Movies by Ikkei Watanabe
Closet
In Tokyo, lonely patrons pay to sleep ("soine") with someone. Massage, cuddle, sleep… for comfort and nothing more than the warm embrace of another. Tasuku, a young man fresh out of a relationship, starts a new job as one of the cuddlers. He's nervous and reticent, but soon finds himself with a procession of clients, male as well as female. In his unique position as their companion, he finds himself privy to the true selves they keep closeted. Tender performance and contemplative writing elevate an exploration of the human need for comfort a...
Door To Door
Based on a true story about about a man who was told for many years that he was not employable, but threw all of his effort into working as a door-to-door salesman. Despite the pain attributed to his cerebral palsy, he walked eight to ten miles a day to meet his customers and achieved the highest sales for his company.
A Tender Place
Kasumi is in the midst of an affair with Ishiyama, one of her husband's clients. When Kasumi and her family visit Ishiyama's villa in Hokkaido, she plans to abandon them to be with Ishiyama. The next morning, her daughter Yuka disappears, which throws Kasumi's life into turmoil. Years later, Yuka remains missing, and Kasumi journeys back to Hokkaido with Utsumi, a terminally-ill former detective, and tries to follow any leads she can.
Castle Under Fiery Skies
The year is 1575 in feudal Japan. Oda Nobunaga's (Kippei Shiina) forces defeat Takeda Katsuyori, when Nagashino Castle was besieged during the Battle of Nagashino. The next year Oda Nobunada decides to build a lavish new castle symbolizing his unification of various factions. The castle named Azuchi Castle will be built near water and high enough to be seen from the capital city of Kyoto. Director Mitsutoshi Tanaka's adaptation of Kenichi Yamamoto's novel of the same name received the 33rd Japan Academy Film Prize for Excellent Art Direction.
Ultraman Cosmos 1: The First Contact
In space, Ultraman Cosmos is battling with Baltan to stop him from invading Earth. A young boy named Musashi (Kounosuke Tokai) who is a 5th grader has a lot of dreams, such as becoming an astronaut to sail the sea of stars, and to meet Ultraman. One night, Musashi went to the forest to observe an eclipse with his friends. Unfortunately, that night, a heavy rain fell that made everybody decide to go home except for Musashi. Meanwhile, in the middle of that rain, Ultraman Cosmos is battling with Baltan to stop him from invading the city. They...
Kadokawa Mystery & Horror Tales Vol. 3
"GHOST HOUSE" Cast: Jinpachi Nezu ("Castle of the Owls", "Red Shadow"), Natsuo Ishido, Masako Izumi Synopsis: A young girl is forbidden by her parents to marry and decides to elope. "WHISPERS" Cast: Ryuji Harada ("Ka-chan", "Firefly"), Eisuke Tsunoda, Kimi Mizuhashi SynopsisTakuya (Ryuji Harada), a broadcast journalist, is asked by a program director to investigate a strange tree that is located in the area where he was brought up. "WORLD OF INIFINITY" Cast: Ikkei Watanabe ("Muscle Heat", "Gamera 3"), Yumi Aso ("Bond", "Last Scene") Synops...
Yūki
A drama about friendship that spans ages, this is based on a true story which chronicles the life of a man who died at the age of 23 after an illness that started with the partial collapse of his cranial bone, and a subsequent battle with seven types of incurable diseases.
Eiga Oshiri Tantei Saraba Itoshiki Aibō (Oshiri) yo