Autobiographical novels are common, autobiographical films less so. Hollywood may be willing to sink millions into an “Oppenheimer,” but not a biopic of Christopher Nolan. Young Japanese filmmakers, by contrast, seem more willing and able to mine their own lives for material.
Among recent examples are Shun Nakagawa’s inspiring medical drama “90 Meters” (2025), which depicts the director’s real-life experience as a teenage caregiver for his mother, and Taichi Kimura’s energizing women’s empowerment drama “Fujiko” (2026), which takes inspiration from the struggles of Kimura’s scrappy mom against 1980s chauvinists. Far darker is Takuya Uchiyama’s “Numb,” a tale of familial dissolution dedicated to the director’s mother and based on their relationship. Featuring four actors who play the same protagonist at different life stages, the film is unsparing and uncompromising to a fault.
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