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Koji Wakamatsu was one of Japanese cinema’s most uncompromising voices, a filmmaker who turned pinku, exploitation, political rage, and low-budget filmmaking into a radical cinematic language.

From "Secrets Behind the Wall" and "Go Go Second Time Virgin" to "United Red Army" and "Caterpillar", his work remains ugly, poetic, furious, provocative, and frequently brilliant.

Read our tribute to a director who was not asking to be liked, but to be confronted. Check the full article in the link: https://asianmoviepulse.com/2026/05/koji-wakamatsu-tribute/

What are your thoughts on Wakamatsu?

Despite now being typecast as a director of family dramas, Hirokazu Koreeda isn’t a director afraid to step out of his comfort zone, experimenting with fantasy (“Air Doll”) and courtroom drama (“The Third Murder”). It’s no surprise then that his sole jidaigeki (period drama) to date, 2006’s “Hana”, tells the story of a samurai well out of his comfort zone in his role.

What are your thoughts on the film?

Click on the link to read our review: https://asianmoviepulse.com/2020/04/film-review-hana-2006-by-hirokazu-koreeda/

Epic in scope and emotionally enthralling, “Seven Samurai” is a masterpiece. Beyond its influence on cinema, it rewards the audience with wonderful storytelling, superb pacing, incredible production values, and top-notch performances. Akira Kurosawa and the team poured their hearts and souls into doing this project.

What are your thoughts on the film?

Click on the link to read our review: https://asianmoviepulse.com/2022/07/film-review-seven-samurai-1954-by-akira-kurosawa/

Instead of only watching the bad guys do evil, in a way we get to experience it first hand – how complex, uncertain, long-winded and ambiguous it might be to truly understand another person, but how easy it is to condemn them. 

What are your thoughts on the film?

Click on the link to read our review: https://asianmoviepulse.com/2023/07/fim-review-monster-2023-by-hirokazu-koreeda/