Japan Cuts 2024: 5 Must-See Movies at North America’s Largest Japanese Film Fest

In a city that’s home to an endless array of overlapping film festivals (not a complaint!), Japan Cuts continues to merit special attention every July. Produced in partnership with — and hosted by — New York’s Japan Society, Japan Cuts is not only North America’s largest and most high-profile festival dedicated to Japanese film, it’s also perhaps the most well-curated, as the titles programmed across the slate’s various sections collect into a vividly comprehensive snapshot of the country’s cinematic landscape.

Case in point: The 2024 lineup runs the gamut from lavish samurai epics like Takashi Kitano’s “Kubi” and kaiju masterpieces like Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi’s “Shin Godzilla” (presented here in its new black-and-white edition) to sensitive festival darlings like San Sebastían breakout “Great Absence” and the Berlinale-minted “The Box Man.” It highlights major auteurs like “Tetsuo the Iron Man” director Shinya Tsukamoto (whose “Shadow of Fire” is this year’s centerpiece), while also using its Next Generation section to shine a spotlight on emerging filmmakers who are just beginning to make their mark (don’t miss the playful “Retake,” about high schoolers making a movie, the unbridled enthusiasm of which is sure to hit different when paired with Urara Matsubayashi’s “Blue Imagine,” a drama that confronts sexual abuse in the Japanese film industry). In addition to a trio of docs, a clutch of wonderful shorts, and an unmissable selection of ’80s and ’90s classics, the latest edition of Japan Cuts also boasts a beautiful new anime that was just hit Japanese theaters, and a live-action adaptation of the “Blue Period” manga, which won’t be released anywhere in the world until later this summer.

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Here are five must-see films at Japan Cuts 2024.

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