Takashi Sasano

5 Movies Starring Takashi Sasano

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Departures  2008  4.1 stars 131 mins Foreign (Japanese)   Rated: PG-13  until 12-Feb-2011      Freshly unemployed, young cellist Daigo (Masahiro Motoki) has an epiphany in which he realizes he's been heading down the wrong career path. Retreating to his hometown, he trains for a new professional role as a nakanshi, or one who prepares the dead for burial. Tsutomu Yamazaki provides comic relief as Daigo's eccentric mentor in director Yojiro Takita's Oscar-winning, richly detailed -- if unlikely -- drama about finding your bliss.

Kabei: Our Mother  2008  3.8 stars 133 mins Foreign (Japanese)   Rated: NR  until 08-Sep-2010     When her husband is jailed for radical scholarship and accused of being a Communist, Kayo Nogami (Sayuri Yoshinaga) faces the daunting task of raising two daughters -- and enduring the biting cruelties of neighborhood gossip -- all on her own. Yoji Yamada directs this 1940s period piece set in the shadow of a rising tide of Japanese nationalism, a heartfelt family drama based on the writings of Teruyo Nogami.

Love and Honor  2006  3.6 stars 121 mins Foreign (Japanese)   Rated: PG-13 Unhappy with his food-tasting job, samurai Shinnojo Mimura (Takuya Kimura) dreams of opening a martial arts school for boys. But when eating toxic shellfish leaves him blind, his hopes for the future are dashed. Learning his wife (Rei Dan) has been forced into sexual favors in order to secure a stipend, Shinnojo works to revamp his sword skills and seek revenge. The film is the third in a series from director Yôji Yamada.

Bright Future  2004  3.1 stars 92 mins Foreign (Japanese)   Rated: NR After mysterious Mamoru (Tadanobu Asano) is arrested for murder, Yuji (Jo Odagiri) steps in to take care for his poisonous jellyfish and winds up uncovering his mentor's dark secrets. Obsessed with Mamoru, the emotionally stunted factory worker befriends Mamoru's father and, slowly, begins to open his eyes to reality. Kiyoshi Kurosawa directs.

The Heartbreak Yakuza  1987  2.0 stars 102 mins Foreign (Japanese)   Rated: NR Assigned to knock off several members of a rival gang, young yakuza hit man Shuji (Akira Emoto) spares one thug's life in a moment of compassion. But it isn't long before the vengeful survivor is hot on his trail. Soon, Shuji reunites with a childhood sweetheart and resolves to leave the assassin business, a decision that could cost him his life. Masato Harada directs this gripping thriller, a precursor to John Woo's action classic The Killer.