"Eric Takabayashi" <etakajp@yahoo.co.jp> wrote in message

> BTW, if the comparison had been against US cinema, I would not have
disagreed.

I would have disagreed.
I think Japanese cinema has reached abyssal depth. The Japanese directors
do TV dramas or porn , some of
them occasionnally try to do cinema when they are allowed to by the system.
Now, they are very few. As Ernest said, today's *Kurosawa* is Beat Takeshi.
And he finds money to do his films mostly because he is a funny TV talento.

> I can see American crap on the shelves in Japan I wouldn't see at home
even at
> Blockbuster, and do not doubt why it did not make it into any local
theater.

I agree that the big problem with American crap is it's exported, while crap
from other countries tends to stay there. But there is a number of American
directors that are making real cinema. Every year, there are new ones. No
matter how much crap is made in France or the US, lots of good stuff is done
too. You can't say that about Japanese cinema in 2005.
I'm curious to hear which Japanese movies Ernest would recommand. Among
those now in theater, among those of 2004 or 2003.

Kuri