Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on August 2010

The Argentinean crime thriller The Secret in Their Eyes (pictured), which picked up an Oscar for best foreign language film at this year’s Academy Awards, will screen from August 14 at Toho Cinemas Chanter (1-2-21 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku; 03-3591-1511). The story, told through flashbacks, concerns a retired justice official writing a novel based on the case of a woman who was brutally murdered. The book prompts him to start his own investigation into the case, which he feels was never properly solved.

Shin-Bungeiza in Ikebukuro (3F, 1-43-5 Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku; www.shin-bungeiza.com) continues its series of tributes to the great filmmakers of the world with an all-night marathon of works by Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky. Known for his literary approach to the science fiction genre, Tarkovsky added metaphysical and spiritual themes to mind-bending futuristic films like Solaris (1972) and Stalker (1979). Both are included in the screening, along with the dreamlike autobiographical movie The Mirror (1975).

Also at Shin-Bungeiza from August 16-28 is a program of provocative Japanese films about the country’s involvement in WWII. Highlights include Japan’s Longest Day (1967), about the 24-hour period leading up to surrender on August 15, 1945, and The Firefly (2001), in which veteran actor Ken Takakura (The Yellow Handkerchief; Black Rain) plays a kamikaze pilot who survived the war.

Unless noted, Japanese films screen without English subtitles. Non-English-language films are shown with Japanese subtitles only