Kinema Junpo Announces 93rd Best 10 for 2019

Prestigious cinema magazine Kinema Junpo has released its always anticipated “Best 10” list for films released in 2019, the 93rd edition. Steamy drama It Feels So Good takes the top spot in a list which is (almost) entirely free of surprise awards juggernaut Fly Me to the Saitama.

1. It Feels so Good (火口のふたり)

Steamy drama from Haruhiko Arai – screenwriter, critic, and editor of film magazine Eiga Geijutsu, starring Tasuku Emoto as a young man who’s lost his job and got divorced. Retreating to his hometown, he reconnects with an old flame (Kumi Takiuchi) in the days before her wedding to another man.

2. Another World (半世界)

Male friendship drama from Junji Sakamoto in which a traumatised soldier returns to his small town home and tries to reconnect with the friends of his youth.

3. From Miyamoto to You (宮本から君へ)

Sequel to a TV drama directed by Tetsuya Mariko (Destruction Babies) starring Sosuke Ikematsu as a shy salesman who falls for Yu Aoi’s office worker.

4. A Girl Missing (よこがお)

Drama from Koji Fukada in which a homecare nurse is implicated in the disappearance of her employer’s daughter.

5. Listen to the Universe (蜜蜂と遠雷)

Adaptation of Riku Onda’s novel following four aspiring concert pianists directed by Kei Ishikawa (Gukoroku: Traces of Sin)

6. Farewell Song (さよならくちびる)

Love triangle drama from Akihiko Shiota in which a two-piece folk band (Nana Komatsu & Mugi Kadowaki) go on one last tour with a male roadie (Ryo Narita) who disrupts their dynamic.

7. One Night (ひとよ)

Drama from Kazuya Shiraishi in which a scattered family reunites 15 years after one traumatic night.

8. Just Only Love (愛がなんだ)

Rikiya Imaizumi adapt’s Mitsuyo Kakuta’s novel in which a lovelorn office lady (Yukino Kishii) gets into a casual relationship with a colleague (Ryo Narita) but gradually realises he’s just not that into her.

9. RANDEN: The Comings and Goings on a Kyoto Tram (嵐電)

Three stories of love occur along the the iconic Kyoto tramline as a writer from Kamakura searches for a ghost train while recalling memories of his wife, a local girl helps a Tokyo actor master the Kyoto accent, and a girl from Aomori falls for a trainspotter!

10. To the Ends of the Earth (旅のおわり世界のはじまり)

Kiyoshi Kurosawa reunites with recent muse Atsuko Maeda as a lost TV presenter goes searching for herself while filming in Uzbekistan.

Best 10 International

Joker
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
The Irishman
The Mule
Green Book
Sorry We Missed You
Cold War
Roma
An Elephant Sitting Still
Burning

Best 10 Documentaries

i -Documentary of the Journalist- (i-新聞記者ドキュメント-, Tatsuya Mori)
Fukushima Speaks (福島は語る, Toshikuni Doi)
Jinsei wo Shimau Toki (人生をしまう時間（とき）, Sachiko Shimomura)
Yamafutokoro ni Idakarete (山懐に抱かれて, Takashi Endo)
Planet of the Crabs (蟹の惑星, Hiroyasu Murakami)
Sakubei and the Mining of Japan (作兵衛さんと日本を掘る, Hiroko Kumagai)
Tokyo High Tide (東京干潟, Hiroyasu Murakami))
Dare ga Tame ni Kenpo wa Aru (誰がために憲法はある, Junichi Inoue)
America ga Mottomo Osoreta Otoko: Kamejiro – Fukutsu no Shogai (米軍(アメリカ)が最も恐れた男カメジロー不屈の生涯, Tadahiko Sato)
Korean Schools in Japan (アイたちの学校, Ko Chanyu)