Ryo Iwamatsu

Ryo Iwamatsu

Birth : 1952-03-26, Kawatana, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan

History

Playwright, stage director, actor, and film director.

Profile

Ryo Iwamatsu
Ryo Iwamatsu

Movies

Sabakan
Nagasaki in 1986. Hisada, who lives with her affectionate parents and her younger brother, although there are many quarrels between couples, is a fifth grader who loves Yuki Saito and Exogini. Hisada decides to go to Boomerang Island to "see the dolphins" with Takemoto, whose house is poor and avoided by his classmates. Drowning in the sea, getting entangled in the Yankees, and having a lot of trouble, but as the friendship between the two deepens as a result of this adventure, a sad incident that presages farewell occurs.
Convenience Story
Kato is an up-and-coming scriptwriter in the middle of a severe slump. He submits ideas for potential movies but makes no headway whatsoever, and spends his days downhearted and distressed. When he heads out to buy "Dog Man," food for his lover's beloved pooch Cerberus, one thing leads to another and he stumbles into "Ideal Mart," a convenience store where he can find everything his heart desires. There, he encounters a mysterious married woman named Keiko, who gets his creative juices flowing again, but...
Shin Ultraman
Hajime Komuro
The Japanese government sets up a special task force to fight the giant creatures suddenly appearing across the country. Soon, the squad unexpectedly meets a giant silver humanoid who starts appearing every time a space monster attacks!
What to Do With the Dead Kaiju?
Bokudo Ioroi
A large monster attacks Japan, but dies suddenly. While the people rejoice and bask in relief, the giant corpse left behind begins to slowly rot and bloat. If it explodes, the nation will be destroyed.
In the Wake
Narazaki
Baffling serial killings unfold in which the victims are tied up and left to starve. Tone was just released from prison after finishing his sentence for another crime, and he surfaces as a suspect but detective Tomashiro can't nail down conclusive proof.
Every Trick In The Book
Shinichi Tsuda, a Naoki Prize winning author, is working to publish his newest story. It revolves around Tsuyama, a driver for a call girl business in Toyama Prefecture, who comes across a mysterious counterfeit bill and has his life targeted by underworld kingpin Kurata. Is his story fact or fiction? His editor, Nahomi Torikai, decides to verify whether his latest work is mere fiction based on real-life experiences. She looks into a family that vanished, a post office worker who went missing, a shady load of cash, the whereabouts of the doves, and the fateful encounter from that night... A series of shocking facts are revealed from Tsuda’s stories. Why did the counterfeit money end up in Tsuda’s hands? What is the “ending” that Tsuda wished to portray?
Inubu: The Dog Club
Genjiro Amuro
Hanai Sota is 22-years-old and a university student in the veterinary department. Since he was little, he has always loved animals. His apartment is full of animals that needed help. One day, Hanai Sota saves a dog that was being used in experiments. To save more of the animals, he sets up the "Inubu" club. His friend Shibasaki Ryosuke, among other people, joins the group. Shibasaki Ryosuke also loves dogs and is a student in the same veterinary department as Hanai Sota. They work hard to protect the animals. 16 years later, a report comes out. The report is about Hanai Sota, who was arrested.
Remain In Twilight
Six friends, who hanged out together during their high school days, gather again after 5 years for a friend's wedding. The six friends are: Kazuki Yoshio, Tetsuya Akashi, Taku Sogawa, Taisei Tajima, Yusaku Mizushima and Kinichi Fujita. At the wedding, the friends perform an embarrassing dance routine for the bride and groom. The friends reminisce about their high school days and they believe their friendships will last forever, but...
We Made a Beautiful Bouquet
Yoshiaki Hachiya
Two people meet each other after missing the last train home, leading to a beautiful relationship over five years.
A Family
Osako Kazuhiko
A story of yakuza family from 1999 to 2019. Kenji Yamamoto's father died from using a stimulant drug. His life fell into desperation. Kenji Yamamoto then joined a crime syndicate. There, he meets the gang's boss Hiroshi Shibasaki. Hiroshi Shibasaki reaches out to Kenji Yamamoto and they developed a relationship like father and son. As time passes, Kenji Yamamoto has his own family.
Step
Single father Kenichi has raised his daughter Miki alone for the past ten years, from when she attended nursery school until her graduation from elementary school. Kenichi is currently 30 years old. His wife Tomoko died at a young age and he has raised Miki alone since that time. While raising his daughter alone, he has encountered various problems.
Aging Police / Resurrection Special
LOUDER! Can't Hear What You're Singin', Wimp!
Sin is a rock star. He has an amazingly loud voice with a range of four octaves. His secret is that he has created his voice through a method of vocal cord doping. His voice is now teetering on the edge, due to side effects from the vocal cord doping. Around this time, Sin meets Fūka, who is a street musician. When Fūka sings, her voice is so small. Due to Fūka, Sin looks back upon his past.
Black Dahlia
The Cat in Their Arms
old cat
A 33-year-old supermarket worker at a provincial city used to be an idol, but could not see a future as a singer. Sick of everything, she moved to a provincial town and met Yoshio, a pet cat she saw at a store.
Goodbye, Grandpa!
Akio Haruno
A 20 something girl Yoshiko is having sex with her boyfriend when a shocking telephone call arrives - grandpa has passed away. The lightning from clear sky doesnt derail only the life of Yoshiko but summons the rest of the dysfunctional Haruno family to the ancenstral country house to pay their respects to the deceased - and unleash their quarrels between themselves and with the world at large.
Tokyo Ghoul
Akihiro Kano
A Tokyo college student is attacked by a ghoul, a super-powered human who feeds on human flesh. He survives, but has become part ghoul and becomes a fugitive on the run.
Memoirs of a Murderer
Akihiro Yamagata
The movie begins in the year 1995 where there were 5 peculiar murder cases. The murderer would always get someone close to the victim to witness how he would strangle the victim from behind with a rope but he would let the witnesses go and speak to the media on how the murders happened. Ito plays the role of Makimura, the police detective who was in charge of investigating the serial murders but failed to catch the cunning murderer and his respected superior ended up being killed as well. 22 years later in 2017 when the case is nearing its statute of limitations, a man named Sonezaki claims to be the culprit for the 1995 murders and even publishes a book titled "Watashi ga satsujinhan desu" to talk about the cases. Despite the disgust towards Sonezaki's actions, the intensive attention showered on him via the media and SNS makes him become the talk of town.
Joryu Tohaiden Aki
Takeo Kojima
Aki was practically born and raised in a mahjong parlor. At the age of 15, she goes to Tokyo during winter and although she is knocked around by the harshness of the big city, she is determined to survive by the one-and-only weapon she possesses: mahjong. However, standing in Aki's way are unscrupulous adults and the realities of city life.
Laughing Lucky Cats
Joji Iwakura
Hitomi Takagi (Fumika Shimizu) and Akako Honda (Rena Matsui) are members of comedy duo “Akako to Hitomi.” The created the comedy duo about 5 years ago, but they are still not very popular. Everyday, they perform manzai to a regular audience in a corner of a small theater. One day, Hitomi and Akako catch a middle school student trying to steal Hitomi’s bicycle. Since then, their fate as a female comedy duo begins to change.
March Goes out Like a Lamb
Takanori Jinguji
The time spent between professional Shogi player Kiriyama and his three stories helps to heal his wounds. As he prepares to secure another win in an upcoming tournament, the father who left the three sisters appears and disturbs the peace.
March Comes in Like a Lion
Takanori Jinguji
Rei Kiriyama is a 17-years-old shogi (Japanese chess) player. He debuted as a professional shogi player when he was in middle school. He lives by himself in Tokyo, because his parents and younger sister died in an traffic accident when he was little. One day, Rei Kiriyama meets three sisters who are his neighbors. The three sisters are Akari Kawamoto, Hinata Kawamoto and Momo Kawamoto. This is his first meeting with someone outside of the shogi world in many years. Having meals with the Kawamoto family brings warm feelings to Rei Kiriyama. As Rei Kiriyama continues his shogi career, his interactions with his neighbors allows him to grow as a shogi player and as a person.
Pieta in the Toilet
Hiroshi's father
Hiroshi has given up on his dreams of becoming a painter and works part-time cleaning office windows. He learns that he has only 3 months left to live. During his last summer, high school student Mai appears. Hiroshi becomes attracted to her.
バンクーバーの朝日
Tadakura Miyake
In pre-WWII Vancouver, second-generation Japanese immigrants had it tough. Daily, they faced discrimination, hatred and injustice at the hands of their Caucasian counterparts. But one thing made their lives worth living: baseball. They may be the underdogs, but the Vancouver Asahi baseball team have a sense of fair play and smart tactics that set them apart from the brute force of their opponents. Under the guidance of new team captain Reggie Kasahara, can they be able to rise above all the negativity to win the tournament? This film is based on the true story of Vancouver Asahi, the Japanese-Canadian baseball team that was inducted into The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003.
Pecoross' Mother and Her Days
Yuichi Okano
Laid-back baby boomer Yuichi (Ryo Iwamatsu) is a middle-aged manga artist and singer-songwriter when he isn't at his salaryman day job or watching out for his elderly mother. Suffering from increasing dementia since her husband's death, Mitsue (Harue Akagi) is a constant source of comic energy or annoyance for Yuichi, and he and his son must soon decide if they should put her in a home for the elderly. Jumping back in time, we see how Mitsue (played by Kiwako Harada) tracked the tumult of the latter half of the 20th century, being raised as one of 10 brothers and sisters, surviving the war, and having to push her alcoholic husband (Ryo Kase) along in life. "Pecoross" is directed by the oldest active film director in Japan, Azuma Morisaki, who creates an emotionally complex work that is only the more profound and life-affirming for its cartoonish portrayal.
The Apology King
Film director
Ryoro Kurojima (Sadao Abe) is the director of a Tokyo apology center. His job is to teach others how to apologize. Ryoro Kurojima solves problems by using his apology techniques on anything from simple arbitration to a national crisis.
It's Me It's Me
Detective Murano
Hitoshi Nagano, who works at an electronics store, picks up a cellphone left behind by a customer and goes about a scam. He calls the person's mother and pretends to be her son. He then gets the mother to transfer money to his bank account. Soon, Hitoshi gets a lot more than he bargained for.
The Complex
Nursing student Asuka has just moved into an apartment complex with her parents and younger brother. On the first night in her new room, she is awoken by a strange scratching sound coming from the apartment of her neighbor, a reclusive old man who has refused all attempts at communication. Concerned over his well being, Asuka enters his home only to find him dead from malnutrition. Worse, it looks as if he had been trying to claw his way into her room. Asuka learns that there have been a number of strange deaths in the complex over the years from Shinobu, the handyman cleaning up the old man’s apartment. Even the girls at school whisper rumors of it being haunted.
Maruyama, The Middle Schooler
Katsuya Maruyama (Hiraoka Takuma) is a middle school student boy full of obscene thoughts. He then meets Tatsuo Shimoi (Tsuyoshi Kusanagi), a single father who moves into the same apartment complex. Tatsuo Shimoi is a bit of an enigma: he doesn't get along with the housewives in the apartment complex and doesn't appear to work. Through his encounter with the mysterious single father, Katsuya grows as a person.
Lesson of the Evil
Masao Nadamori
Seiji Hasumi is a popular English teacher in a private high school. He is also a violent and sociopathic killer, who slowly takes control of the students and faculty through murder and manipulation. When he is caught in the act during preparations for the school cultural festival, he sees staging a massacre as the only way out.
Lesson of the Evil: Prologue
Follows high school teacher Seiji Hasumi's background history and in the process depicts the horror inherent in daily life.
The Last Days of the World
The life of a student named Kanou is transformed when a tiny man informs him that Earth will soon be annihilated. Kanou decides to do just as he pleases with the time he has left, leading to strange adventures that could be real -- or just a dream.
Crossroads
Domestic drama focusing on a soon to be retired train driver and his wife.
A Man with Style
Miyata lost his wife early on and single-handedly raised their two children. One day he notices a change in his physical condition, and decides that it must be stomach cancer.
Guilty of Romance
Supermarket Manager
A detective probes the brutal murder of a woman in a red light district while a housewife hides her double life as a prostitute from her husband.
The Days of Morisaki Bookstore
Sabu
Unable to accept being dumped by her colleague, Takako quits her job and moves into the used bookstore owned by her uncle, Satoru, in Jinbocho. Despite her initial lack of interest in novels, Takako is slowly drawn into the world of books as she comes into contact with the unusual customers who frequent the store.
8000 Miles 2: Girls Rapper
With Saitama no rappa 2 (AKA 8000 Miles 2 – Girls Rapper), Yu Irie tells the story of amateur girl rappers who dream of a small big-time. The film opens with Saitama 1 B-boys, Ikku and Tom coming to town. They run into young Ayoma (Maho Yamada), inspiring her to gather her girlfriends and work up their rap routine.
Sawako Decides
Nobuo
After 5 years in Tokyo, 5 part-time jobs, 5 boyfriends, Sawako's life is going nowhere. When her father gets seriously ill, she has to take over his struggling factory. Gradually she becomes the decider of her own life.
Air Doll
Video Shop Owner
A life-size, inflatable sex doll suddenly comes to life one day. Without her owner knowing, she goes for a walk around town and falls in love with Junichi. She starts to date Junichi and gets a job at the same store where he works. Everything seems to be going perfect for her until something unexpected happens.
Yamagata Scream
Chomei Okagaitokon
High school seniors Mikayo, Chuko and Kei are forced to join a historical research club to fulfill a graduation requirement. Their teacher, Mr. Kachi, plans a mandatory club trip to a small village called Oshakabe in Yamagata prefecture to study remnants of an ancient clan of warriors called the ochimusha who displayed legendary cowardice in battle. When they arrive, the local villagers hold a special ceremony and construct a "super shrine". As a result, an 800-year seal is broken, unleashing a curse that causes the ochimusha to rise from the grave.
Dear Doctor
Yoshifumi Okayasu
Osamu Ino is a great doctor who is beloved in his rural village. His knowledge and dedication make an equally strong impression on his reluctant medical intern, Keisuke Soma. But, Soma and the villagers reconsider their opinion when they learn about a shameful incident from Dr. Ino's past. Now the once-respected doctor must account for his past actions.
Instant Swamp
Kamesaka
A woman finds out her father is not her real one after her mother falls into a coma while searching for a mythical creature. She decides to meet her real father who happens to be an off-beat antique shopkeeper.
Love Exposure
President
The story of a teenage boy named Yu, who falls for Yoko, a girl he runs into while working as an "up-skirt" photographer in an offshoot of the porn industry. His attempts to woo her are complicated by a spot of cross-dressing – which convinces Yoko that she is lesbian – dalliances with kung-fu and crime, and a constant struggle with the guilt that's a legacy of his Catholic upbringing.
たみおのしあわせ
Screenplay
A humorous wedding story fueled by a rather no-good father and son, disguised as the old and new “good guys.” The father Nobuo, and his son Tamio, are unable to mature, unable to break the parent-child roles, have no sense of responsibility, and keep holding on to the past. The pair is overwhelmed by all the colorful characters around them telling them what to do. They go to strenuous and humorous efforts to make Tamio’s wedding an event to remember.
たみおのしあわせ
Director
A humorous wedding story fueled by a rather no-good father and son, disguised as the old and new “good guys.” The father Nobuo, and his son Tamio, are unable to mature, unable to break the parent-child roles, have no sense of responsibility, and keep holding on to the past. The pair is overwhelmed by all the colorful characters around them telling them what to do. They go to strenuous and humorous efforts to make Tamio’s wedding an event to remember.
Adrift in Tokyo
Kunimatsu
A thug offers to pay a law student's gambling debt if the student will accompany him on a trip across Tokyo.
The Insects Unlisted in the Encyclopedia
Gang Boss
A freelance writer is given a bizarre assignment by the sexy editor of "Black Book Monthly": find a bug with the power to bring humans back from the dead, in order to report on the afterlife. With his trusty companion Endo in tow, he sets off on a quest for the elusive insect and along the way meets the mysterious Sayoko, a former dominatrix and habitual wrist-cutter who delights in rubbing wasabi into her wounds.
Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad
Editor on the phone (voice)
Adapted from the bestselling Japanese autobiography of the same title, this gentle coming-of-age drama concerns an adolescent boy, Boku - Masaya, torn between the inherited recklessness of his father Oton and the inherited responsibility, wisdom and emotional strength of his mother Okan. Following a period of intensely rebellious behavior, Boku learns that his mom has contracted cancer; suddenly, his mother comes to live with him in Tokyo the entire emotional landscape of his life is altered.
Invisible War
Tajiri
Kitahara Shuji, an ordinary business man turns into a spy for his town's war against a neighboring town in a Dystopian society.
Faces of a Fig Tree
Comedy about a woman who finds a new life after she loses her busband.
Crickets
Screenplay
Kaoru, a wealthy woman whose youth is fading, abandons the hustle and bustle of the city to live a peaceful life in a house on the coast. There she takes care of an old deaf, dumb and blind man as if he were an insect, a child or a pet. He can’t do anything for himself, so she feeds him and accompanies him on his walks. This strong mutual dependency offers Kaoru an escape from society and allows her to free herself from restrictions imposed by common sense.
Damejin
An off-beat comedy about 3 'damejin' (useless persons), who don't work and spend their lives doing nothing. They actually don't want to work. When they hear 'in India one can live without working' they take it seriously. They begin to raise the money to go to India by doing anything but working, such as ripping off stamps from others' letters to sell, robbery at the bank which itself went bankrupt, etc.
A Cheerful Gang Turns the Earth
Four strangers (a verbose romantic, a human lie detector, an expert pickpocket, and a woman with a preternaturally precise sense of time) are brought together by chance when they inadvertently team up to thwart a bank robbery. Recognizing the potential of their combined talents, they decide to form a bank-robbing gang themselves, just for the fun and romance of it. Their heists are played out swiftly and coolly, less like robberies than performance art. Eventually, the foursome's good-natured crime streak is interrupted when a man from one of their pasts creates a whirlwind of extortion and double crossing.
Sunday's Dream
Kazuya goes to live with his mother Shinobu because his father, Yoshiki, who works in the same company, has fired him according to the company policy regarding redundancy. However, Shinobu soon gets remarried to Sakamoto depriving Kazuya of a place to stay. He then meets Sachiko who works in a salon where sexual pleasure is offered to men. They promise to have a date on the next Sunday by the sea.
Sunday's Dream
Writer
Kazuya goes to live with his mother Shinobu because his father, Yoshiki, who works in the same company, has fired him according to the company policy regarding redundancy. However, Shinobu soon gets remarried to Sakamoto depriving Kazuya of a place to stay. He then meets Sachiko who works in a salon where sexual pleasure is offered to men. They promise to have a date on the next Sunday by the sea.
Turtles Are Surprisingly Fast Swimmers
Shizuo Kugitani
Suzume Katagura, a bored housewife, spends her days doing chores and taking care of her husband's pet turtle. One day, she sees a wanted ad for spies. Hoping for some excitement in her life, she decides to give them a call.
Into a Dream
Machida
Low-profile theater troop actor Mutsugoro Suzuki begins an oneiric journey back to his hometown, marked by his quest to find the one responsible of infecting him with a STD.
In the Pool
General Manager Maenishi
A free-spirited psychiatrist exudes a magnetic attraction for patients with out-of-the-ordinary neuroses and odd conditions brought about by stress.
Yaji & Kita: The Midnight Pilgrims
Foreman
Yaji and Kita are two men who live in Edo. They are deeply in love. Yaji is married to a woman, while Kita is an actor addicted to various drugs.
Cutie Honey
Goki
When Honey's uncle gets kidnapped by the evil criminal gang known as "Panther Claw," she must use her magical powers of transformation to save him. Meanwhile the same crime group has been responsible for a number of other crime sprees across Tokyo. In the process, Honey teams up with the seemingly cold police woman Natsuko Aki and hot shot journalist Seiji Hayami as well as battle the four "claws" of the Panther Claw gang to save her uncle and the rest of the city.
Zebraman
Being a failure as a teacher and a familyman, Shinichi tries to escape everyday live by dressing up as "Zebraman", the superhero. Although the TV series whas canceled after only 6 episodes, this cannot stop him from acting out his escape fantasy in a self made zebra-suit. He get's more then he could ever wish for, when his black-and-white dressed alter-ego seems to be the only thing to stand between absolute (green) evil and a happy ending.
Hush!
Gynecologist
Naoya and Katsuhiro are boyfriends, new in their relationship. Things are uneven at first—Naoya is open and free while Katsuhiro is cautious and closeted—but nothing compares to the chaos that arrives when Asako, a troubled woman with a history of psychiatric problems, abortions, and casual sex, asks Katsuhiro to conceive a child with her.
Oshimai no hi
MIND GAME
Japanese film directed by Hiromasa Taguchi.
Tokyo Biyori
Screenplay
This is a biographical film about the late Yoko Araki, who was the wife of Japan's leading photographer, Nobuyoshi Araki.
GONIN
Man at the toilet
Five men plot to steal a large sum of money from the local yakuza, but everything does not go as planned and the men find themselves hunted down by contract killers.
MARKS
Director Takeuchi
Assistant police inspector Aida is assigned to investigate the murder of a former gang member. When a justice ministry official is killed days later in a similar manner, he begins to suspect that something bigger is going on...
119
Member of Main Station
In Harari-cho, a small and quiet bayside town by the sea, the firemen have not seen a fire for nearly twenty years. Each day passes eventlessly... until one day. The monotony of their daily lives is interrupted by the appearance of a beautiful female college student, Momoko, who comes to visit her aunt. After catching a glimpse of Momoko, both Tatsuya and Nobuyuki can't stop thinking about her. Since then, the small town is not so quiet anymore…
Turning Point
A middle-aged journalist looking to make her big break. After working the same beat on the "women's page", Yumiko gets promoted to editorials.
A Night in Nude
Shimura
Jiro is a Tokyo man who offers a stand-in service where he'll do "anything". A woman claiming to be from Fukuoka wants to be shown around Tokyo and see the sights. What Jiro doesn't know is that this woman isn't who she says she is. She's on the run from her Yakuza boyfriend, and Jiro is going to be unwittingly entwined in the situation.
The Tomb & the Divorce
Director
Yoshinori sells plots of land in a cemetery, and is involved in a stale ten-year-old marriage with bored housewife Atsuko. When Atsuko makes a male friend at her leather-working class, Yoshinori has a fit. This is on top of the myriad of odd clients that he must appease.
Sky Cannot Be This Blue
Banker
Kantarou Kobayashi is an ordinary businessman who has multiple troubles on hand. He's been having an affair with a woman working in the same company, but she does lots of eccentric things. His wife has no interrest in anything but her plan to build a new apartment where their old house is. His son suffers skin eruptions. His mother appears to have senile dementia.
The Hit-and-Run Family
Set in the 1990s, this film uses black humour to cast a sharp, satirical eye at the problems facing modern Japanese families. Hiroshi accidentally hits a young woman with his car and flees in panic. He confesses to his wife, Yoko, who persuades him to keep quiet as his arrest would mean the end for their already troubled family. Their daughter is having an affair with a married man, their son is being bullied and refusing to go to school and their grandfather is becoming more difficult. Yoko urges the family to move the car into the living room in order to destroy the evidence by taking it apart. Hiroshi finally decides to do the honest thing but a series of bizarre incidents then ensues...
Original Sin
Based on a novel by Bo Nishimura, the film is about an extramarital affair between the wife of an estate agent and a 22 year old man.
Canned Crab
A man has a can of crab stolen from him.
Baka yarô! 4 You! Omae no koto da yo 3 Sagi naru Japan
(segment "カラダだけの男")
Beijing Watermelon
Policeman
Shunzo is a popular greengrocer in a town near Tokyo. His life, and the lives of his wife Michi, and their two children, undergoes a dramatic change when he encounters Li, a poor college student from China.
Bakayarō! 2: Shiawase ni naritai
Director
Hot Staff: Kaikan Sex Clinic
Screenplay
Nikkatsu Roman Porno