The Catcher On The Shore
★ 6 · 2010 · 84m · Drama
This drama depicts a boy's coming of age against the backdrop of Okinawa's food culture. Director Nakamura Ryugo was born in 1996. He made this film, his feature debut, when he was just fourteen years old. Okinawa has an old tradition of eating a goat for celebratory occasions. But that culture is starting to fade in urban areas. Yuto (Uehara Soji), a sixth grader living in Naha, spends his winter vacation in the countryside town where his grandparents reside. He receives a shock when he sees the goat raised by his grandfather killed by locals.
More Like This
Tora-san's Tropical Fever
1980 · ★ 8.3
When cabaret singer Lily writes Toraya about her illness, Tora-san rushes to Okinawa to be by her side.
More info →
Hacksaw Ridge
2016 · ★ 8.2
WWII American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, who served during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first Conscientious Objector in American history to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.
More info →
cocoon - One Summer of Girlhood
2026
San and Mayu are two schoolgirls living in Okinawa during the closing months of the Pacific War. Together with their classmates, the two friends are drafted into the war effort as nurses for wounded soldiers. When ordered to die for their country, the remaining members of the group escape only to face the harsh environment of a tropical paradise that has become a hellish battlefield.
More info →Happiness in August
2003
Teru, a 17-year-old high school student, goes to live at a relative's house in Okinawa after the death of his mother. He becomes aware of a mysterious and powerful force within their family. Then, one day, he encounters a mysterious man with the soul of a tree?! The story of a mystical journey, against the backdrop of spirit-filled Okinawa Island.
More info →
Tears for You
2006 · ★ 7.2
A love story about two step-siblings, Yota and Kaoru. Long ago, Yota's mother married Kaoru's jazz-playing father, effectively merging the two families. Unfortunately, Kaoru's father skipped town, and Yota's mother passed away, but not before imparting a dying wish to her young son to take care of Kaoru.
More info →
Sympathy for the Underdog
1971 · ★ 7.1
A yakuza gang gets driven out of Yokohama by a big gang from Tokyo. They relocate to Okinawa to violently start over.
More info →
Via Okinawa
1989 · ★ 7
During the Vietnam War era, the influx of American soldiers to Okinawa boosted the local economy and introduced many bars and nightclubs. With exhausting displays of energy, Sai presents a whirlwind romance between a local rocker and the daughter of a mixed American-Okinawan marriage.
More info →
Flying Leathernecks
1951 · ★ 5.8
Major Daniel Kirby takes command of a squadron of Marine fliers just before they are about to go into combat. While the men are well meaning, he finds them undisciplined and prone to always finding excuses to do what is easy rather than what is necessary. The root of the problem is the second in command, Capt. Carl 'Griff' Griffin. Griff is the best flier in the group but Kirby finds him a poor commander who is not prepared to make the difficult decision that all commanders have to make - to put men in harm's way knowing that they may be killed.
More info →
Star Sand
2017 · ★ 7
In the closing days of World War II, Japanese-American Hiromi, a girl age 16, encounters an American deserter, Bob, and a Japanese soldier, Iwabuchi, living together in a cave on a small island in Okinawa. The two men are deserters from their armies; yet both vow never to harm another human being again. Hiromi looks after the deserters until another soldier appears and the peace of the cave is shattered. It leads to the death of three of them and a fascinating mystery that isn't solved until the present day.
More info →
STEP OUT
2025
Set in the sun-drenched landscapes of Okinawa, this heartfelt coming-of-age story follows Teruya Yō, a teenager living with his cheerful single mother, Akane, and younger sister, Mai. Despite their modest life, the family is close-knit and full of warmth. When Yō falls for Lisa, a student at a local dance school, he joins her class—discovering not only his passion for dance but a talent that quickly blossoms. Encouraged by his mother, a former dancer, Yō begins to dream big. The arrival of Hiroki, a music producer and Yō’s estranged uncle, brings news that shatters Yō's hopes of reconnecting with his absent father. As emotions erupt, long-buried truths between mother and son come to light.
More info →
Okinawa Rendez-vous
2000 · ★ 6.3
Jimmy Tong is an expert blackmailer and thief who specialises in white-collar crimes. With his side-kick, Jimmy steals a personal diary belonging to a Yakuza leader Ken Sato intending to use its details as a platform for blackmailing and to extort money. Sato agreed to the uneasy deal and made preparations to pay Jimmy his exorbitant demands only for Sato's girlfriend Jenny to betray him and make off with the money to Okinawa.
More info →
Okinawa Blue Note
2025 · ★ 7
Best-selling romance author Kim Jung-min travels to Okinawa, seeking inspiration and a much-needed break. From the very first day, however, his trip is riddled with unexpected complications, including a surprising coincidence: another traveler with the exact same name. Enter Kim Jung-min, a spirited webtoon artist who has arrived in Okinawa with a bold mission—to confess her feelings to someone special. Despite their contrasting personalities—he, meticulous and reserved, and she, optimistic and full of life—the two find themselves drawn together on a journey neither planned. As they navigate their misadventures, their paths intertwine in unexpected ways, leading them to confront their dreams, fears, and the possibility of a love story neither could have scripted.
More info →