Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on February 2011

©1963 Cineriz. All rights reserved

Shin-Bungeiza in Ikebukuro (3F, 1-43-5 Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku; www.shin-bungeiza.com) is paying tribute to cinema maestro Fredrico Fellini, February 27-March 2. Among the films to be screened are 8½ (1963; pictured), a semi-autobiographical story of a filmmaker suffering from “director’s block” that is often considered Fellini’s definitive work, and Spirits of the Dead (1968), a horror trilogy made with colleagues Louis Malle and Roger Vadim.

The latest film by Michael Haneke, The White Ribbon, will screen at Shibuya’s Eurospace (1-5 Maruyamacho, Shibuya-ku; www.eurospace.co.jp) from February 26. The Austrian director is known for his bleak, hard-hitting works on social and family problems, and this Palme d’Or-winning drama is no exception, telling the story of children in a German village in the days before WWI.

The Screenwriters in Tokyo group is hosting a wine and film event at Kimono Wine Bar (1-15-28 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku; www.kimonowinebar.com) on February 25 at 7pm. The evening will feature wine, snacks and an English-language screening of Sayonara (1957), the story of a US Air Force pilot stationed in Japan. The film stars Marlon Brando and Miyoshi Umeki, whose performance earned her a best supporting actress Oscar—the first by a Japanese.

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