Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on January 2012

Shibuya’s Bunkamura building (2-24-1 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku; www.bunkamura.co.jp), which includes art, music, theater and movie venues, closed last July for major remodeling. They have opened their doors again and are encouraging you to make a day of it by offering a ¥3,500 “precious set” ticket, available through January 31, which gets you a cake and drink set at Les Deux Magots in the basement, entrance to the Vermeer exhibition at the museum, and a seat at Le Cinema for a screening of the Italian film I Am Love (2009; pictured). The Italian film stars Tilda Swinton, who also produced the film, as a member of a rich Milanese family who sees its fortunes wane… Two recent Italian films can be savored at Shin-Bungeiza in Ikebukuro (3F, 1-43-5 Higashi-Ikebukuro Toshima-ku; www.shin-bungeiza.com), January 12-14. Vincere (2009) tells the story of Mussolini’s secret lover Ida Dalser, and Si può fare (“You Can Do It”) is about a caregiver who responds to budget cuts at a hospital by creating a construction company staffed by people with mental disabilities… Fans of le cinema français, will want to head to Iwanami Hall (2-1 Kanda Jimbocho,Chiyoda-ku; www.iwanami-hall.com) to check out Wild Grass (2009), the latest film by veteran director Alain Resnais, about a middle-aged man whose life changes when he finds a woman’s lost wallet.