Ran out of time to prepare a proper New Years Eve post (having way too much fun visiting with my family), but I wanted to commemorate the holiday somehow. So as a throwback to a similar list that I shared in the distant past of 2018, here are my five favorite movie memories of 2024 (in no particular order):
The Japan Cuts screening of Look Back; there wasn't a dry eye in the theater.
Finally seeing Kenji Misumi's Ken (a.k.a. The Sword)—a movie that I've been searching for since reading about it in Patrick Galloway's Warring Clans, Flashing Blades over a decade ago—at the Museum of Modern Art.
Finding a Blu-ray copy of Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis (and its less acclaimed—but still perfectly enjoyable—sequel) at Media Blasters' Anime NYC booth.
Getting to witness benshi (live narrators of silent movies) perform their increasingly rare art on two separate occasions, courtesy of Japan Society and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Rediscovering the work of Japanese auteur Hiroshi Shimizu and experiencing a selection of some of his postwar masterpieces (including Tomorrow There Will Be Fine Weather, The Sentimental Idiot, and Children of the Great Buddha) on the big screen.
And with that, I'll wish everyone good health, financial stability, and many exciting cinematic adventures in 2025!
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