Do you want to know where to watch free movies based on Haruki Murakami books or stories on the Internet?
You can find it all with the magic of Google Search.
All these free film adaptations are indexed in Google search results page (SERP).
They are all curated in this blog post.
Because of copyright infringement, I have removed all the direct links, except those from YouTube.
But you can still look for them, as I show you where and how to find these free movies online.
But you can still find them in the archived version of this post.
Below is a list of Haruki Murakami film adaptations where you can watch these movies free online right away.
By the way, not all of the adaptations of Haruki Murakami’s work are feature-length films or movies, but a number of them are short films.
Among the movies based on Haruki Murakami books which are critically successful are: “Norwegian Wood”, “Tony Takitani” and the 2022 Best International Film Oscar winner “Drive My Car”.
There is no “Kafka On The Shore” movie as to date.
But there is a theatrical adaptation of this Murakami’s award-winning novel by Ninagawa Company.
Among the cast are Rie Miyazawa, Naohito Fujiki, Nino Furuhata, Anne Suzuki and Hayato Kakizawa.
Movies and short films based on Haruki Murakami books and short stories are:
- Hear The Wind Sing (風の歌を聴け)
- A Girl, She Is 100% (100%の女の子)
- Acoustic (어쿠스틱)
- Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman (Saules Aveugles, Femme Endormie)
- All God’s Children Can Dance (神の子どもたちはみな踊る)
- Burning (버닝)
- Norwegian Wood (ノルウェイの森)
- Attack On A Bakery (パン屋襲撃)
- The Second Bakery Attack
- Drive My Car (ドライブ・マイ・カー)
- Toni Takitani (トニー滝谷)
- Hanalei Bay (ハナレイ・ベイ)
I have managed to locate all these movies and short films adapted from Haruki Murakami stories from the Internet, which you can view for free.
Free Movies Based On Haruki Murakami Books
Haruki Murakami’s evocative, often surreal novels and short stories have captivated millions.
The distinctive moods and quiet melancholy of his work translate strikingly to the screen.
For fans of literary fiction and international cinema, these adaptations offer a compelling visual lens through which to experience Murakami’s recurring themes.
These themes include loneliness, the search for meaning, parallel worlds, and the transformative power of music.
Take your time to view this collection of feature movies and short films based on works by Haruki Murakami.
Hear The Wind Sing (風の歌を聴け, Kaze no uta o kike)
This is adapted from Murakami’s first novel of the same name.
It is about a student returning to his seaside hometown in Kobe for the summer school break.
The movie revolves around this student, his friend by the name of Rat, and also getting involved with a girl with a missing pinkie, who works in a record store.
To watch this free Japanese movie: Hear The Wind Sing with English subtitle, go to ok.ru/video and in the search box, type: Hear The Song Of The Wind (1982) Director; Kazuki Omori, Cast; Kaoru Kobayashi, Kimie Shingyoji, Kai Ato
Similarly type: Hear The Wind Sing free movie vk in Google Search. (this video clip no English subtitles)
Tony Takitani (トニー滝谷 ,Tonî Takitani)
It is based on Haruki Murakami’s short story about isolation, loneliness and obsession with expensive clothes.
This 2004 film cast are: Issei Ogata, Rie Miyazawa, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Takahumi Shinohara, and Miho Fujima.
It was directed by writer-director Jun Ichikawa.
The entire soundtrack of this Japanese movie is composed by the famous Ryuichi Sakamoto.
Ryuichi Sakamoto is the award-winning film score composer for other movies which include “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence”, “The Last Emperor”, “The Sheltering Sky”, “Little Buddha”, and “The Revenant”.
The story is about a guy called Tony Takitani, a mechanical illustrator.
He had a solitary childhood, as his mother died young and his father was always away with his jazz band.
He married Eiko, who is obsessed with shopping for expensive clothes and accessories.
Tony’s wife was killed in a car crash after returning the clothes to her favorite boutique.
In this Haruki Murakami film adaptation, former model-actress Rie Miyazawa acted two roles: Konuma Eiko and Hisako.
To watch Tony Takitani full movie online free with English subtitle, type: Takitani full movie in Google Search. Similarly go to ok.ru/video and in the search box, type: Tony Takitani 2004 [Jun Ichikawa]
Here is another source which comes in five parts: Go to dailymotion.com, and type:
Tony.Takitani.2004.p1, and you can find all the five parts there.
A Girl, She Is 100% (100%の女の子, 100% no onna no ko)
This 1983 short film is directed by Naoto Yamakawa, and stars Kassei Kumamoto, Shigeru Muroi and Kazunao Sakaguchi.
This is Yamakawa’s second adaptation of a Haruki Murakami story (following Attack On A Bakery).
It is about a young man passes a young woman in a Harajuku side street.
Thinking that she is the 100% perfect girl for him. He contemplates on how he should have approached her. To be certain they are meant for each other, they part ways and let destiny takes its course.
You can watch this free movie in YouTube.
Likewise go to dailymotion.com and type: A Girl She is 100 Percent, or go to ok.ru/video and type: A Girl, She Is 100% (100%の女の子) [English Subtitles]
Attack On A Bakery (パン屋襲撃, Pan ya shūgeki)
The title of this Japanese short story is translated in English as either “Bakery Attack” or “Attack On A Bakery”.
This 16-minute 1982 short film directed is by Naoto Yamakawa.
The story about two desperate hungry youths who rob a bakery run by a Wagner-enthusiast communist.
Before they can carry out their their attack, they have to wait for an a young lady customer; still in the bakery, indecisively choosing between a Japanese pastry and French croissants.
The casts are: Cho Ban-Ho, Shigeru Muroi (indecisive lady customer) , Koen Okumura (baker) and Taro Suwa.
Watch the free Japanese short film “Attack On A Bakery” in YouTube.
Similarly you can view it free by going to ok.ru/video and type: Naoto Yamakawa – attack on the bakery hardsubs en
Acoustic” (어쿠스틱, Eo-ku-seu-tik)
This is another adaptation of the “Bakery Attack”.
It is found in the episode two of the three-part South Korean omnibus film titled “Acoustic” (어쿠스틱, Eo-ku-seu-tik) .
It is about a group of young twenty-somethings Koreans getting involved in love, hope, and music.
The movie is set within the Hongdae area of Seoul.
The film comes in two parts as available on YouTube.
To watch this adaptation of “Bakery Attack”, click on the two links below from YouTube:
Part One, Part Two
The Second Bakery Attack (パン屋再襲撃, Pan’ya saishūgeki)
The Second Bakery Attack is a short story was originally published in the August 1985 issue of Marie Claire Japan.
It is a sequel to Murakami’s short story “Bakery Attack”, which was published in 1981.
Watch the free full 2010 Mexican-American version directed by Carlos Cuarón at YouTube.
It stars Kirsten Dunst and Brian Geraghty.
But I managed to get hold of two other adaptations.
The Second Bakery Attack
This version is in English together with subtitle, and directed by Zhenzhong Zhu is found in YouTube.
All God’s Children Can Dance (神の子どもたちはみな踊る, Kami no kodomotachi wa mina odoru)
This 2007 film adaptation of a Haruki Murakami story is directed by Robert Logevall.
This is one of the six short stories found in “After The Quake”.
This Murakami’s tale is about a guy called Kengo and his quest for his real father, set in Los Angeles’ Korea Town.
Interestingly, Kengo believes that his real father is God!
The cast include: Joan Chen, Jason Lew (as Kengo), Sonja Kinski, Tzi Ma, John Fleck, Darlene Kardon, Eden Rountree, Tara Brook and Yuriana Kim.
To watch the movie, type: ok.ru/video All God’s Children Can Dance in Google Search.
Norwegian wood (ノルウェイの森, Noruwei no mori)
This 2010 Japanese romantic drama film directed by Tran Anh Hung.
It is about Toru Watanabe who recalls his life in the 1960s, when his friend Kizuki killed himself and he grew close to Naoko, Kizuki’s depressive girlfriend.
Then he also fell for another girl, Midori, who is a wilful free-spirit.
The cast are: Kenichi Matsuyama (as Toru Watanabe), Kiko Mizuhara (as Midori), Rinko Kikuchi (as Naoko), Kengo Kora (as Kizuki),Tetsuji Tamayama (as Nagasawa), Eriko Hatsune (as Hatsumi) and Reika Kirishima (as Reiko Ishida)
To watch this free full feature film Norwegian Wood with English subtitle in YouTube.
Similarly go to ok.ru/video and type: Seventwenty-norwegian.wood-1
Hanalei Bay (ハナレイ・ベイ,Hanarei Bei)
This 2018 Japanese film is adapted from short story of the same title by Haruki Murakami.
This Murukami short story is from his 2005 Japanese publication “Strange Tales From Tokyo” (東京奇譚集, Tokyo Ki Tan Syu).
Hanalei Bay is also included in the 2006 short story collection “Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman” (めくらやなぎと眠る女).
It is about Sachi who is a single mother and the owner of a piano bar.
One day Sachi receives a tragic phone call about her son, Takashi who died from a shark attack while surfing in Hanalei Bay, Hawaii.
Since then Sachi has been visiting Hanalei Bay every year on her son’s death anniversary date.
On the 10th anniversary of her son’s death, Sachi meets two Japanese surfers who tell her about a young mysterious surfer with one leg, who goes by the name Takashi.
To watch “Hanalei Bay” movie, go to YouTube.
Again, you can also ok.ru/video and type: [Архи] Залив Ханалей \ Hanalei Bay. 2018 [оригинал] (Chinese subtitles) or HANALEI.BAY.2018 [Pico]480p.mp4 (Malay subtitles).
Alternatively, you can go to https://irozuku.org/fansub and type: Hanalei Bay (2018)
Drive My Car (ドライブ・マイ・カー, Doraibu Mai Kā)
This 2021 award-winning Japanese drama film is based on Haruki Murakami’s short story of the same title “Drive My Car” (ドライブ・マイ・カー) and his other two short stories “Scheherazade” (木野) and “Kino” (シェエラザード).
These three stories are included Murakami’s 2014 collection of short stories “Men Without Women” (女のいない 男たち).
This film adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s story directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi has received many international awards, since it premiered at the 74th Cannes Film Festival in July, 2021.
The film “Drive My Car” won the Best International Feature Film and received three other nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay at the 94th Academy Awards.
It is about a stage actor and director Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima) who is still coping with the demise of his wife Oto (Reika Kirishima).
Yusuke accepts an invitation to direct an experimental multilingual production of Anton Chekhov’s play “Uncle Vanya“.
They engaged a female chauffeur, a quiet 20-something woman named Misaki (Tôko Miura).
Both of them become friends, sharing the same regret for the past and life’s missed opportunities.
To sum it up, “Drive My Car” is about grief, pain, guilt, shame, and the interface between art and life.
Watch the free full film “Drive My Car” in two parts, go to dailymotion.com and search: Drive My Car (2021) Watch HD – Part 01, and you can both parts in the search results page.
Burning (버닝, Beoning)
This 2018 South Korean psychological thriller film is loosely based on the short story “Barn Burning” by Haruki Murakami.
It is about Lee Jong-su, an aspiring young novelist, who does odd jobs in Paju. He meets his childhood female friend, Shin Hae-mi and starts a relationship.
Then she asks him to look after her cat while she’s on a trip to Africa. When back, she introduces Ben, a mysterious guy who confesses every two months, he burns an abandoned greenhouse.
It stars Yoo Ah-in, Steven Yeun, and Jeon Jong-seo.
You can watch Burning full movie free online by going to https://himovies.sx and search for: Burning
Note: There is another short story with the same name “Barn Burning” by American William Faulkner.
It is about class conflicts, the influence of fathers and vengeance.
To read this free short story “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner, click on this: Link
In 1980, this Faulkner’s story was adapted into a short film of the same name by director Peter Werner.
It starred Tommy Lee Jones as Abner Snopes.
Sorry, there is no free film available online.
In fact, back in 1958, Martin Ritt directed a film called “The Long, Hot Summer” featuring the screen legend Paul Newman.
It is also based on three of Faulkner’s works including “Barn Burning.”
To watch this free full film “The Long, Hot Summer” with English subtitle, type: ok.ru/video The Long, Hot Summer in Google Search.
There is also a 1995 Malaysian adaptation titled “The Arsonist” (Malay: Kaki Bakar) directed by U-Wei Haji Saari.
To watch the free Malay film “The Arsonist (Kaki Bakar) with English subtitle, type: ok.ru/video kaki bakar in Google Search.
Hope you enjoy viewing all these free movies based on Haruki Murakami books or stories and the other films as well.
DISCLAIMER: I do not host any of the movies here. They are copyrighted to their respective owners. All content cited is derived from their respective sources.