In October/November time a Nobuhiko Obayashi 4 film set will be released containing School in the Crosshairs, Girl of time, Island Nearest Paradise and His Motorbike Her Island. So, in perpetration for the event it seems right to look at these four films.
School in the Crosshairs is a 1981 Sci-Fi fantasy film. The film centres around Yuka a shy middle school student with psychic powers. However, when a new student with similar ability’s uses his power to steal the class election Yuka and her friends try to stop him. The film received mixed reviews with critics praising the tone of the film being funny, cute. and weird at the same time but criticised the lack of character development and an incoherent second half.
Girl of Time is a 1983 Sci-Fi film. Based on the 1965 Japanese novel of the same name it tells the story of a high-school girl who gains the ability to time-travel and repeatedly relives the same day in a time loop. The film was a box office success being the second highest-grossing Japanese film in 1983, ultimately earning 4.76 billion Yen. The film received positive reviews with critics praising the honest sentimentality, acting and story.
Island Nearest to Heaven is a 1984 about a high school girl that travels to the island of New Caledonia and goes on magical adventures. The film gained mixed reviews.
His Motorbike, Her Island was his next film in 1986 the film is about a temperamental young biker who after a failed romance meets a carefree rural girl while riding through her island home and gets her obsessed about riding a motorbike. The film gained mixed reviews with critics praising the unusual narrative and camera work but feeling the film was unnecessarily experimental with musical interludes that seemed pointless and cheesy dialogue.
I hope that more people look at the films of Nobuhiko Obayashi from both this set and the previous Anti-War Trilogy box set as well as his most famous film the 1977 experimental comedy horror film House and his final film Labyrinth of Cinema from 2019. By experiencing these films you can dive into the work of a master and one of my favourite directors of all time.
Anantomia Extinction
Anatomia Extinction is a 1995 splatterpunk film written and directed by Yoshihiro Nishimura. The film follows a man who witnesses a murder on the subway and is paused by the killer who wants him to join a group called the engineers whose task is to recue japans...
Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th is a 1980s American independent slasher film produced and directed by Sean S. Cunningham and starring Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, Laurie Bartram, Mark Nelson, Jeannine Taylor, Robbi Morgan, and Kevin Bacon. The film follows a group of...
Labyrinth of Cinema
Labyrinth of Cinema is a 2019 Japanese anti-war fantasy drama film written, produced, directed, and edited by Nobuhiko Obayashi, and staring Takuro Atsuki, Takahito Hosoyamada, Yoshihiko Hosoda, Rei Yoshida, Riko Narumi, Hirona Yamazaki and Takako Tokiwa. The film...
Strange Darling Review
Strange Darling, directed by J.T. Mollner, is a visceral, genre-bending thriller that delivers a potent blend of psychological horror and dark romance. It’s a cat-and-mouse narrative soaked in dread but told with such stylistic flair and narrative boldness that it...
Rurouni Kenshin Season 2
Rurouni Kenshin Season 2 (2024–25), subtitled Kyoto Disturbance, continues the rebooted anime's commitment to faithfully adapting Nobuhiro Watsuki’s manga. This season delves into the intense Kyoto arc, introducing formidable adversaries like Makoto Shishio and...
Hanagatami
Hanagatami is a 2017 Japanese war film directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi. The film revolves around Toshihiko a sixteen-year-old teenager who moves in with his aunt in Karatsu and develops friendships and romances with the inhabitants of the town as WW2 rages on in the...
Seven Weeks
Seven Weeks is a 2014 film directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi. The film stars Tōru Shinagawa, Takako Tokiwa, Tokie Hidari, Takehiro Murata, Yutaka Matsushige, Shunsuke Kubozuka, Saki Terashima and Hirona Yamazaki. The film follows the aftermath of the atomic bomb in modern...
The Substance Review
The Substance is a 2024 body horror film written and directed by Coralie Fargeat. The film follows fading star actress Elisabeth Sparkle who after being fired by her producer due to her age uses a black-market drug that crates a younger version of herself however this...
Casting Blossoms in the Sky
Casting Blossoms in the Sky is a 2012 Japanese drama film directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi. The film follows a journalist who visits the city of Nagaoka to write about the town was discriminated by a WW2 air raid and thev2004 earthquake. Casting Blossoms to the Sky is an...
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