Best movies like Magic Kimono

Keiko, whom everyone calls Mama, narrates her story: she's a hostess on the Ginza, 30, a widow. She describes life's vicious cycle: acting cheerful around drunks, dressing and living well to convey confidence, needing money for these expenses and for her demanding mother and brother, and knowing she's growing older. She's of an age when she must choose: to seek marriage (difficult given her tarnished occupation), to be a kept woman, or to borrow money to buy a bar of her own. Each route has dangers, including investors demanding a return on their loans. Keiko has a quiet dignity that attracts men, but are they what they seem? Does she actually have choices?

A lifelong love of flight inspires Japanese aviation engineer Jiro Horikoshi, whose storied career includes the creation of the A-6M World War II fighter plane.

At the close of the war in Japan, a widowed mother makes every possible sacrifice to bring up her ungrateful son and daughter who are unimpressed with their poor standard of living at home. They gradually reject her in search of the material comforts that working as a maid cannot provide. The mother's despair becomes interminable.

The passionate Merchant-Ivory drama tells the story of Francoise Gilot, the only lover of Pablo Picasso who was strong enough to withstand his ferocious cruelty and move on with her life.

Nick Carraway, a young Midwesterner now living on Long Island, finds himself fascinated by the mysterious past and lavish lifestyle of his neighbor, the nouveau riche Jay Gatsby. He is drawn into Gatsby's circle, becoming a witness to obsession and tragedy.

A shoe company executive who has mortgaged everything he has becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped and is conflicted over whether he should pay the ransom.

The story of the gambler,who is unable to pay his loan.His wife and daughter are kidnapped and subjected to many days of torture and sexual degradation.

This sensuously beautiful film chronicles the activities of four sisters who gather in Kyoto every year to view the cherry blossoms. It paints a vivid portrait of the pre-war lifestyle of the wealthy Makioka family from Osaka, and draws a parallel between their activities and the seasonal variations in Japan.

After almost 10 years of marriage, attractive Zoe discovers that her marriage lacks passion and surprise, and is seduced by the possibility of finding those sensations already forgotten in her husband's brother. From this premise a series of events lead these three characters to a dangerous game of revenges, secrets and passions. Two brothers and one woman: the triangle is outlined in a disquieting way. It is a bomb that triggers family secrets, the contained rage of desire and the unmanageable power of love. An exciting story that subjugates the viewer from beginning to end. Even though Zoe/Sonia has been married to Ignacio/Ishan for about a decade, they are unable to have children. She wants to be intimate but he prefers to be ready for intimacy on Saturdays only, and she gets physically drawn to his artistic brother, Gonzalo/Rohan. Then things get complicated for her after she tests positive for motherhood and finds that her husband may be gay.

The story of Robert Flanagan, a man who was born with cystic fibrosis and told he wouldn't live past 20, who through a unique odyssey of masochism, art and love found a way to live decades past his expiration date.

A prince, seeking the greatest treasure, stumbles upon seven little men guarding a coffin. They tell him the story of Snow White, a beautiful princess who was forced to run away from home after her jealous stepmother tried to have her killed. When she realizes that the girl is still alive and living with the dwarfs, she sets out to destroy her only rival once and for all.

Twelve years after their beloved eldest son, Junpei, drowned while saving a stranger's life, Kyohei and Toshiko welcome their surviving children home for a family reunion. Younger son Ryota still feels that his parents resent that he isn't the one who died; his new wife, Yukari, is awkwardly meeting the rest of the family for the first time. Daughter Chinami strains to fill the uncomfortable pauses with forced cheer.

The lives of five prostitutes employed at a Japanese brothel while the nation is debating the passage of an anti-prostitution law.

In 1962, Patricia Neal and Roald Dahl retreat to the English countryside to bring up their young family. The seemingly unlikely pair find their relationship put to the test by a tragic loss.

Tells the true story of Gwen Terasaki, who falls in love with, then marries a Japanese diplomat. When war breaks out they find animosity and trouble from both sides.

As a young Soviet student in 1978, Ieva could not have predicted that a holiday visit to her father, Imants Lesinskis, then working in the Soviet mission at the United Nations in New York City, would irreversibly split her life in two. Entangled in a dark spy game, Ieva is forced to leave her former life behind, never to see her mother or her homeland of Latvia again. Pulling back the curtain on the shady behind-the-scenes world of the Cold War, this film tells a daughter's dramatic story of her double-agent father, exploring their relationship against the backdrop of events which have their roots over four decades ago. In order to find herself and understand the game she was part of, Ieva sets out on a journey to the past, confronting family secrets, lies and betrayal.

Neil Young's "musical novel", telling the story of a family, the murder of a cop and the evolution of a young girl named Sun Green. This is not a concert film. YOung himself shot actors on locations on his native Northern California home turf to craete his Greendale, a rural town that is a microcosm of a world in crisis. There is lots of music featured by Young and Crazy Horse. Special bonus features include "Making of" with brand new interviews with Neil and the cast; also 3 live performances of "Greendale" songs, more.

Set during World War II, the film follows a young brother and sister as they attempt to survive the aftermath of the firebombing of Kobe City.

Paris 1913. Coco Chanel is infatuated with the rich and handsome Boy Capel, but she is also compelled by her work. Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring is about to be performed. The revolutionary dissonances of Igor's work parallel Coco's radical ideas. She wants to democratize women's fashion; he wants to redefine musical taste. Coco attends the scandalous first performance of The Rite in a chic white dress. The music and ballet are criticized as too modern, too foreign. Coco is moved but Igor is inconsolable.

When Sonoko enters a traditional Japanese arranged marriage with Amamiya facilitated by her parents the resulting union is loveless including the functional and goal-oriented sex. When the husband and wife move for his work she falls for her husband's boss and takes on the role of a betrayer.

Downtrodden wife and mother Nella's life takes an unexpected turn for the better after she joins the Women's Voluntary Service office in Barrow-in-Furness during the Second World War. However, her new-found happiness is shattered when her son Cliff leaves to join the troops - provoking a painful confrontation with her husband Will.

Rose Earl is proud as a peacock when Bobby, her eldest, whom she raised, like his kid brother Michael, to become moral men an model citizens, is the first member of the modest family ever to get accepted at college. It will take a while till she starts getting aware of it, but after he joins a respectable fraternity Bobby becomes ever more influenced by his roomy, the ambitious Tom Stahl, who promises him the world as they form an unbeatable team...

The story of Muhōmatsu, a rickshaw man who becomes a surrogate father to the child of a recently widowed woman.

The brief love story of an attentive young man and a beautiful woman who meet, fall in love and part during the course of a train ride.

Matsuchiyo - Life of a Geisha’ is a documentary about one of the last surviving true geisha in Japan. The story begins with Matsuchiyo’s wartime childhood. She and her mother were the only two surviving members of the family. Matsuchiyo joins an “Okiya” (a traditional geisha agency), to pay the family debts and support her ageing mother. In her adulthood, Matsuchiyo becomes one of the top geisha in the city of Atami and experiences romance, tearful farewells, being a mistress of married men, motherhood and tragic deaths. Today, in her 80’s, Matsuchiyo the geisha, is as motivated and inspiring as ever. She still delivers a mesmerising performance on stage. ‘Matsuchiyo - Life of a Geisha’ is narrated by her own son and film director, Ken Nishikawa, and it is adorned by hundreds of beautiful pictures from Japan’s bygone era. This film illustrates the trials and tribulations of the ultimate Japanese cultural enigma that is - The Life of a Geisha.

Short stories dealing with extreme punishment towards promiscuous women.

The Carters, a nouveau riche couple from Peoria, Illinois, decide to take a trip to Europe in the company of John Carter's best friend Henry. While in Paris, Henry begins squiring the coquettish Suzanne, who throws him over in favor of Carter.

Documentary that goes behind the stats to reveal the story of Kobe Bryant's career, exploring the mentorships, allies and rivalries that have helped shape his stellar 18-year tenure in the NBA, and offering access to his daily experiences, his lifelong inspirations and the battle with his greatest personal challenge yet.

Join host Jerry Butler and some of history's greatest doo-wop performers from the '50's and '60's as they celebrate five decades of vocal magic. Recorded live May 11 and 12, 1999 at The Benedum Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Pittsburgh, PA.

On the way home from an art gallery featuring her work, a talented artist, Ali, her husband and their young child get into a car accident. The woman's husband and child die on impact, while the woman survives, but loses her eyesight. At her doctor's suggestion, Ali hires a caretaker named Jeff to help her adjust to life as a blind woman, and upon returning home, Jeff's aid proves to be indispensable in helping her acclimate; Ali even meets and quickly befriends her new neighbor, Linda. It is soon apparent, however, that Jeff is becoming increasingly possessive and jealous of Ali, and his obsession rapidly turns violent when Ali decides she needs less of his assistance because she is ready to resume living independently. Unsurprisingly, Jeff does not take the request well, and Ali is soon forced to use her remaining senses to fight for her life.

The beautiful Shizuko (Aya Sugimoto) and her husband Tooyama Takayoshi (Jo Shishido) have a loving relationship, But Takayoshi is getting older and isn't always able to perform. His primary source of gratification involves observing his wife in sadomasochistic scenarios so he commissions a painter, skilled in the arts of bondage to bring these fantasies to life. Soon, Shiziko becomes a willing and submissive participant in fulfilling the S&M fantasies of not only her husband but a slew of rich lecherous men.

Phoebe and Dot have returned to their family home on the Isle of Wight a year after the death of their composer mother. As they prepare the house for its sale, clearing decades of family clutter, they have started to work on a site-specific performance piece about their complex relationship with their mother and her serial infidelities.

Because of the desolate landscape, Kobayashi chose snow-covered Hokkaido (the most northern island of Japan) as the setting for Amazing Story, a light-erotic drama about a lonely man, Kenji, who kidnaps the woman of his dreams. The woman is Harumi, a hairdresser in the deserted town where Kenji has just arrived. It's never really busy in her business. Harumi's husband is a gambling addict and spends all Harumi's money. Maybe that's why Harumi doesn't try very hard to escape when Kenji kidnaps her. His concern about her and his boundless worship probably help, too. Something strange and beautiful blossoms between the kidnapper and his victim, but can this be the basis of a long and happy encounter?

January 16, 1995. Tsuyoshi Takahashi, a young student at Shiokaze elementary, is driven solely to get excellent grades. Because of this he often ignores those around him in his pursuit of perfection. Miho, a young girl in his class that wishes he would appreciate the people around him. Kazu a sickly and bed ridden classmate that lives near him. January 17, the 1995 Kobe / Hyogoken-Nanbu Earthquake strikes killing more than 6000 people and leaving 300 000 more homeless. Measuring 6.9 on the Richter Scale, it was the largest Earthquake to hit Japan since the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. In the aftermath of the quake, Tsuyoshi's finds his priorities changing. Dealing with the death of one friend while helping another to cope with a very personal loss, Tsuyoshi is forced to mature into someone who can no longer ignore the suffering around him.

Mikage will get married to Youiti next year, she agrees to live with Youiti's parents. One day, Youiti's father disrobed Mikage's Kimono and raped her. To her astonishment, her fiancé Youiti whom Mikage considers true love has an affair with his young stepmother. Shocked and devastated, what will Mikage do?