The Midnight Eye Guide To New Japanese Film

The Midnight Eye Guide To New Japanese Film by Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp is an invaluable source for recent Japanese film. There are several books that cover the golden age of Japanese film from Mizoguchi to the new wave filmmakers of the 60s. But this books fills in the gaps with people like Seijin Suzuki and Kinji Fukasaku. Then it brings the reader up to date with the biggest names in contemporary film like Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Takeshi Kitano, Takashi Miike, Hirokazu Kore-eda, and Naomi Kawase. There are several other more mainstream directors, a section on studio Ghibu, as well as reviews of other important films that encapsulate other significant directors like Junzo Itami in their review of Tampopo, the late Satoshi Kan in their review of Perfect Blue, and Oshima’s last film Gohatto. All in al it contains reviews of 97 films and profiles 20 contemporary filmmakers. It ahs given me several directions in which to enlarge my knowledge and appreciation for contemporary Japanese film. It is an extremely useful reference book.