Bushidô Sixteen

If you do not speak Japanese, you may have trouble following these 5 short films, as the subtitles are not very good. However, once you begin to watch these stories of a student reading a play, another learning the art of tea making, another losing bad in a baseball game (its hard to hit a ball with a tennis racquet that has no net!), the films have a certain rhythm that is very pleasing. The last two vignettes, wherein Kie Kitano by trial and error tries to cook like her late mother, making innumerable omelets till she gets it right and Riko Narumi tries to shoot Kato, a guy she likes, with a special arrow that will make him love her, are wonderful little slices of life. If there is supposed to be a unifying theme to all this, I would guess its about finding your way, your acceptance in the world. Any series of films with both Kie Kitano and Riko Narumi in them is worth watching, they are both very interesting young actresses. So, not great, but worthwhile in understanding what it important in life, especially among young people in Japan.