Asian Drama

In the turbulent last days of the Edo period, Kawai Tsugunosuke, a Japanese samurai serving the Makino clan of Nagaoka, dreamt of independence from the restraints of vassalship. Despite his progressive views and his desire for his estate to remain neutral during the Boshin Civil War, he was bound by loyalty and duty to the clan and was compelled to choose sides.

Adapted from the novel "Toge: Saigo no Samurai" (峠 最後のサムライ) by Shiba Ryotaro (司馬遼太郎).

Silent poor... the poor and needy whose cries for help are drowned out in today's busling society. Their existence is spreading rapidly across the nation, and as such, the government decided to set up a body to help them. Nationwide, there are now people called Community Social Workers (CSW), and their jobs are to attend to the poor and needy. One such person is Satomi Ryo, and she works at the Shitamachi area's Council of Welfare. The people that she meets in her busy working life are people afflicted with juvenile dementia, those who have shunned society and locked themselves up in their rooms, the homeless... generally people who are in despair over life and the fate dealt to them. Ryo herself had been down the lonely road before, and as a way to pull herself out of her depression, she decided to work as a CSW, in order to help others like her. She strongly believes that one can always start all over again, and it is her belief that helps her to move forward in life.

Based on a novel by Iwai Shimako, Jiyuu Renai (a.k.a. Bluestockings) is the story of a love triangle between a man and two beautiful women. Masato Harada (Kamikaze Taxi, Bounce Ko Gals) directed the film, which is set during the days of Japan’s male-dominated Taisho Era (1912-1926), when it was difficult for women to have both love and a career. Yuichiro (Toyokawa Etsushi of Angel Dust and Undo) is the son of a wealthy merchant family, who’s happily married to Akiko (Hasegawa Kyoko of Three…Extremes). When Akiko’s friend Kiyoko (Kimura Yoshino of Ichigo no Kakera) gets divorced, Akiko decides to help her find a job in Yuichiro’s company. Akiko even lends Kiyoko her kimono for the interview. But upon seeing Kiyoko, Yuichiro is immediately smitten…

Ever since they moved to Eri's hometown Kohamajima, Eri and Fumiya have been running a small makeshift health center from their home. Doing so has brought Fumiya and Eri a step closer to their dream of operating a certified local clinic, and fuels Fumiya's desire to pursue further training and perfect his skills in the medical field. Determined to be certified, Fumiya confesses to Eri his plan of moving back to Tokyo to gain the necessary experience. Eri, who holds Kohamajima close to her heart, hesitates with this idea at first, however, agrees to move back to Tokyo with Fumiya. Upon their return to Tokyo, Eri coincidentally discovers new ambition in life; she decides to return to the nursing field and learn about home nursing.

"High and Low" focuses on Kingo Gondo (Toshiro Mifune), a powerhouse executive in the Japanese shoe industry. In the midst of an attempt to take over his company, a proposition that throws him in hock down to his own furniture, he's hit by a huge ransom demand, with a twist -- the kidnaper (Tsutomu Yamazaki) takes, not his own son, but his chauffeur's.

Adapted loosely from the novel “The King’s Ransom” by Evan Hunter.