzuki (Shinichi Shinohara), his cast of Yuya, (Mizuki Itagaki) Momose, (Marika Nagao) Kenshin (Motohisa Harashima), Mana (Riko Narumi) and crew, featuring assistant director Akira Kurosawa (Takahiro Miura) and sound recorder Keiko (Yuki Shibamoto) begin work on a romantic teen drama in an abandoned school. When a conflict with the script causes half of the gathered principles to walk out on strike, Kurosawa is...

Tajomaru: Avenging Blade

Stars: Shun Oguri, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, Yuki Shibamoto, Kei Tanaka | Written by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Shinichi Ichikawa | Directed by Hiroyuki Nakano

Tajomaru follows the exploits of a pair of brothers, Naomitsu and Nobutsuna (Oguri and Ikeuchi) their female childhood friend Ako (Shibamoto) and the street urchin they welcome into their family, Sakuramaru (Tanaka). When the quartet grow up, Ako’s powerful father dies. Although Naomitsu loves Ako, as the elder brother, Nobutsuna decides to take Ako as his own by force for political and monetary benefit. Naomitsu flees with Ako into the forests but are apprehended first by a shock betrayal and secondly by a bandit named Tajomaru. Although Naomitsu eventually defeats him in battle, Ako deserts him. Having bested the bandit, Naomitsu earns the man’s name and his legendary blade and finds himself in charge of a band of outlaws. Later, events conspire to compel Naomitsu to reclaim what he has lost.

Oh how we have waited with bated breath for the return of Japanese director Hiroyuki Nakano to return with another film. I am a mighty fan of both Samurai Fiction and Stereo Future. I gave Red Shadow a miss and I haven’t been able to see any of the short film work he has done in recent years so his record is pretty much unblemished in my opinion. And it has been long enough since he last did a feature film perhaps all this short film work in the meantime has put him back on track to deliver us another gem. We hope Tajomaru is that film, Nakano’s adaptation of the short story “In a Grove” by Ryunosuke Akutagawa. I’m a bit mixed about the new trailer, some parts seem a bit silly and Jpop gets me every time, but final judgment is reserved for when I...