Yoshimitsu Morita is one of the most versatile directors to come out of Japan.
Working within the realm of melodrama, crime thrillers, pink films, and dark comedies, Morita injects his unique blend of satire within a variety of genres. He has a passionate love for his characters and a recognition of the weirder side of more intimate moments. His films, while being very specific in their subject matter, are still incredibly relatable. When Film at Lincoln Center announced a retrospective on his work, I was intrigued to check it out. These are the films that had the strongest impact on me:
Haru- Easily my favorite of the series, Haru is one of the most heart-wrenching and emotionally complex films about online dating ever made. The film follows Noboru Hayami (Seiyo Uchino) and Mitsue Fujima (Eri Fukatsu), who meet on an online film message board and forge an online relationship. It’s nostalgic seeing the early years of how e-friendships form in anonymous message boards and chat rooms. Morita perfectly captured the initial hesitation and creeping emotional investment in forging an online relationship. As Morita fades in and out between depicting Hayami and Fujima’s real lives and their online conversations, you’re caught off guard by how naturally their relationship forms. Both Hayami and Fujima are also incredibly relatable characters with hilarious online chemistry. Despite being made in the 90s, I’m confident that modern audiences accustomed to social media will related to these two, and may even get a little nostalgic over internet culture of the past.
The Family Game- A hilarious satire of Japanese family dynamics, The Family Game is basically “what if a character from a Yakuza game invaded family drama.” The film follows the Numata family as their lives drastically change after hiring a tutor, Yoshimoto (Yusaku Matsuda), to help their son, Shigeyuki (Ichirota Miyakawa), with his grades. Matsuda is the best part of this movie, as he adds an aggressive and formidable energy to the family conflicts, making the satire funnier. Yusaku Matsuda is primarily known for crime thrillers like Resurrection of the Golden Wolf, The Beast to Die, and The Game Trilogy, so casting him as a no-nonsense high school tutor is hysterical. He brings the same energy as a yakuza film to getting this kid to study; I love it. Coupled with a strong supporting cast who subvert the traditional family roles they play (including one of my favorite directors, Juzo Itami, playing Shigeyuki’s father), The Family Game is an enjoyably wild comedy.
Keiho- While I’ve come to find I prefer Morita’s dramas and comedies to his thrillers, Keiho was a fun and brutal crime thriller. The film investigates a brutal double murder committed by Masaki Shibata (Shinchi Tsutsumi). When Shibata reveals dissociative identity disorder (DID), his mental competency for the trial needs to be evaluated by Kafuka Ogawa (Kyoka Suzuki). While I can’t speak for how accurate the depiction of DID is, Shibata’s performance shifting between the personalities is chilling, mixing cold and calculating to theatrically joker-like. Suzuki’s initially more timid performance speaks volumes in contrast with Tsutsumi, as her growth and strange fixation Shibata grows more unsettling and powerful as the film continues. Morita’s direction of the urban environment is cold and harsh, reflecting the brutality of Shibata’s crimes and worldview. Keiho is an intense thriller that’ll keep audiences guessing all the way through.
Kitchen- A sweet, more low-key melodrama, the film follows Mikage (Ayako Kawahara), a young woman who, after her grandmother passes, moves in with a friend of her grandmothers, Yuichi (Kenji Matsuda), along with his trans mother, Eriko (Isao Hashizume). Kitchen is compassionate, especially in how it shows Mikage’s connection with Yuichi’s family slowly grow. Eriko’s house feels like a force in itself, bringing together Mikage, Yuichi, and anyone else looking for a home and comfort. The dining scenes in particular are incredibly warm, and the film’s excellent character work with all three makes the positive atmosphere feel earned and honest. Kitchen is a film that I’d want to just live in, and is sure to brighten anyone’s day.