Watch: Beautiful Video Essay Highlights ‘Essential Japanese Cinema’

Watch: Beautiful Video Essay Highlights ‘Essential Japanese Cinema’

by Alex Billington
March 31, 2023
Source: YouTube

The world of Japanese cinema is one of the most acclaimed and beloved. This video examines many of the classics, the most essential films ever made in Japan or by Japanese filmmakers. Why is the appreciation of Japanese cinema so enduring? “Narrator Luiza Liz Bond emphasized the ‘heightened aesthetic sensibility’ of Japanese filmmakers, on display in ‘the tender observation of Ozu’s Tokyo Story, the poetic rhapsody of Kurosawa’s Dreams, the harrowing feminine gaze of Videophobia.” The video essay is split into different chapters covering different styles of films: Bushidō, Wabi-Sabi, Mono No Aware, Yūgen, Guro, and Hen. Many all-timer films are featured including The Sword of Doom, Seven Samurai, Hausu, Tetsuo: The Iron Man, Tampopo, Love Exposure, Sansho the Bailiff, Tokyo Sonata + many more. Discover films below.

Thanks to Open Culture for the tip on this video. There’s no official description for this “Essential Japanese Cinema” video essay, however the voiceover introduces it as: “Japanese cinema is both respected by cultural institutions, and sanctified by the public’s eye, while remaining extremely adventurous and transgressive in its practices.” The FULL list of films in this is available in the YT comments. This video essay was created and edited by The Cinema Cartography – follow them on YouTube for more videos or visit their Patreon page. “Created by Lewis Michael Bond and Luiza Liz Bond, The Cinema Cartography inspires new ways of experiencing Art. We do this because we believe that Art changes the world by empowering people with new perspectives.” To view more video essays, click here. Which Japanese films are your all-time favorites?

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