Shunji Iwai’s Typical Vibe
Signature vibe

Highest-ranked title
Highest-ranked title
Shunji Iwai has 6 titles in the CriticCrunch catalog across a career spanning the 1990s through the 2010s. 1 ranks in the Top 10%, led by Love Letter.
Recurring themes

Hiroko attends the memorial service of her fiancé, Itsuki Fujii, who died in a mountain-climbing incident. Although Itsuki's mother says that their old house is gone, Hiroko records the address listed under his name in his yearbook and sends him a letter. Surprisingly, she receives a reply, and discovers it came from his old classmate, a girl who also happens to be called Itsuki Fujii.
Dir. Shunji Iwai · With Miho Nakayama, Etsushi Toyokawa, Miki Sakai

Charts the troubled teenage years of students Yūichi Hasumi and Shūsuke Hoshino, exploring the shifting and complex power dynamics of their relationship against the backdrop of Yūichi's love for the dreamy and abstract music of pop star Lily Chou-Chou.
Dir. Shunji Iwai · With Hayato Ichihara, Shugo Oshinari, Yu Aoi

In spring, a girl leaves the island of Hokkaido to attend university in Tokyo. Once there, she is asked to reveal why she wanted to go there in the first place.
Dir. Shunji Iwai · With Takako Matsu, Seiichi Tanabe, Kaori Fujii

Two teenage best pals attracted to the same boy end up scrambling his life after he walks into a door and is knocked unconscious.
Dir. Shunji Iwai · With Anne Suzuki, Yu Aoi, Kaku Tomohiro

After transferring to Ishinomori Middle School, Tetsuko "Alice" Arisugawa overhears her classmates discussing a strange rumor. The previous occupant of her seat, a nondescript "Judas," is missing and presumed murdered. Amidst dealing with her mother's undesired meddling in her affairs and warding off her classmates' bullying, the troubled Alice starts to investigate the mystery surrounding Judas' disappearance. The trail of clues leads her to the house of her next-door neighbor, the quirky and reclusive Hana Arai.
Dir. Shunji Iwai · With Yu Aoi, Anne Suzuki, Ryo Katsuji

New York, I Love You delves into the intimate lives of New Yorkers as they grapple with, delight in and search for love. Journey from the Diamond District in the heart of Manhattan, through Chinatown and the Upper East Side, towards the Village, into Tribeca, and Brooklyn as lovers of all ages try to find romance in the Big Apple.
Dir. Allen Hughes, Shekhar Kapur, Yvan Attal, Brett Ratner, Natalie Portman, Mira Nair, Shunji Iwai, Fatih Akin, Jiang Wen, Randall Balsmeyer, Joshua Marston · With Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Bradley Cooper