Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on January 2011

©2008 Magnolia Pictures. All rights reserved

A documentary on the corporatization of the American food industry, Food, Inc. (2008; pictured), will screen from January 22 at Shibuya’s Image Forum (2-10-2 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku; www.imageforum.co.jp). The thought-provoking study is the first in a series of films on social problems relating to food—a topic very much in the news as Japan struggles to increase its dietary self-sufficiency.

Korean actress Yunjin Kim’s latest film, Harmony (2010), will hit screens at Ginza’s Cine Switch (4-4-5 Ginza, Chuo-ku; www.cineswitch.com) and Shinjuku Wald 9 (3-1-26 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku; www.wald9.com) beginning January 22. Kim, who is known to international audiences for her role in the hit TV series Lost, returned to her native country to film the story of a woman who kills her abusive husband, has a baby behind prison walls, and bonds with fellow inmates through song.

Yuji Makiguchi, known as “The Cult Prince of Toei Studios,” is being celebrated with a retrospective at Laputa in Asagaya (2-12-21 Asagaya-Kita, Suginami-ku; www.laputa-jp.com/laputa) through February 4. The program includes Rashamen (1977), a drama set in 1873 about the daughter of a disgraced samurai who becomes the mistress of an American diplomat.