The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film

Rating:
Summary: Move over Ozu
Review: If you are a fan of modern Japanese Film and have the Internet, it is most likely that you are familiar with the website Midhight Eye opperated by Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp. The website is a treasure trove of not only movie and book reviews, but interviews with numerous directors and actors, including the likes of Suzuki Seijun and Asano Tadanobu.

The book covers around 50 years of film, beginning with older, but still popular, directors Imamura Shohei and the above mentioned Suzuki Seijun to younger directors such as Tsukamoto Shinya and Ishii Sogo. The book portrays well known directors such as Kitano Takeshi and Miike Takashi as well as lesser known directors such as Kawase Naomi, also the only female director in the book, whose base of opperation is the ancient capital of Nara rather than Tokyo or Osaka.

The book covers a wide variety of films from yakuza numbers such as Fukasaku's fierce _Battles without Honor and Humanity_ to the Kore-eda's pseudo-documentary _After Life_. horror films, pink films, science fiction, and documentaries are also covered.

The writing is quite clear and informative, and one learns interesting tidbits of information about their favorite directors. this book would be a good guide for fans of Japanese films as well as newcomers.