Cinematography: Akiko Ashizawa

The best movies, series, and documentaries with cinematography by Akiko Ashizawa. Explore visually stunning titles that highlight an exceptional filmmaking.


Tokyo Sonata

2008 · Movie · 119 min. · Japan

Direction Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Cast Teruyuki Kagawa · Kyôko Koizumi · Yû Koyanagi · Inowaki Kai

Synopsis An ordinary Japanese family slowly disintegrates after its patriarch loses his job at a prominent company.

7.1

1K votes

7.1

1K votes

Wood job!

2014 · Movie · 116 min. · Japan

Direction Shinobu Yaguchi

Cast Shôta Sometani · Masami Nagasawa · Nana Seino · Hideaki Ito

Synopsis After failing his university entrance examinations and being left by his girlfriend, Yuki Hirano decides to join a forestry training program only to discover that the job is much harder than he expected working under his high demanding boss.

6.8

89 votes

6.8

89 votes

The Chef of South Polar

2009 · Movie · 121 min. · Japan

Direction Shûichi Okita

Cast Masato Sakai · Kengo Kora · Kōsuke Toyohara · Katsuhisa Namase

Synopsis Nishimura has a passion for cooking, but never would he have imagined the task before him now: He is unexpectedly assigned to a south polar mission to serve as head chef at the Dome Fuji station. Leaving wife and daughter...

6.5

24 votes

6.5

24 votes

To The Ends of the Earth

2019 · Movie · 120 min. · Japan

Direction Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Cast Atsuko Maeda · Ryo Kase · Shôta Sometani · Tokio Emoto

Synopsis A young Japanese woman named Yoko finds her cautious and insular nature tested when she travels to Uzbekistan to shoot the latest episode of her travel variety show.

6.4

421 votes

6.4

421 votes

Unloved

2001 · Movie · 117 min. · Japan

6.3

84 votes

6.3

84 votes

Foreboding

2018 · Movie · 140 min. · Japan

Direction Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Cast Masahiro Higashide · Kaho · Shôta Sometani · Ren Osugi

Synopsis Something’s wrong and Etsuko is one of the first to notice. Etsuko suddenly begins hearing strange noises and an increasing number of inexplicable things are happening around her. When Miyuki thinks she sees a ghost in her father and newscasters...

6.3

23 votes

6.3

23 votes

Tamako in Moratorium

2013 · Movie · 78 min. · Japan

Direction Nobuhiro Yamashita

Cast Atsuko Maeda · Shôko Fujimura · Rie Hagiwara · Yasuko Tomita

Synopsis Tamako graduated from a university in Tokyo, but she now lives with her father back in Kofu. Tamako doesn't help her father or tries to get a job. She spends her time just eating and sleeping throughout the four seasons...

6.2

30 votes

6.2

30 votes

Go See the Fall

2014 · Movie · 92 min. · Japan

6.2

31 votes

6.2

31 votes

Sayonara

2015 · Movie · 112 min. · Japan

Direction Kôji Fukada

Cast Irène Jacob · Jérôme Kircher · Nijiro Murakami · Hirofumi Arai

Synopsis In the not distant future Japan has again experienced a nuclear incident and is gradually becoming uninhabitable. The entire population has to evacuate before being deluged by radiation poisoning. To achieve this a ticketing system has been implemented. Not prioritized...

5.7

22 votes

5.7

22 votes

Retribution

2006 · Movie · 113 min. · Japan

Direction Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Cast Kôji Yakusho · Manami Konishi · Tsuyoshi Ihara · Hiroyuki Hirayama

Synopsis An experienced police detective has to investigate the murder of an unknown woman dressed in a scarlet drpess. All the clues he finds relate to him, which troubles him a lot. A ghost dressed in a scarlet dress soon starts...

5.5

487 votes

5.5

487 votes

Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash

2021 · Movie · 114 min. · Indonesia

Direction Edwin

Cast Marthino Lio · Ladya Cheryl · Sal Priadi · Reza Rahadian

Synopsis Ajo Kawir is a fighter who fears nothing, not even death. His raging urge to fight is driven by a secret: his impotence. When he crosses paths with a tough female fighter named Iteung, Ajo gets beaten black and blue,...

5.4

39 votes

5.4

39 votes

Before We Vanish

2017 · Movie · 129 min. · Japan

Direction Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Cast Masami Nagasawa · Ryuhei Matsuda · Hiroki Hasegawa · Mahiro Takasugi

Synopsis Narumi and her husband Shinji are going through a rocky patch when Shinji suddenly vanishes, returning several days later, utterly transformed. At the same time, a family is brutally murdered, and the town beset by strange phenomena. Journalist Sakurai begins...

5.3

232 votes

5.3

232 votes

Real

2013 · Movie · 127 min. · Japan

Direction Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Cast Takeru Satō · Haruka Ayase · Jô Odagiri · Kyôko Koizumi

Synopsis A mysterious journey into the human subconscious for the origins of trauma and true love, REAL marks acclaimed director Kiyoshi Kurosawa's maiden voyage into the realm of science fiction. Based on Rokuro Inui's award-winning novel The Day of the Perfect...

5.0

149 votes

5.0

149 votes

The Sylvian Experiments

2010 · Movie · 94 min. · Japan

Direction Hiroshi Takahashi

Cast Yuri Nakamura · Kimika Yoshino · Nagisa Katahira · Yoichiro Saito

Synopsis Dr. Hattori and her husband watch footage of brain surgery experiments with Manchurian, Russian and Japanese guinea pigs that had been found in the basement of a wrecked hospital. Out of the blue, there is a white light and when...

4.4

29 votes

4.4

29 votes

Loft

2005 · Movie · 115 min. · Japan

Direction Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Cast Miki Nakatani · Etsushi Toyokawa · Hidetoshi Nishijima · Yumi Adachi

Synopsis A prize-winning writer, Leiko (Miki Nakatani), moves to a quiet sub-urban house to finish up her new novel with a help from the editor. That night while sleeping, she sees a man in a storage room transporting an object wrapped...

3.7

413 votes

3.7

413 votes

The Real Exorcist

2020 · Movie · 108 min. · Japan

Direction Shokyo Oda

Cast Fumika Shimizu · Mirai Irako · Rin Kijima · Joe Hyuga

Synopsis Sayuri, a coffee shop waitress, uses her supernatural powers to help those who are troubled by spiritual phenomena. She gradually gets involved in serious matters, eventually facing a fierce battle with the devil.

Not rated

Not rated

The Girl of Silence

1995 · Movie · 90 min. · Japan

Direction Genjiro Amato

Cast Mami Nakamura · Kaori Momoi · Michio Akiyama

Synopsis 14 year old Nakamura is sexually abused by her stepfather. She invents a friend who is coming to her rescue when she really needs it.

Not rated

Not rated

Life Can Be So Wonderful

2007 · Movie · 70 min. · Japan

Direction Osamu Minorikawa

Cast Ryuhei Matsuda · Reina Asami · Akira Emoto · Mikako Ichikawa

Synopsis Five short stories of life's joys and sorrows are brought together in this omnibus drama from Japan. In the first segment, we eavesdrop on the thoughts of a woman edging into her forties (Miyuki Matsuda) as she goes through her...

Not rated

Not rated

Hana-Dama: The Origins

2014 · Movie · 106 min. · Japan

Direction Hisayasu Sato

Cast Tomori Abe · Shun Asada · Kei Fujiwara · Daisuke Iijima

Synopsis Transfer student Mizuki is bullied mercilessly by her classmate. Nevertheless, she is always able to maintain her composure. Kirie, who is also bullied, becomes interested in Mizuki and longs for her. The two become close.

Not rated

Not rated

Misuzu

2001 · Movie · 105 min. · Japan

Direction Shô Igarashi

Cast Misato Tanaka · Susumu Terajima · Ryo Kase · Katsuo Nakamura

Synopsis Tells the life story of Teru Kaneko, who was born and raised in a small coastal town. While working as a clerk in a book shop, Teru starts writing her own verses to get away from the worries of a...

Not rated

Not rated