Masahiro Shinoda

In 1960s Tokyo, Gonda owns a bar in which the gay, cross-dresser, and trans scenes meet. Gonda is in a relationship with the madam of the bar, Leda. As the younger Eddie starts a passionate affair with Gonda, she ignites the jealousy of Leda, unaware of another kind of history between them.

In this video appreciation, created in 2009, we present filmmaker Masahiro Shinoda’s observations on THE HUMAN CONDITION and director Masaki Kobayashi.

In this 1993 video interview, filmed for the Directors Guild of Japan at Tokyo’s Haiyuza Theatre, director Masaki Kobayashi talks to fellow filmmaker and longtime Kobayashi admirer Masahiro Shinoda (DOUBLE SUICIDE) about THE HUMAN CONDITION.

In 1863, when American warships approach Japan, an enigmatic ronin becomes an important figure in a complex game of power between the Shogunate and the empire.

Renowned detective Kosuke Kindaichi is called to an island where a dying man's words lead him to investigate a series of murders connected to the 'Nue' legend and the powerful Osakabe family, who separate twins at birth.

A recently released gangster has to cope with the recent shifts of power between gangs, while taking care of a thrill-seeking young woman, who got in bad company while gambling.

A recently released gangster has to cope with the recent shifts of power between gangs, while taking care of a thrill-seeking young woman, who got in bad company while gambling.

A mountain bandit abducts a woman who demands he kill his other wives to please her, leading to a cycle of violence and madness fueled by superstition and obsession.

A mountain bandit abducts a woman who demands he kill his other wives to please her, leading to a cycle of violence and madness fueled by superstition and obsession.

Seeking revenge against the guard who tormented him, a young man returns to the island where he was imprisoned in reform school. But his plans for vengeance are disturbed when he encounters a strange and beautiful young woman.

A woman brings her injured daughter to the hospital, only to realize that the doctor is the estranged father of her child.

An outlaw pushes the residents of Edo's red light district to rebel against a growing number of stifling, moralistic laws.

A city boy, Shinji, is sent to live in the countryside to escape the Tokyo bombings, where he experiences the complexities of rural school life, including a power struggle with the local class leader, Takeshi.

Successful and married with children, paper-mill owner Jihei knows better than to contradict the strict social and moral codes of 18th-century Japan. But when he meets the lovely courtesan Koharu, he becomes a man obsessed. Koharu returns his love, even foregoing other customers while Jihei schemes to somehow buy her freedom. His efforts yield ruinous consequences for his business and his family life, and Koharu is meanwhile purchased by another client.

Successful and married with children, paper-mill owner Jihei knows better than to contradict the strict social and moral codes of 18th-century Japan. But when he meets the lovely courtesan Koharu, he becomes a man obsessed. Koharu returns his love, even foregoing other customers while Jihei schemes to somehow buy her freedom. His efforts yield ruinous consequences for his business and his family life, and Koharu is meanwhile purchased by another client.

Successful and married with children, paper-mill owner Jihei knows better than to contradict the strict social and moral codes of 18th-century Japan. But when he meets the lovely courtesan Koharu, he becomes a man obsessed. Koharu returns his love, even foregoing other customers while Jihei schemes to somehow buy her freedom. His efforts yield ruinous consequences for his business and his family life, and Koharu is meanwhile purchased by another client.

Amidst the 1960 Japanese-American mutual security treaty, alienated young nihilist Takuya struggles to find his footing between his do-nothing wealth and the outer Western extremism as major student protests take place.

A treasury official passed over for promotion and obsessed with careerism interferes in the lives of his three sons, who seek escape from his relentless pressure in the mortal danger of mountain climbing.

A young reporter falls for a beautiful waitress, but fate conspires against their burgeoning romance when the latter is involved in a car accident and loses her memory.

A young reporter falls for a beautiful waitress, but fate conspires against their burgeoning romance when the latter is involved in a car accident and loses her memory.

An artistic and unconventional approach to winter sports, using striking visuals, sound design, and a focus on both the spectacle and the human element—including behind-the-scenes figures like ice maintenance workers—to create an intimate and aesthetically unique portrayal of the Olympics.

A union-busting Yokohama dockworker learns that the loyalties that rule his life are based on shaky foundations. Believing that his manager was responsible for saving his life as a baby, he falls victim to a manipulative cycle of deceit and revenge.

A union-busting Yokohama dockworker learns that the loyalties that rule his life are based on shaky foundations. Believing that his manager was responsible for saving his life as a baby, he falls victim to a manipulative cycle of deceit and revenge.

A Japanese soldier deserts his position and travels to a small town on the Sea of Japan to start over. When a young maid falls for him, he talks her into sleeping with an older man for money.

As great military commander Nobunaga Oda consolidates his power across Japan, one of his actions is to wipe out a clan of assassins, killing every man, woman and child he found in the village. Years later, one survivor has hired a young, skilled assassin to avenge his friends and family. His mission: to sneak into the most heavily guarded castle in Japan, and eliminate the supreme ruler.

As great military commander Nobunaga Oda consolidates his power across Japan, one of his actions is to wipe out a clan of assassins, killing every man, woman and child he found in the village. Years later, one survivor has hired a young, skilled assassin to avenge his friends and family. His mission: to sneak into the most heavily guarded castle in Japan, and eliminate the supreme ruler.

In 17th-century Japan, two Portuguese Jesuit priests seek their mentor, who is rumoured to have committed apostasy, and to propagate Catholicism.