Takashi Miike is a cinema monster. Let's return to his filmography, his main themes, the framework of his monumental universe.

After several years spent working almost exclusively in the direct-to-video world of “V-cinema” in Japan, Takashi Miike announced himself as a world-class filmmaking talent with this trio of thematically-connected, character-centric crime stories about violence, the underworld of Japanese society, families both real and surrogate, and the possibly hopeless taks of finding one’s place in the world. His first films made specifically for theatrical release, and his first for a major studio, the “Black Society Trilogy” was the beginning of Mike’s mature career as a filmmaker and they remain among the prolific director’s finest works. Here he sits down to talk about his career.

Takashi Miike directs a stage version of Zatoichi, the tale of the blind swordsman.

The modern-day story of a man searching for a friend who has mysteriously disappeared, with a magical tale involving strange creatures, a heartbroken princess, and a pact that can't be broken. Conflicts between faith and skepticism, and between social obligation and personal desire drive the narrative toward a dramatic conclusion where the worlds of the real and the surreal inevitabl