Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £6.99 a month
Maborosi
Koreeda’s first fiction feature is an exquisite meditation on loss, loneliness, uncertainty, and coming to terms with the past.
Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Overview
By 1995 Hirokazu Koreeda was already well established as a documentary director, but it was his fictional debut that brought him international attention; winning prizes at Chicago, Vancouver, and Venice, and securing commercial releases in western countries. An apparently happy marriage is abruptly ended by the husband’s sudden death, but was it accident or suicide? Koreeda’s haunting, meditative film traces a widow’s attempts to cope with and comprehend her bereavement.
With its static camera setups and long takes evoking the work of the great Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu and Taiwanese master Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Maborosi announced a vital new presence in Japanese cinema.
Related
Police Story Police Story
Martial arts 1985 101 mins Director: Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan's mind-blowing, high-octane extravaganza of death-defying stunts and action comedy.
Jesus' Son Jesus' Son
Drama 1999 108 mins Director: Alison Maclean
Billy Crudup stars as a young drifter who gets hooked on heroin in this star-studded story of addiction, recovery and redemption.
The New Boy The New Boy
Drama 2023 96 mins Director: Warwick Thornton
Cate Blanchett is mesmerising as a feverish nun, in Warwick Thornton’s striking tale of spiritual worlds colliding in 1940s Australia.
Point Break Point Break
Action and Adventure 1991 122 mins Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Kathryn Bigelow’s pulse-pounding action thriller and heady bromance, with Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze.
Beasts Clawing at Straws Beasts Clawing at Straws
Crime 2022 109 mins Director: Kim Yong-hoon
The lives of ten strangers collide when a cleaner finds a bag stuffed with money in this slick, jet-black comedy that unspools like a Korean Pulp Fiction. Starring Academy Award winner Yuh-Jung Youn (Minari).
Run Lola Run Run Lola Run
Drama 1998 80 mins Director: Tom Tykwer
Tom Tykwer’s breathtaking time-loop thriller, with a terrific Franka Potente as the titular runner attempting to save her boyfriend.
Still Walking Still Walking
Drama 2008 115 mins Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Koreeda’s subtle, moving account of the tensions within a family is his most Ozu-like film.
Nobody Knows Nobody Knows
Drama 2003 141 mins Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Koreeda’s drama about four children left to fend for themselves is a heartbreaking study of childhood neglect.
After Life After Life
Drama 1998 119 mins Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Koreeda's lyrical fantasy challenges the viewer to reflect on the experiences that most make life worth living.
Air Doll Air Doll
Drama 2009 116 mins Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
A life-size blow-up doll comes to life and falls in love with a video store clerk in Kore-eda Hirokazu’s haunting, melancholy meditation on urban alienation.
Monster Monster
Drama 2023 127 mins Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Not all is as it seems in Hirokazu Koreeda’s powerful drama told from shifting perspectives.
Monster Monster
Drama 2023 127 mins Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Not all is as it seems in Hirokazu Koreeda’s powerful drama told from shifting perspectives.
Air Doll Air Doll
Drama 2009 116 mins Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
A life-size blow-up doll comes to life and falls in love with a video store clerk in Kore-eda Hirokazu’s haunting, melancholy meditation on urban alienation.
Still Walking Still Walking
Drama 2008 115 mins Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Koreeda’s subtle, moving account of the tensions within a family is his most Ozu-like film.
After Life After Life
Drama 1998 119 mins Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Koreeda's lyrical fantasy challenges the viewer to reflect on the experiences that most make life worth living.
Nobody Knows Nobody Knows
Drama 2003 141 mins Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Koreeda’s drama about four children left to fend for themselves is a heartbreaking study of childhood neglect.
Police Story Police Story
Martial arts 1985 101 mins Director: Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan's mind-blowing, high-octane extravaganza of death-defying stunts and action comedy.
Hapkido Hapkido
Action and Adventure 1972 98 mins Director: Huang Feng
Two martial arts schools battle it out in Huang Feng’s action classic (aka Lady Kung Fu), starring long term collaborator and combat master, Angela Mao.
Project A Project A
Action and Adventure 1983 106 mins Director: Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan’s rip-roaring action-adventure about a coastguard hot on the trail of a ruthless band of pirates in late 19th century Hong Kong.
China O'Brien China O'Brien
Action and Adventure 1991 91 mins Director: Robert Clouse
Cynthia Rothrock stars as the tough city cop and martial artist on the trail of a local crime boss, in this action classic from the director of Enter the Dragon.
Jesus' Son Jesus' Son
Drama 1999 108 mins Director: Alison Maclean
Billy Crudup stars as a young drifter who gets hooked on heroin in this star-studded story of addiction, recovery and redemption.
The New Boy The New Boy
Drama 2023 96 mins Director: Warwick Thornton
Cate Blanchett is mesmerising as a feverish nun, in Warwick Thornton’s striking tale of spiritual worlds colliding in 1940s Australia.