[I got da Pa-ul]

quite recently, i've developed a liking for japanese movies because of movies like tampopo, ping pong, shall we dance, the twilight samurai, zatoichi, densha otoko and the seven samurai.. those movies had me glued to the screen, and i fell in love with japanese-style movies :]

haha and i love naoto takenaka's acting and director takashi miike's movies in particular

i was wondering if anybody knew of any good japanese movies and could recommend me some.. (no dramas and anime please)

[akira53]

sekai no chuushin de ai wo sakebu
Battle Royale is a classic if you haven't seen that one yet
Audition is also pretty good
Kamikaze Girls

[qutiepye4]

my favorite japanese movie is... heavenly forestgo check out

www.crunchyroll.com

it had tons of movies!

[i3lu3fun]

some of my favourite japanese movies are:- love letter, love collage, hinokio and sway.

[garnet_moon]

Ima Ai ni Yukimasu
Tada Kimi wo Aishiteru (Heavenly Forest)
Tegami
Sono Toki wa Kare ni Yoroshiku (Say Hello for Me)
How to Become Myself
Kimi ni Shika Kikoenai (Calling You)
Swing Girls

[Epikt]

Advice : you'd better give us more information, "japanese movie" doesn't means anything at all, there are a lot of different kind of Japanese movie and a lot of different people who link japanese movies with different taste.
(except few movies, like How to become Myself, I really disagree with what had been already listed)


I suggest you try movies by Akihiko Shiota (actually, Harmful Insect is the most brilliant film ever, but also Moonlight Whispers, Gips, Canary,...) and Shunji Iwai (All about lily Chou-Chou, Picnic, Swallowtail Butterfly,...).
If you like really trash movies (but really good), I suggest Kei Fujiwara's movies (Id and Organ).
+
Linda Linda Linda, Su-Ki-Da, Nice no Mori,....
+
You like Takashi Miike ? the best are IZO and Bird people and China.

Those are recent movies (90s and 2000s), but the Japanese cinema is also its classic directors : Akira Kurosawa, Kinji Fukasaku, Hiroshi Teshigahara, Teruo Ishii, Kenji Misumi,...

[Rikayla]

- NANA
- Death Note
- Death Note: The Last Name
- Tada Kimi wo Aishiteru (Heavenly Forest)
- Hatsukoi

[Oscar The GolDfisH]

yuuki starring kame from kat-tun is good. it's based on a true story about this guy who gets a rare untreatable disease. and that's all i'm gonna tell you cause it's up to you wether you will like it or not.

i like it.. it's worth watching. made me cry too.. he's a good actor. =)

[Misao]

Shall We Dansu?

old movie, but good nonetheless. =) there's a american remake of it, but didn't watch it yet..

and

WATERBOYS!!!

that movie was LOLOLOLO!!! you should watch it. =) lots of cute skinny japanese chicos

[tranceeee]

there's a movie coming out called KUROSAGI! u should watch it when it comes out (with subtitles and all)

[starforme]

Advice : you'd better give us more information, "japanese movie" doesn't means anything at all, there are a lot of different kind of Japanese movie and a lot of different people who link japanese movies with different taste.
(except few movies, like How to become Myself, I really disagree with what had been already listed)


I suggest you try movies by Akihiko Shiota (actually, Harmful Insect is the most brilliant film ever, but also Moonlight Whispers, Gips, Canary,...) and Shunji Iwai (All about lily Chou-Chou, Picnic, Swallowtail Butterfly,...).
If you like really trash movies (but really good), I suggest Kei Fujiwara's movies (Id and Organ).
+
Linda Linda Linda, Su-Ki-Da, Nice no Mori,....
+
You like Takashi Miike ? the best are IZO and Bird people and China.

Those are recent movies (90s and 2000s), but the Japanese cinema is also its classic directors : Akira Kurosawa, Kinji Fukasaku, Hiroshi Teshigahara, Teruo Ishii, Kenji Misumi,...

agreed--especially about Sukida and All About Lily Chou-Chou!!

[keirasketch]

I watched a buttload of Japanese movies over the break D:

Here are my favorites:

Scrap Heaven (possibly my favorite Japanese movie, ever)
Hachimitsu to Kuroba (Honey and Clover) Fantastic cast, everything about this movie is fantastic (OST is AWESOMEEEE)
Sakuran (not much to the story line.. but VERY visually appealing if you like movies with strong mise en scene)
Aoi Haru (Blue Spring)
Tokyo Hotel

Those are all I can think of right now lol You should kind of "research" into movies before you watch them. I watched just about anything that I could get my hands on (over the break) and some of them were just like "whatttttttt" (especially some, not all, of those that were adapted from anime) Personally, I find Japanese movies slow and boring most of the time (the ones I listed up there aren't.. for me they weren't) but their excellent cinematography really has me coming back for more :3

[losborrachos]

contemporary: nobody knows (wonderful life and maborosi are pretty good, too)
classic: whatever's left of mizoguchi's stuff.
ooh, also check out family game, the climax is unbelievable.

[the kite]

A few of my favorites~

Tada Kimi wo Aishiteru/Heavenly Forest (I didn;t really like the storyline but it was really cute)
All About Lily Chou Chou (My complete favorite <33)
Su-Ki-Da
The Battery
Honey and Clover...

Epikt names a good selection.

But yeah. There are actually a lot of different styles. I wouldn't know which movies you're after.
I enjoy movies that usually lack dialogue and concentrate more on themes and mise en scene and just the pure character development without having to say anything. I hope I made sense there LOL. A lot of people find them boring but I find it very deep and artisitic, so yeah.

It all depends.

[redmoon123]

I would recommend
- Nobody Knows
- Heavenly Forest

[Jasmine ♥]

the only one ive seen is kimi wa petto u should watch it

[witchery]

death note movies, but ull probably like it better watching the anime first.
and battle royale. (altho it's rli disturbing. you will like it if you like Kill Bill.)

[honey_bear]

あしたの私のつくり方 Ashita no Watashi no Tsukurikata [How to Become Myself]
誰も知らない Dare mo Shiranai [Nobody Knows]
デスノート Desu Nōto [Death Note]
デスノート2 Desu Nōto: The Last Name [Death Note: The Last Name]
ハチミツとクローバー Hachimitsu to Kuroba [Honey and Clover]
初雪の恋 Hatsuyuki no Koi [First Love] [Virgin Snow]
フラガール Hura Gāru [Hula Girls]
リリイ・シュシュのすべて Rirī Shushu no Subete [All About Lily Chou-Chou]
# ただ、君を愛してる Tada, Kimi wo Aishiteru [Just Loving You] [Heavenly Forest]
# ウォーターボーイズ Wōtā Bōizu [Water Boys]

I know it is explicitly stated that 'no animes' but I really have to mention 秒速５センチメートル Byōsoku Go Senchimētoru [5 Centimeters per Second] [A Chain of Love Stories About Their Distance]. I don't really watch a lot of animated films but I really liked this one.

[Key]

I would recommend Swing Girls and Linda Linda Linda. They're both focused on music [SG for jazz and LLL for punk-rock(?), er, they covered the Bue Hearts songs so..]. SG is really funny, and you'll love the final performance in both movies ^^

Also, you can try Nobody Knows, a movie about a boy who has to take care of his younger siblings after their mother abandoned them. The actor who plays the boy is the youngest winner ever to win Best Actor in Cannes festival [I think it's Cannes..]

[qiianer]

Kinda surprised that no one mentioned Koizora - Sky Of Love.
This movie is great, though very much of a heartbreaker.