Directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi • Drama • With Bengal, Masako Motai • 1989 • 135 minutes
Shunzo (Bengal) and his wife Michi (Masako Motai) run a beloved greengrocer on the outskirts of Tokyo. When Lee, a struggling exchange student from China, visits the shop but is unable to afford the produce, an uneasy relationship sprouts. Begrudgingly, Shunzo agrees to lower his prices. Soon, Lee’s classmates begin frequenting the shop. As Shunzo’s generosity sneaks up on him and strains his family’s welfare, he confronts his role as surrogate father to his newfound Chinese friends.
A delicate elegy to the Chinese students of its time, Beijing Watermelon finds Obayashi at his most modern, channeling the style of Yasujiro Ozu, while his experimental flourishes provide the perfect disruption, inviting viewers to fill in the blanks of history.
Up Next in World Cinema
-
Phantom Beirut
Directed by Ghassan Salhab • Drama • With Aouni Kawas • 1998 • 121 minutes
Lebanon at the end of the 80s. Ghassan Salhab’s debut follows Khalil as he returns to Beirut under a new identity, forced to confront the old friends and comrades he left behind following his faked death a decade earlier....
-
Block Pass
Directed by Antoine Chevrollier • Drama • With Sayyid El Alami, Amaury Foucher • 2025 • 103 minutes
Block Pass is a queer motocross coming-of-age drama—sensitive, deeply felt, and quietly profound—that establishes Antoine Chevrollier as a filmmaker to watch.
Reminiscent of Rebel Without a Cause...
-
Joyland
Directed by Saim Sadiq • Drama • With Alina Khan, Ali Junejo • 2023 • 127 minutes
The debut feature from writer-director Saim Sadiq, JOYLAND explores the many sides of love and desire in a patriarchal society. Gentle and timid, Haider (Ali Junejo) lives with his wife Mumtaz (Rasti Farooq), his f...
