matteoB
@matteob.bsky.social
By day: lumpenproletariat.
By night: Japan-based film critic and writer for Il Manifesto and other publications.
Independently writing and researching about Asian documentary here: https://asian-docs.com/
By night: Japan-based film critic and writer for Il Manifesto and other publications.
Independently writing and researching about Asian documentary here: https://asian-docs.com/
Pinned
matteoB
@matteob.bsky.social
· Dec 11
"The Documentary Cinema of Haneda Sumiko
Japan in Transition through Gender, Arts, Nature and Society"
is finally out next March.
I've contributed with a chapter on Ode to Mt. Hayachine (a.k.a. The Poem of Hayachine Valley, 1982)
www.routledge.com/The-Document...
Japan in Transition through Gender, Arts, Nature and Society"
is finally out next March.
I've contributed with a chapter on Ode to Mt. Hayachine (a.k.a. The Poem of Hayachine Valley, 1982)
www.routledge.com/The-Document...
Images of Class: Operaismo, Autonomia and the Visual Arts (1962-1988)
Jacopo Galimberti, Verso
Jacopo Galimberti, Verso
January 28, 2026 at 11:10 AM
Images of Class: Operaismo, Autonomia and the Visual Arts (1962-1988)
Jacopo Galimberti, Verso
Jacopo Galimberti, Verso
Reposted by matteoB
2025 was the best year EVER at the Japanese box office*, says Eiren. Topline number ¥274.45 billion, which is about $1.8 billion. Previous record was ¥261bn in 2019.
*Not inflation-adjusted, natch.
Tickets are also the most expensive they've ever been. :/
*Not inflation-adjusted, natch.
Tickets are also the most expensive they've ever been. :/
January 28, 2026 at 7:58 AM
2025 was the best year EVER at the Japanese box office*, says Eiren. Topline number ¥274.45 billion, which is about $1.8 billion. Previous record was ¥261bn in 2019.
*Not inflation-adjusted, natch.
Tickets are also the most expensive they've ever been. :/
*Not inflation-adjusted, natch.
Tickets are also the most expensive they've ever been. :/
finally saw 黒の牛 Black Ox (Tsuta Tetsuichirō, 2024)
underwhelmed by the visuals in the first hour or so, the film definitely gets more inspired, at least for me, in its second half.
The last 10', when the B&W turns into vivid and copper-like tonalities, were awe-inspiring
underwhelmed by the visuals in the first hour or so, the film definitely gets more inspired, at least for me, in its second half.
The last 10', when the B&W turns into vivid and copper-like tonalities, were awe-inspiring
January 28, 2026 at 7:48 AM
finally saw 黒の牛 Black Ox (Tsuta Tetsuichirō, 2024)
underwhelmed by the visuals in the first hour or so, the film definitely gets more inspired, at least for me, in its second half.
The last 10', when the B&W turns into vivid and copper-like tonalities, were awe-inspiring
underwhelmed by the visuals in the first hour or so, the film definitely gets more inspired, at least for me, in its second half.
The last 10', when the B&W turns into vivid and copper-like tonalities, were awe-inspiring
Reposted by matteoB
7 Hero's Island (Ōtomo)
8 Yasuko, Songs of Days Past (Negishi)
8 A Bad Summer (Jōjō)
9 BAKA's Identity (Nagatsa)
9 Two Seasons, Two Strangers（Miyake）
10 The Voices of the Silenced (Park)
/2
8 Yasuko, Songs of Days Past (Negishi)
8 A Bad Summer (Jōjō)
9 BAKA's Identity (Nagatsa)
9 Two Seasons, Two Strangers（Miyake）
10 The Voices of the Silenced (Park)
/2
January 27, 2026 at 12:55 PM
7 Hero's Island (Ōtomo)
8 Yasuko, Songs of Days Past (Negishi)
8 A Bad Summer (Jōjō)
9 BAKA's Identity (Nagatsa)
9 Two Seasons, Two Strangers（Miyake）
10 The Voices of the Silenced (Park)
/2
8 Yasuko, Songs of Days Past (Negishi)
8 A Bad Summer (Jōjō)
9 BAKA's Identity (Nagatsa)
9 Two Seasons, Two Strangers（Miyake）
10 The Voices of the Silenced (Park)
/2
Reposted by matteoB
Eiga Geijutsu best 10 of 2025:
1 The Stars and The Moon are Holes in the Sky (Arai)
2 I Am Kirishima (Takahashi)
3 アジアのユニークな国 (Yamauchi)
4 Kaede (Yukisada)
5 How Dare You (O Mipo)
6 Seaside Serendipity (Yokohama)
6 Yukiko a.k.a.（Kusaba）
/1
1 The Stars and The Moon are Holes in the Sky (Arai)
2 I Am Kirishima (Takahashi)
3 アジアのユニークな国 (Yamauchi)
4 Kaede (Yukisada)
5 How Dare You (O Mipo)
6 Seaside Serendipity (Yokohama)
6 Yukiko a.k.a.（Kusaba）
/1
January 27, 2026 at 12:54 PM
Eiga Geijutsu best 10 of 2025:
1 The Stars and The Moon are Holes in the Sky (Arai)
2 I Am Kirishima (Takahashi)
3 アジアのユニークな国 (Yamauchi)
4 Kaede (Yukisada)
5 How Dare You (O Mipo)
6 Seaside Serendipity (Yokohama)
6 Yukiko a.k.a.（Kusaba）
/1
1 The Stars and The Moon are Holes in the Sky (Arai)
2 I Am Kirishima (Takahashi)
3 アジアのユニークな国 (Yamauchi)
4 Kaede (Yukisada)
5 How Dare You (O Mipo)
6 Seaside Serendipity (Yokohama)
6 Yukiko a.k.a.（Kusaba）
/1
Eiga Geijutsu best 10 of 2025:
1 The Stars and The Moon are Holes in the Sky (Arai)
2 I Am Kirishima (Takahashi)
3 アジアのユニークな国 (Yamauchi)
4 Kaede (Yukisada)
5 How Dare You (O Mipo)
6 Seaside Serendipity (Yokohama)
6 Yukiko a.k.a.（Kusaba）
/1
1 The Stars and The Moon are Holes in the Sky (Arai)
2 I Am Kirishima (Takahashi)
3 アジアのユニークな国 (Yamauchi)
4 Kaede (Yukisada)
5 How Dare You (O Mipo)
6 Seaside Serendipity (Yokohama)
6 Yukiko a.k.a.（Kusaba）
/1
January 27, 2026 at 12:54 PM
Eiga Geijutsu best 10 of 2025:
1 The Stars and The Moon are Holes in the Sky (Arai)
2 I Am Kirishima (Takahashi)
3 アジアのユニークな国 (Yamauchi)
4 Kaede (Yukisada)
5 How Dare You (O Mipo)
6 Seaside Serendipity (Yokohama)
6 Yukiko a.k.a.（Kusaba）
/1
1 The Stars and The Moon are Holes in the Sky (Arai)
2 I Am Kirishima (Takahashi)
3 アジアのユニークな国 (Yamauchi)
4 Kaede (Yukisada)
5 How Dare You (O Mipo)
6 Seaside Serendipity (Yokohama)
6 Yukiko a.k.a.（Kusaba）
/1
R.I.P. Higashi Yoichi
沖縄列島 Okinawa Islands (1969)
沖縄列島 Okinawa Islands (1969)
January 27, 2026 at 10:16 AM
R.I.P. Higashi Yoichi
沖縄列島 Okinawa Islands (1969)
沖縄列島 Okinawa Islands (1969)
Reposted by matteoB
The Japanese film director Higashi Yoichi died on January 21, 2026, at the age of 91. Emerging from documentary film, he made award winning fiction films such as Third Base (1978), The River with no Bridge (1992) and Village of Dreams (1996).
January 27, 2026 at 8:48 AM
The Japanese film director Higashi Yoichi died on January 21, 2026, at the age of 91. Emerging from documentary film, he made award winning fiction films such as Third Base (1978), The River with no Bridge (1992) and Village of Dreams (1996).
"If one cannot exhaustively document everything about an object regardless of how much film one uses, then the act of documentation itself means constantly choosing a single part of an object. To document something must mean to simultaneously select something. However..."
/1
/1
January 25, 2026 at 4:55 AM
"If one cannot exhaustively document everything about an object regardless of how much film one uses, then the act of documentation itself means constantly choosing a single part of an object. To document something must mean to simultaneously select something. However..."
/1
/1
my favourite version of The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1928) is the one scored in 2005 by Yanashita Mie and at 20fps...
other-worldly
other-worldly
January 24, 2026 at 12:06 PM
my favourite version of The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1928) is the one scored in 2005 by Yanashita Mie and at 20fps...
other-worldly
other-worldly
Reposted by matteoB
魂のきせき In Their Traces (Kobayashi Shigeru, 2025)
asian-docs.com/2026/01/23/i...
asian-docs.com/2026/01/23/i...
In Their Traces (Kobayashi Shigeru, 2025)
Kobayashi Shigeru has been an important figure in the landscape of Japanese documentary cinema over the past forty years. Mentored under Yanagisawa Hisao—with whom he worked as an assistant directo…
asian-docs.com
January 23, 2026 at 1:13 AM
魂のきせき In Their Traces (Kobayashi Shigeru, 2025)
asian-docs.com/2026/01/23/i...
asian-docs.com/2026/01/23/i...
水の中の八月 August in the Water (Ishii Gakuryū, 1995)
scroll down for the English version:
www.sonatine.it/2026/01/24/a...
scroll down for the English version:
www.sonatine.it/2026/01/24/a...
August in the Water (Mizu no naka no hachigatsu, ISHII Gakuryū, 1995) - SONATINE
Speciale Ishii Gakuryū di Matteo Boscarol Scroll down for the English version Sviluppato dopo un periodo di crisi e di relativa inattività cinematografica, con August in the Water Ishii realizza forse...
www.sonatine.it
January 23, 2026 at 11:13 PM
水の中の八月 August in the Water (Ishii Gakuryū, 1995)
scroll down for the English version:
www.sonatine.it/2026/01/24/a...
scroll down for the English version:
www.sonatine.it/2026/01/24/a...
魂のきせき In Their Traces (Kobayashi Shigeru, 2025)
asian-docs.com/2026/01/23/i...
asian-docs.com/2026/01/23/i...
In Their Traces (Kobayashi Shigeru, 2025)
Kobayashi Shigeru has been an important figure in the landscape of Japanese documentary cinema over the past forty years. Mentored under Yanagisawa Hisao—with whom he worked as an assistant directo…
asian-docs.com
January 23, 2026 at 1:13 AM
魂のきせき In Their Traces (Kobayashi Shigeru, 2025)
asian-docs.com/2026/01/23/i...
asian-docs.com/2026/01/23/i...
powerful viewing
boxd.it/cLvqof
boxd.it/cLvqof
A ★★★½ review of In Their Traces (2025)
I missed it last year in Yamagata, so I was very eager to catch up with it, and I’m glad I finally did. In Their Traces is a remarkable and powerful work for several reasons, not least the crucial cho...
boxd.it
January 22, 2026 at 12:31 PM
powerful viewing
boxd.it/cLvqof
boxd.it/cLvqof
it's an adaptation from Yonezawa Honobu's book The Samurai and the Prisoner, as far as I gathered, a period piece mystery...
January 22, 2026 at 3:12 AM
it's an adaptation from Yonezawa Honobu's book The Samurai and the Prisoner, as far as I gathered, a period piece mystery...
まさゆめ Masayume (Yoshigai Nao) will have its... ahem...world premiere🤭...at this year Berlinale (Forum)
maybe it's a new version...
maybe it's a new version...
セノーテ Cenote (Oda Kaori, 2019)
THE COCKPIT (Miyake Sho, 2014)
and the premiere of
まさゆめ Masayume (Yoshigai Naoko, 2024), Aichi Arts Center/Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, Original Video Work No. 32
/2
THE COCKPIT (Miyake Sho, 2014)
and the premiere of
まさゆめ Masayume (Yoshigai Naoko, 2024), Aichi Arts Center/Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, Original Video Work No. 32
/2
January 22, 2026 at 12:52 AM
まさゆめ Masayume (Yoshigai Nao) will have its... ahem...world premiere🤭...at this year Berlinale (Forum)
maybe it's a new version...
maybe it's a new version...
teaser trailer:
youtu.be/iwCb9QnzvAs?...
youtu.be/iwCb9QnzvAs?...
January 21, 2026 at 9:57 PM
teaser trailer:
youtu.be/iwCb9QnzvAs?...
youtu.be/iwCb9QnzvAs?...
Bluskyverse, recommend me 2 good whodunit movies please!
January 21, 2026 at 10:50 AM
Bluskyverse, recommend me 2 good whodunit movies please!
just watched ㊙色情めす市場 Secret Chronicle: She Beast Market (Tanaka NOboru, 1974)...my goodness....what a raw punch...
January 21, 2026 at 9:42 AM
just watched ㊙色情めす市場 Secret Chronicle: She Beast Market (Tanaka NOboru, 1974)...my goodness....what a raw punch...
Reposted by matteoB
and now, from our live webcam in Greenland...
January 18, 2026 at 3:06 AM
and now, from our live webcam in Greenland...
Reposted by matteoB
Berlin Int'l Film Fest sees A New Dawn in February!
A New Dawn Film Screens World Premiere at Berlin Int'l Film Fest
Festival takes place on February 12-22
www.animenewsnetwork.com
January 20, 2026 at 4:01 PM
Berlin Int'l Film Fest sees A New Dawn in February!
Kurosawa Kiyoshi to direct the period drama Kokurōjō (out this year):
natalie.mu/eiga/news/65...
natalie.mu/eiga/news/65...
黒沢清が時代劇に挑む！本木雅弘主演「黒牢城」2026年公開、菅田将暉や吉高由里子も出演（コメントあり / 動画あり） - 映画ナタリー
黒沢清が監督・脚本を担った映画「黒牢城（こくろうじょう）」が、松竹の配給により2026年に全国公開される。原作は第166回直木賞、第12回山田風太郎賞などを受賞した米澤穂信の同名小説。戦国時代の籠城下で起こる怪事件と人間の心理...
natalie.mu
January 20, 2026 at 10:38 PM
Kurosawa Kiyoshi to direct the period drama Kokurōjō (out this year):
natalie.mu/eiga/news/65...
natalie.mu/eiga/news/65...
Reposted by matteoB
Thanks to everyone who's sharing the news of my book launch! Spreading the word about new books is one of the best things you can do for an author. Buying the book is great, and talking about it is great, and social media shares can add many extra sales!
January 20, 2026 at 12:18 PM
Thanks to everyone who's sharing the news of my book launch! Spreading the word about new books is one of the best things you can do for an author. Buying the book is great, and talking about it is great, and social media shares can add many extra sales!
a very young Dean Stockwell in Song of the Thin Man (1947), the last entry in the series
January 19, 2026 at 6:20 PM
a very young Dean Stockwell in Song of the Thin Man (1947), the last entry in the series