Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on February 2011

Certified Copy, the latest film by veteran Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami, will screen at Shibuya’s Eurospace (1-5 Maruyamacho, Shibuya-ku; www.eurospace.co.jp) from February 19. The Tuscany-set movie (pictured) tells the story of an antiques dealer and her relationship with an expert in art forgeries. They are played by Juliette Binoche, who picked up the best actress award at Cannes for her role, and the British opera singer William Shimell, in his first film appearance.

Pole Pole in Higashi-Nakano (4-4-1 Higashi-Nakano, Nakano-ku; www.mmjp.or.jp/pole2) is running a series of crime and legal documentaries that were produced for Tokai Television in Aichi between 1995 and 2010. The films in the lineup show the human faces behind the legal system, including A Judge’s Bento Boxes (2007), which follows a judge who eats two bento during his long working day—a normal practice for people in his position.

Shibuya’s Theater N (24-4 Sakuragicho, Shibuya-ku; www.theater-n.com) is screening Kokorono (2010), a documentary about the indie rock group Bloodthirsty Butchers. The doc shows the Sapporo-based band entering their 23rd year, never having achieved mainstream success in Japan but enjoying a cult following overseas.

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