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Theme Week Wrap-Up (Week 16)

Yoshihiro Nakamura Week wrap-up poster featuring the director's films in a stylized collage
Theme Week Wrap-Up

Yoshihiro Nakamura Week

This was one of those director weeks that makes you want to keep digging. Yoshihiro Nakamura jumps from conspiracy thrillers to time-bending music stories, then slips into samurai comedy or ninja action without losing his gift for warmth, surprise and emotional payoff. Even the weaker entry had something playful or structurally clever going on.
Top Pick of the Week Fish Story (2009) and Golden Slumber (2010) - 100/100 One blew me away with its crazy narrative design and music-driven momentum; the other delivered suspense, heart and humanity with almost perfect control.

Ranked Board


Five films, five different moods, but the same unmistakable Nakamura touch: twisted plotting, human decency, and a constant ability to make genre feel personal. Click any card to open the full review.
Fish Story (2009) review thumbnail
#1 of the Week
Fish Story (2009)
Score: 100/100

A wild, joyful, emotionally charged puzzle-box film that bounces across timelines and somehow turns punk music into a weapon against the apocalypse.
Golden Slumber (2010) review thumbnail
#2 of the Week
Golden Slumber (2010)
Score: 100/100

A breathless and emotional manhunt thriller about an ordinary citizen framed for assassinating the prime minister. Smart, tense and unexpectedly moving.
Mumon: The Land of Stealth (2017) review thumbnail
#3 of the Week
Mumon: The Land of Stealth (2017)
Score: 92/100

A slick, funny and energetic ninja adventure with great action beats and a lead performance full of swagger.
A Boy and His Samurai (2010) review thumbnail
#4 of the Week
A Boy and His Samurai (2010)
Score: 89/100

A sweet fish-out-of-time comedy in which a samurai lands in modern Japan and somehow becomes a baking sensation. Funny, gentle and genuinely charming.
The Foreign Duck, the Native Duck and God in a Coin Locker (2007) review thumbnail
#5 of the Week
The Foreign Duck, the Native Duck and God in a Coin Locker (2007)
Score: 71/100

A mystery built around perspective, coincidence and one great reveal, with Bob Dylan hovering over the whole thing like a clue.
Have a great weekend everybody!

Scene of the Week - From Mumon


Mumon supplied the standout scene of the week, full of energy, movement and the sort of playful action that makes Nakamura's genre shifts so much fun.

Song of the Week - From Fish Story


No surprise here. Fish Story owned the week musically too, proving again that Nakamura knows exactly how to turn a song into narrative fuel.
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