Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £4.99 a month
Sawako Decides
Sawako tries to save her father's ailing clam-packing business, but it's an uphill struggle, in Yuya Ishii's joyous, nuanced, comic drama.
Comedy 2010 112 mins
Director: Yuya Ishii
Overview
With her father taken ill and his clam processing business going belly-up, Sawako leaves behind her humiliating job in Tokyo to move back to her rural hometown. But the elderly female workforce resents and despises her, her hopeless boyfriend (a divorcé with a young daughter and a knitting habit) tracks her down, and Sawako begins to despair of ever making sense of her life.
From the opening colonic irrigation scene, immediately followed by an episode in a Tokyo office where wretched new toys are being tested on spoilt-brat infants, it's clear that Japan's indie maverick Yuya Ishii is going to give us a quirky, memorable ride. His sixth film is a real stand-out: a joyous, nuanced, comic drama about female empowerment.
Contains moderate sex references and languageRelated
Comedy
The Wedding Party The Wedding Party
Comedy 1969 92 mins Director: Brian De Palma
Robert De Niro stars in the early, indie comedy from Brian De Palma, co-directed by Wilford Leach and Cynthia Munroe.
Greetings Greetings
Comedy 1968 87 mins Director: Brian De Palma
Robert De Niro stars in Brian De Palma's anti-war satire about three friends trying to avoid the Vietnam War draft.
Ghost World Ghost World
Comedy 2001 107 mins Director: Terry Zwigoff
Scarlett Johansson and Thora Birch star as a pair of social outcasts struggling to make sense of the world around them, in this sublime love story based on the work of underground artist Daniel Clowes.
What We Do in the Shadows What We Do in the Shadows
Comedy 2014 86 mins Director: Taika Waititi
An achingly funny mockumentary about New Zealand’s hitherto unknown vampire (and werewolf) communities, from the creators of Flight of the Conchords.
The Singing Detective The Singing Detective
Comedy 2003 105 mins Director: Keith Gordon
Robert Downey Jr. is at his caustic best in this acerbic adaptation of Dennis Potter's classic serial about a writer tormented by dark visions from his own novels.
Romance & Cigarettes Romance & Cigarettes
Comedy 2005 106 mins Director: John Turturro
James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon and Kate Winslet star in this tough and untamed musical from cult actor John Turturro.
Comedy Genius
Appropriate Behaviour Appropriate Behaviour
Comedy 2015 86 mins Director: Desiree Akhavan
Desiree Akhavan directs and stars in this witty, razor-sharp and fearless comedy following the sexual misadventures of a bisexual Brooklynite.
Unrelated Unrelated
Drama 2007 96 mins Director: Joanna Hogg
On a Tuscan break a fortysomething woman finds herself drawn to the company of a group of partying teens, including a young Tom Hiddleston (in one of his earliest roles).
What We Do in the Shadows What We Do in the Shadows
Comedy 2014 86 mins Director: Taika Waititi
An achingly funny mockumentary about New Zealand’s hitherto unknown vampire (and werewolf) communities, from the creators of Flight of the Conchords.
The Machine that Kills Bad People The Machine that Kills Bad People
Comedy 1952 84 mins Director: Roberto Rossellini
Roberto Rossellini's film about a photographer who is given the power to rid the Earth of 'evil-doers'.
That Sinking Feeling That Sinking Feeling
Comedy 1979 90 mins Director: Bill Forsyth
Before Gregory's Girl, Bill Forsyth mate this equally hilarious caper about a group of unemployed teenagers who hatch a plan to steal a job lot of stainless steel sinks.
The Master of the House The Master of the House
Drama 1925 107 mins Silent Director: Carl Th. Dreyer
Carl Theodor Dreyer’s richly detailed tragicomedy of domestic manners is by turns funny, intensely emotional and deeply affecting.
Featuring Hikari Mitsushima
Love Exposure Love Exposure
Comedy 2008 237 mins Director: Sion Sono
Japanese cinema's enfant terrible, Sion Sono, unleashes this demented, whirlwind tale of cults, love, violence and perversion.
Directed by Yuya Ishii
Mitsuko Delivers Mitsuko Delivers
Comedy 2011 109 mins Director: Yuya Ishii
An eccentric, pregnant young lady returns to her hometown to help her downtrodden old neighbours, in Yûya Ishii 's strange, whimsical comedy.
New
The Way He Looks The Way He Looks
Drama 2014 92 mins Director: Daniel Ribeiro
A blind student’s relationship with his best friend is tested when he falls for the new boy in school, in Daniel Ribeiro’s beautifully realised romance.
Chico & Rita Chico & Rita
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2010 94 mins Director: Fernando Trueba
An evocative animated love story set in the jazz nightclubs of Havana and New York.
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale
Fantasy 2010 83 mins Director: Jalmari Helander
Part children's adventure, part macabre seasonal shocker, this darkly humorous concoction defies categorisation.
Sebastiane Sebastiane
Historical drama 1976 85 mins Director: Paul Humfress
A distinctly bold and sensual reclaiming of gay history, Jarman here tells the sexually intense story of the 4th-century martyr.
The Wedding Party The Wedding Party
Comedy 1969 92 mins Director: Brian De Palma
Robert De Niro stars in the early, indie comedy from Brian De Palma, co-directed by Wilford Leach and Cynthia Munroe.
Greetings Greetings
Comedy 1968 87 mins Director: Brian De Palma
Robert De Niro stars in Brian De Palma's anti-war satire about three friends trying to avoid the Vietnam War draft.