From more than a century ago, when theaters hired benshi — movie talkers descended from oral storytellers — to narrate silent films, Japanese cinema has been pushing artistic boundaries. Directors from this country such as Akira Kurosawa, Yasujiro Ozu and Hirokazu Koreeda have had a lasting impact on the landscape of global cinema through revolutionary narrative structures, profound minimalism and emotional nuance.
It is no surprise, then, that the country also has an illustrious history at the Cannes Film Festival, widely considered the most prestigious celebration of cinema in the world. From Nagisa Oshima’s Empire of Passion, which earned him the Prix de la mise en scène in 1978, to Shohei Imamura’s Palme d’Or-winning The Eel in 1997, Japan has enjoyed a string of historic accomplishments at the festival over the decades.
This year, writer-director Chie Hayakawa is making waves with her sophomore feature Renoir, the only Japanese film competing for the Palme d’Or. In anticipation of the film’s premiere, and in light of the open letter opposing Donald Trump’s tariffs on films produced overseas, it seems more fitting than ever to celebrate cultural diversity in cinema through a retrospective lens.
courtesy of the criterion collection
Gate of Hell: Teinosuke Kinugasa
Directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa, Gate of Hell was the first Japanese film to win at Cannes. Back then, the highest accolade was called the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film, and it was actually at the end of the 1954 festival that the Palme d’Or was born. The film was also a hit at the Academy Awards, winning an honorary prize for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Costume Design. The first major color film to be released outside Japan, Gate of Hell was hugely influential in the history of Japanese cinema.
It centers around the samurai Endo Morito who, during a rebellion, is tasked with protecting the lady-in-waiting Kesa. He develops a passionate and obsessive love for Kesa, who remains devoted to her husband. What follows is a story of desire and destruction.
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Empire of Passion: Nagisa Oshima
Empire of Passion, directed by Oshima, was awarded the Prix de la mise en scène — Best Director Award — in 1978. He is the only Japanese winner in this category. One of the key figures of the Japanese New Wave, Oshima was known for his provocative and politically charged works. Empire of Passion is often described as a less sexually explicit companion to the hugely controversial In the Realm of the Senses.
Based on a novel by Itoko Nakamura, the erotic horror classic revolves around a murder of passion and its aftermath. In a rural village in 1895, a married woman and her younger lover murder her husband, an old rickshaw man. As his ghost haunts the guilty couple, a tale of desire, mortality and retribution ensues. The film is stylistically acclaimed for its masterful blend of the supernatural and stark realism, as well as its richly textured imagery.
courtesy of the criterion collection
Kagemusha: Akira Kurosawa
Set in the Sengoku period, Kagemusha is an epic tale of a petty thief who is called to impersonate the daimyo Takeda Shingen following his death. The thief, initially reluctant, gradually embodies Takeda’s persona as the kagemusha (political decoy) while grappling with the daimyo’s shadow and his own growing ambitions.
A classic samurai film, Kagemusha was awarded the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1980. The historical epic is lauded for its meticulous reconstruction of feudal Japan and profound depiction of the transient nature of power. It also illustrates Kurosawa’s longstanding fascination with the boundary between illusion and reality.
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The Ballad of Narayama: Shohei Imamura
The Ballad of Narayama, which took home the Palme d’Or in 1983, is a retelling of the book Narayama Bushiko by Shichiro Fukazawa. It is a stark and unflinching portrayal of the harsh realities of survival in a remote 19th-century Japanese mountain village. The story depicts the tradition of ubasute, a practice of senicide in which elderly people were carried to the summit of Mount Narayama to die upon reaching the age of 70 to conserve scarce resources for younger generations. The film follows a 69-year-old woman, Orin, as she prepares for her journey to Narayama in her final year of life.
Imamura takes a raw, documentary-like approach to a deeply unsettling tradition, employing a naturalistic style that avoids melodrama. At the same time, he incorporated elements of folklore and ritual, lending a mythical quality to the tangible reality of the story. The landscapes portrayed are stunning yet unforgiving, highlighting the precariousness of human life. Ultimately, the film shines in its universality, dealing with themes of community, resilience and family.
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The Eel: Shohei Imamura
When Imamura won another Palme d’Or for The Eel in 1997, he became the only director from Japan to receive the honor twice. The win solidified his international reputation. Stylistically, The Eel blends a naturalistic approach with moments of subtle surrealism. When positioned alongside The Ballad of Narayama, the film is much more intimate and character-driven, focusing on an individual’s struggle with guilt, atonement and reintegration into society.
The Eel revolves around Takuro Yamashita, a salaryman who murders his unfaithful wife in a fit of rage. After serving eight years in prison, the haunted Yamashita is released on parole with a pet eel that became his companion during his incarceration. When he meets a suicidal woman resembling his late wife, the pair are forced to confront their traumas and navigate the complexities of trust and redemption.
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Shoplifters: Hirokazu Koreeda
Shoplifters is a story about an unconventional makeshift family in Tokyo who rely on petty theft to make ends meet. When the group takes in an abandoned young girl, her presence gradually exposes the secrets and vulnerabilities within their unit. The film questions the conventional notions of what constitutes a family, and the lengths people will go to for connection and survival.
Shoplifters’ Palme d’Or triumph in 2018 made waves in Japan, as it had been more than a decade since Imamura received the honor. The award highlighted Koreeda’s powerful storytelling, nuanced character portrayals and poignant exploration of societal marginalization and human connection. Shoplifters was also nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars and the Golden Globes.
© Renoir – Loaded Films
This Year’s Japanese Contenders
Renoir: Chie Hayakawa
Renoir, the latest film by Japanese writer-director Chie Hayakawa, is set to have its world premiere on May 17 at the 78th Cannes Film Festival. It is in the running for the Palme d’Or, the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film in the Competition section of the festival. Hayakawa is heading to Cannes for the second time, following her dystopian sci-fi film Plan 75, which won the Camera d’Or Special Mention for Best First Feature in 2022.
Set in suburban Tokyo in 1987, Renoir is a coming-of-age drama about navigating adolescence and family struggles. The film follows 11-year-old Fuki, whose father, Keiji, is battling a terminal illness. Her mother, Utako, is constantly stressed out from caring for Keiji while holding down a full-time job. Left alone with her rich imagination, Fuki becomes fascinated by telepathy and falls ever deeper into her own fantasy world. Hayakawa explores the universal question of whether we can truly empathize with the pain of others through a compassionate lens, depicting each family member’s emotional experience.
Read more about the film here.
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A Pale View of Hills: Kei Ishikawa
Based on acclaimed contemporary novelist Kazuo Ishiguro’s book of the same name, A Pale View of Hills is a drama written and directed by Kei Ishikawa. The film premiered on May 15 in the Un Certain Regard section, which surveys new and emerging filmmakers in world cinema.
The story takes place between Japan in the 1950s and England in the 1980s, revolving around an aspiring Japanese British writer who plans to write a book based on her mother Etsuko’s post-war experiences in Nagasaki. Etsuko recounts the tale of her own life and the recent suicide of her older daughter Keiko. Themes of memory, loss and cultural identity are explored.
Please note that this is not a comprehensive list of every Japanese entry in Cannes History.
