We've not covered cinema releases on our news pages in the past but we can't let this one pass unannounced. The latest film from Kiyoshi Kurosawa, the acclaimed Japanese director famous for his groundbreaking existential horror films such as Cure and Kairo (Pulse) whose high standards have slipped a little in his more recent Doppelganger and Bright Future, set Cannes alight this year with a surprising change of pace to that staple of Japanese cinema, the family drama.

When Ryuhei Sasaki (played by Teruyuki Kagawa) is unceremoniously dumped from his 'safe' company job, his family's happy, humdrum life is put at risk. Unwilling to accept the shame of unemployment, the local salaryman chooses not to tell anyone, instead leaving home each morning in suit and tie and carrying a briefcase, spending his days searching for work and lining up for soup with the homeless. featuring some outstanding performances, serene and elegant direction, Kurosawa's trademark chills are still evident as he cranks up the unsettling atmosphere and grim hopelessness of Sasaki's situation.

Once an unthinkable rarity, unemployment has become a wider fear in modern Japan and a topical subject for modern Japanese cinema. Described by Mark Schilling in Japan Times as "Kurosawa's best film in years," Tokyo Sonata is an eerie, poignant reflection of the mass uncertainty sweeping the world, and has been hailed in some quarters as Kurosawa's finest achievement and was the only Japanese film to to receive an award at the 2008 Cannes film festival, landing Un Certain Regard Jury Prize.

Tokyo Sonata (certificate 12A) will be released in UK cinemas on 30th January 2009 by Eureka Entertainment. For those unable to catch it, the film will be released on DVD and Blu-ray later in the years as part of the Masters of Cinema series.