Movies Similar to Zen for Nothing

Special Flight(2011)

Switzerland still carries out special flights, where passengers, dressed in diapers and helmets, are chained to their seats for 40 hours at worst. They are accompanied by police officers and immigration officials. The passengers are flown to their native countries, where they haven't set foot in in up to twenty years, and where their lives might be in danger. Children, wives and work are left behind in Switzerland. Near Geneva, in Frambois prison, live 25 illegal immigrants waiting for deportation. They are offered an opportunity to say goodbye to their families and return to their native countries on a regular flight, escorted by plain-clothes police officers. If they refuse this offer, the special flight is arranged fast and unexpectedly. The stories behind the locked cells are truly heartbreaking.

The Making of a Japanese(2024)

Intimately following 1st and 6th graders at a public elementary school in Tokyo, we observe kids learning the traits necessary to become part of Japanese society.

How to Cook Your Life(2007)

A Zen priest in San Francisco and cookbook author use Zen Buddhism and cooking to relate to everyday life.

Kampai! Sake Sisters(2019)

Sake is a traditional alcoholic beverage from Japan and is otherwise known as rice wine. Women were prohibited from entering the many large and small sake breweries dotting Japan for centuries. However, times have changed and women are present on the sake scene today. In several cases, they are integral to the Japanese brewery business. The documentary depicts women who are not only enthusiasts, but also leaving their marks on the evolution of this Japanese mainstay.

JAPlan(1984)

A portrait of the German electronic band "Der Plan". Büld follows the band on their tour through Japan.

Tokyo Freeters(2011)

In Japan, more than four million young people survive by taking on precarious jobs. They are called “freeters”. The film gives voice to these “discard-after-use” workers, who regard their situation with both lucidity and desperation, as well as to ex-freeters who have become activists in the fight against exclusions.

Attack! The Battle for New Britain(1944)

Actual footage by the United States Signal Corps of the landing and attack on Arawe Beach, Cape Glouster, New Britain island in 1943 in the South Pacific theatre of World War Two, and the handicaps of the wild jungle in addition to the Japanese snipers and pill-box emplacements.

Que viva Mauricio Demierre(2006)

Reiwa Uprising(2019)

Kazuo Hara follows Ayumi Yasutomi, a transgender candidate, who is also a Tokyo University professor, as she embarks on a national campaign for a seat in Japan's Upper House.

Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire(2004)

Japan blossomed into its Renaissance at approximately the same time as Europe. Unlike the West, it flourished not through conquest and exploration, but by fierce and defiant isolation. And the man at the heart of this empire was Tokugawa Ieyasu, a warlord who ruled with absolute control. This period is explored through myriad voices-- the Shogun, the Samurai, the Geisha, the poet, the peasant and the Westerner who glimpsed into this secret world.

Cat Nation(2017)

A journey into the unique, often bizarre, world of Japanese cat culture. Cat themed cafes, bars, temples, cat islands, cats with human jobs, cat friendly businesses, and the origins of the iconic beckoning cat statue.

White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki(2007)

Steven Okazaki presents a deeply moving look at the painful legacy of the first -- and hopefully last -- uses of nuclear weapons in war. Featuring interviews with fourteen atomic bomb survivors - many who have never spoken publicly before - and four Americans intimately involved in the bombings, White Light/Black Rain provides a detailed exploration of the bombings and their aftermath.

Magic Radio(2007)

Radios echo across Niger, connecting lives through news, music, and debate. This gripping doc explores how this everyday device becomes a lifeline in a changing nation.

Markus Jura Suisse(1996)

The Road to the Tokyo Olympics(1963)

A documentary film that includes footage of past Olympics held in different countries with an particular emphasis on the activities and successes of Japanese athletes and how they are currently (circa 1963) improving themselves.

Dimitri - Clown(2004)

The Congress of Penguins(1993)

The real place where the penguin congress takes place is also the most fictional place on this planet where you can stand on your own two legs. Here, even the animals can talk. This land of dreams and nightmares is called Antarctica. In this desert of ice surrounded by a stormy sea, a few dozen human beings also live. Using sophisticated instruments, they observe the worrying changes affecting our world: the hole in the ozone layer, climate change, and so on.

ONE OK ROCK with Orchestra Japan Tour 2018(2019)

ONE OK ROCK with Orchestra Japan Tour 2018 features the final performance of the special concert held at Osaka-jo Hall in October 2018, where the band performed with a 53-member orchestra, alongside footage from the Saitama Super Arena show. The release also includes a 100-page booklet packed with newly shot member photos, commentary, live reports, and interviews with the production team, offering a deeply engaging read.

GLOW(2023)

She was a muse, model and performer – a star, dazzling and intense. Lady Shiva managed to rise from street prostitution to the top. She lived in the fast lane and died tragically young. Her dream was to become a singer. With her companions, we trace her life during a vibrant time that kindles a yearning and provokes until today. The story of a woman’s meteoric fate and a great dream. An irrepressible desire for freedom in all its beauty and destructive force - and a stirring friendship and love.

Le Hibou et la baleine, Nicolas Bouvier(1993)