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Kazuo Ishiguro’s 1982 debut novel “A Pale View of Hills” is an elegant, slippery examination of lives caught between identities both national and existential: Its tale-within-a-tale of two Japanese women living eerily overlapping lives in post-war Nagasaki, as related to the mixed-race daughter of one of them 30 years later, is rife with deliberate, subtly uncanny inconsistencies that speak of immigrant trauma and disassociation. Such lithe literary conceits turn to heavier twists in Kei Ishikawa’s ambitious but ungainly adaptation, which mostly follows the letter of Ishiguro’s work, but misses its haunting, haunted spirit.

Attractively and accessibly presented, this bilingual Japanese-British production aims squarely for crossover arthouse appeal, and with the Ishiguro imprimatur — the Nobel laureate takes an executive producer credit — should secure broader global distribution than any of Ishikawa’s previous work. Viewers unfamiliar with the novel, however, may be left perplexed by key development in this dual-timeline period piece,...

In a modest home in the English countryside, a young woman rummages through her mother’s belongings. Among half-packed boxes and cluttered papers, she finds an envelope of photographs. “I’ve not seen many pictures of you in Nagasaki, you look so young,” Niki (Camila Aiko), a British-born Japanese writer says to her mother, Etsuko (Yoh Yoshida), before handing over one of the images. There’s a brusqueness to their interaction, a brevity that hints at secrets untold. Etsuko says she hadn’t intended to put the photos out and proceeds to make the bed.

These kind furtive exchanges litter A Pale View of Hills, Kei Ishikawa’s overly careful adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s debut novel of the same name. The film, which premiered at Cannes in the Un Certain Regard sidebar, braids together two stories. The first is set in 1980s England, where Niki helps her mother prepare to sell their house.

It begins as many great films do: with a character peering through a window, their gaze landing on someone and fixing itself there — eyes widening in curiosity, interest, perhaps recognition.

The characters in Kazuo Ishiguro’s novels have a tendency to unspool when faced with their Rube Goldberg prompt to do so, the three-act nature of their memories ripe for successful cinema adaptation. Ishiguro’s England-set “The Remains of the Day” was mounted by Merchant-Ivory in 1993 to much acclaim, and his boarding school existentialist sci-fi “Never Let Me Go” was emotively adapted to screen by Alex Garland and Mark Romanek in 2010. A Japanese-born British writer, Ishiguro used his lesser-celebrated early novels to examine his international heritage and identity, and it’s the first of these, “A Pale View of Hills,” that now sees a lavish Un Certain Regard-premiering adaptation.

Taking to the stage at the film’s Cannes premiere, Ishiguro...

A Pale View of Hills unfolds in two distinct eras: post-war Nagasaki in the early 1950s and rural England in 1982. At its center is Etsuko, whose recollections of life amid the city’s slow recovery collide with her quieter existence as a British expatriate. The film’s screenplay, adapted by director Kei Ishikawa from Kazuo Ishiguro’s debut novel, orchestrates these timelines with precision, inviting viewers to piece together truths that may shift beneath their feet.

Rather than presenting memory as a straightforward ledger of facts, Ishikawa sculpts it into a mosaic of vivid flashes and deliberate silences. Sepia-toned flashbacks register like half-remembered dreams—trees draped in mist, the silhouettes of schoolmasters, the wary glances of a burn-scarred child—while the muted greens of Etsuko’s English garden feel almost surreal in contrast. This interplay asks whether recollection serves self-preservation or self-delusion.

Questions of identity and inherited guilt hover throughout.

Oscar nominee Rinko Kikuchi is set to star in “Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!,” the third feature film from writer-director Josef Kubota Wladyka. Alberto Guerra, Alejandro Edda, You and Yoh Yoshida round out the international cast of the project, which is filming in Japan.

Plot details are currently being kept under wraps, but the film is described as a fantasy dance drama set in the vibrant city of Tokyo.

Nicholas Huynh co-wrote the script with Wladyka, who is also producing alongside Kimberly Parker Zox and Mao Nagakura. James Hausler and Kenji Ito are executive producing, and Thefool, Inc. is providing production services in Japan.

Wladyka’s prior work includes the two critically acclaimed and Indie Spirit Award-nominated features “Manos Sucias” and “Catch the Fair One.” The latter introduced boxing champion and Emmy nominee Kali Reis as a breakout star.

In 2007, Kikuchi became the first Japanese actress to be nominated for an Academy Award in 50 years,...

With Bong Joon-ho, Na Hong-jin, Pak Chan-wook, Takashi Miike, Park Hoon-jung having new movies in 2025, the year is already shaping up to be a great one, perhaps even signaling some sort of come-back for Korean cinema. At the same time, the directorial debut of Shu Qi, the return of Bi Gan and Edwin, and a number of rather interesting anime movies have us all excited here in Amp. Without further ado, here is a countdown of 35 films that are easily described as much anticipated, in random order.

1. All Before You by Annemarie Jacir (Palestine)

Yusuf spends his days moving between his farming village, Al Basma, and his work in the city of Jerusalem, enthusiastically working to find his place in the changing, modern world. Young and restless, he’s more interested in getting away from the confines of village life than becoming involved in its problems. Yusuf’s story is...

In “Trespassers”, we get a quirky and entertaining television movie from screenwriter Bakarhythm and director Itaru Mizuno, the same tandem behind the critically acclaimed 2023 comedy series “Brush Up Life.”

They introduce us to three middle-aged women who decide to break into the house of the owner of a housekeeping company where two of them work. Tanaka (Rinko Kikuchi) and Ogawa (Kami Hiraiwa) learn about a rumor that their boss commits tax fraud. Thinking of their low salaries and their boss’s false branding as an ally for women, they decide to steal the tax money which they assume is hidden in her mansion. They justify this act among themselves as fair, since they are lowballed in terms of compensation and benefits and they plan to donate two thirds of the money to charity. The two seek the assistance of Eto (Yo Yoshida), Ogawa’s friend who claims she’s an...

“In Love and Deep Water” is a movie directed by Yûsuke Taki, and starring Ryo Yoshizawa, Aoi Miyazaki, and Yoh Yoshida.

In Love and Deep Water

It could have been another murder story, reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s style, set on a ship, one of those movies where a detective eats a lot while solving a crime. But no, because “In Love and Deep Water” plays with that premise and turns it around to immerse us in a delightful tale of love, crime, and comedy.

A sophisticated comedy coming all the way from Japan, available on Netflix this Thursday.

It’s a mystery comedy where the crime is clear and all we have to solve is… the enigma of love.

Review of “In Love and Deep Water”

Since we were kids, we have grown up with fantastic stories of cruises where two people find love or maybe rediscover it. Whether...

The Blue Ribbon Awards are film-specific prizes awarded solely by movie critics and writers in Tokyo, Japan.

The awards were established in 1950 by The Association of Tokyo Film Journalists which is composed of film correspondents from seven Tokyo-based sports newspapers. In 1961, the six major Japanese newspapers (Yomiuri Shinbun, Asahi Shinbun, Mainichi Shinbun, Sankei Shimbun, Tokyo Shimbun andNihon Keizai Shinbun) as well as the Japanese Associated Press withdrew their support for the Blue Ribbon Awards and established the Association of Japanese Film Journalists Awards, (which were held a mere six times). In 1967, the awards were cancelled as a result of the Black Mist Scandal, a baseball bribing case. In 1975, the awards were revived, and have continued until the present day. The annual award ceremony is held in a variety of places in Tokyo every February.

Although the award is not acclaimed highly on an international level, due to their long history and the rigorous screening process,...