Director: Sofia Coppola

Notable Actors: Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson

Awards: Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay

Year: 2003

IMDB Score: 7.7/10 Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%

Photo-credit: Wikipedia

This comedy drama presents a story of love and friendship in an unlikely bond between middle aged actor Bob Harris and neglected college graduate Charlotte in the middle of Tokyo. Both Bob and Charlotte, unused to the culture of Japan, also share a common dissatisfaction in their lives which quickly forms into a new friendship as they explore the sights and sounds of Tokyo. Lost in Translation shares a perfect balance of humor, drama and romance. It’s the perfect movie to watch before coming to Japan as it uses the backdrops of Tokyo for its scenes and features real places like the Shibuya crossing, Park Hyatt Hotel and Shinjuku.

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Director: Yojiro Takita

Notable Actors: Masahiro Motoki, Ryoko Hirosue, Tsutomu Yamazaki

Awards: Japan Academy Awards Picture of the Year, Oscars Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

Year: 2008

IMDB Score: 8.1/10 Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%

Photo-credit: IMDB

Departures is a drama film that reveals the strange but unique occupation of being a nokanshi - a Japanese ritual mortician. A young man, Daigo, returns back to his hometown after failing as a cellist when he accidentally stumbles across a nokanshi job when he mistakes the job advertisements wording of “assisting departures” for a travel agency. But, after taking up as a nokanshi, he is subjected to prejudice from people around him because of the social taboos in Japan that surround this job. This drama is able to capture both tears and laughter in 2 hours in an elegant way. It’s definitely a must see film from Japan.

aka Okuribito. Daigo Kobayashi (Masahiro Motoki) is a devoted cellist in an orchestra that has just been dissolved and now finds himself without a job. Daigo...

Director: Kinji Fukasaku

Notable Actors: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Takeshi Kitano

Awards: Blue Ribbon Award

Year: 2000

IMDB Score: 7.6/10 Rotten Tomatoes Score: 87%

Photo-credit: IMDB

Battle Royale is based on the novel from 1999 which follows a class of junior high school students who are gassed and forced on an island by the totalitarian government to fight until the last survivor. Each student is given food, water, a map of the island, flashlight and a random weapon and is told to have one emerging victor in three days. Any uncooperative student or students leaving the island will die from collar detonation. This film is controversial and violent, but given universal acclaim for its unique style and interesting story. Since the release of the film, the term battle royale has been redefined as this genre or mode of entertainment where a select group of people battle each other for one emerging winner.

Battle Royale Official Blu-Ray Trailer - Cult Classic Movie (2000) Subscribe to TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/sxaw6h FIRST TIME IN REGION 1! March 20, 2012. In the...

Director: Akira Kurosawa

Notable Actors: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Daisuke Kato

Awards: Venice Film Festical Silver Lion Award

Year: 1954

IMDB Score: 8.6/10 Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%

Photo-credit: Wikipedia

Directed by one of Japan’s greatest directors of the 20th century, Akira Kurosawa made Seven Samurai which had a huge cultural impact across the world. It was even adapted into the American western film The Magnificent Seven and has inspired filmmakers like Steven Spielberg for Saving Private Ryan. Seven Samurai is set in 1586 during the Sengoku Period when war ravaged the country. It focuses on a village of farmers that hire seven ronin, or masterless samurai to protect the village from bandits who will raid the farmers after after harvest to steal their crops. The film is well known for its innovative idea of having a team assemble of heroic characters and perform a mission.

Check out the official Seven Samurai (1954) trailer starring Toshirô Mifune! Let us know what you think in the comments below. ► Buy or Rent on FandangoNOW: ...