The story is ok. It is not the age gap. The actor who played Yoichi portrayed the sad emotions and insensitiveness required of his character well. Sakurai handled the maturity of his character well. But what was lacking is the chemistry. The Chemistry to bind the two characters acting well for this love story was missing. That makes everything less interesting. Even though the actors put an effort to justify their roles, the lack of chemistry makes it looks like the actors have not put in enough effort. If you look at the intimate scenes, it looks like the actors are unwilling or awkward(in a bad way) to do it. And that really put me off. Oh come on Sakurai San, you need to show the intense love in a very expressive way. Minagawa Kun also need to be more expressive. I felt Minagawa was intense but need to be expressive. These subtle expressions would have paid off in a big way if these two had Chemistry.
I liked the music part.
If you are expecting an intense love story, you might be a bit disappointed. Still if you have nothing else to do and just need to kill time, then watch it.
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Story: I find the premise (after reading the movie summary) to be "cute", however, I had a high expectation going in that
I thought the story would unfold with more plot elements than what I have read. So either the person who summarized the movie
was pretty good or that the story did not live up to it.
Acting / Cast: Aside from some of them being eye candy (one in particular), I can say that the acting is quite run-of-the-mill and
nothing that stood out that I would give any of them an Oscar, but they were believable enough in their roles that I did not spit out laughing inappropriately.
Music: I really don't pay attention unless it's pretty amazing or pretty horrible, I guess it didn't fall in either bucket.
Re-watch Value: Nah, I don't re-watch movies or dramas unless they are playing in a TV screen somewhere and I'm too lazy to change the channel,
which it ain't happening with this one as I had to scour the good old net to watch this movie.
What I liked: There were a few adorable moments (like the awkward lip to lip action - if you can call it that) and maybe I just got curious of how they
would end up or tackle the age-gap issue that Kazuaki kept bringing it up.
What I didn't like: If Kazuaki was so hung up on the fact that he was so much older than Yoichi, why did he keep going back to Yoichi's house with
different excuses? I can't say more than what is beyond the scope of the summary. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against May-December romances,
but when one is just barely going out of his teenage years, and the other almost as old as his father.....what could be really holding them both together
except attraction or curiosity maybe?
They already have enough challenges as it is, being both males in a very restricted culture, and to compound on
that their age gap issue, and other difficulties (like when Kazuaki gets transferred to Osaka).
Would Yoichi's young shoulders be able to handle all these then?
I wanted the movie to address these questions, I guess I wasn't satisfied with the answers to give the movie a 10.
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This review may contain spoilers
As of 1:13:58 I've had to pause it to not put my foot through the screen, I'm so freaking annoyed. On what level is it fair that Sakurai got to say all he wanted to say (which was some dumb shit in the first place.) "If you were a girl" --Bitch, the fuck does that matter?! Because sex matters when you care about someone?Like I give him props to seeing their age difference and even he is trying to be like "errrr no. This ain't it" kinda thing, which I can respect. But I'm still super pissed off that Yoichi ALWAYS has to find out things from other people rather than Sakurai just telling him to his face. Not to mention back to what I was saying at first, he got to get everything off his chest but the second Yoichi tried to say something, Sakurai walked away. Are you kidding me? Why do you get to clear your mind on him but he can't say shit to you? Sakurai acts like such a fucking child, it drives me up the wall!
Fujimoto is just weird to me honestly. He comes in randomly then suddenly inserts himself into everything wanting to live in the house then suddenly it's "I'm in love with you Yoichi!" --Bro, WHAT?! Who even ARE YOU?! And why are you even here. Because when you first showed up it seemed like all you were about was the house. It feels like you loving Yoichi is just a "in" into the house to live there. If that's not the reason, my bad. But it's the vibe I get. And it's kinda creepy.
EDIT: Okay if he meant what he said that whole scene with Yoichi then I do kinda feel bad for him... Or maybe it's the tears. Maybe I have a soft spot for the tears. Lol but either way, he sounded like he really meant that he loved him...
All in all, it had it's cute moments, but not enough for me to really like this movie. Plus the pace drug ass, honestly. Wasn't much for me to like about it.
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1This review may contain spoilers
Can see where they were going with it, but it's poorly executed.
Where do I begin....After reading a few comments mentioning the snail pace of the movie, the awkward intimacy, the uncomfortable age gap, and still deciding to watch it - what surprised me the most is that none of those aspects are the ones that bothered me. From the first 5 minutes of the movie, I even thought I'll come to like it (ooh boy).
What did bother me is the normalization and romanticisation of the foundations of this relationship.
Sakurai is a 37 year old man who acts as if he has never been in a relationship before, and hence he does not know how to behave and control himself. He is displayed as the type of person to pick up a hobby (such as caring for a houseplant) and then neglecting and abandoning it after the novelty wears off. He proceeds to intrude on and quickly advance with a new housebody, the 19 year old Yoichi.
Yoichi lives a lonely life despite the fact that he's surrounded by 3 other tenants; whose backgrounds, personalities or significance are non-existent, as the only purpose they serve is to not only overlook the problematic advancement of this middle-aged stranger on their vulnerable 'friend', but to even encourage it, since that's probably cheaper than therapy.
Yoichi is just a kid who grew up surrounded by the rumour that his parents committed suicide together, hence abandoning their unloved son. His fist ever sexual awakening occurs due to a simple coincidence that Sakurai could guess what he was painting and could sense happiness emanating from Yoichi when he paints.
The setting couldn't be simpler - An emotionally stunted, depressed boy with daddy issues projects his need for a father figure and a sexual partner onto Sakurai, who, as a pent-up workaholic, can not keep it in his pants and upon realizing that he bit off more than he could chew, runs away. The only sensible thought that man coughed up was that their generation gap makes him uncomfortable.... and then proceeded to give the already constipated boy mixed messages and a game of push and pull (in the form of awkward hugs, fervent sleazy kisses, avoiding him, and at the end literally walking out in a middle of conversation).
The actor playing classmate Fujimoto, is out of place with how his acting is far better than all the characters combined.
In a nutshell, the movie was uncomfortable to watch. The overall vibe felt like a BL from 2000s Japan: undercooked and overly dramatized, but with really neat cinematography. If the ending was tweaked a bit and the couple did not end up together, making it a learning slope for Yoichi (such is life), then at least the whole situationship would not be painted rosy.
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This review may contain spoilers
This was a strange little movie. A 19-year-old art student falls in love with a man twice his age. And the man, an art photographer, falls for him, too. But then the man is transferred to another city. What now? And... that's the movie.What was interesting to me? That the student's, Yoichi's, loved ones didn't care about the fact that he fell for a man or that the man could be his father, they were simply glad that Yoichi finally felt something for anyone. Yoichi was namely very, very closed off because of what happened to his family years back so seeing him finally come out of his shell? That was enough for those who took care of him to be grateful so they all supported his feelings. That was a nice change from the usual hateful reaction of various family members in other dramas.
Also! This movie features Shiono Akihisa AKA Toujo from Zettai BL! He plays another gay character here because his Fujimoto also falls for Yoichi.
Overall, not a bad movie. Very quiet and atmospheric sice it mostly takes places in or around Yoichi's house with cicadas chirping in the background...
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A Reflection of Queer Relationships
I could not sleep early on a Saturday morning, and this movie’s review came up on YouTube feed out of nowhere. So, on a whim, I decided to watch it. Before you know it, I had finished it and had become so engrossed in its plot and story, I found myself caring about these characters with a certain sense of affection. I found myself teary eyed and gently weeping for them. It is an intensely gut-wrenching film that is deeper than it is given credit for.I was shocked and dismayed at how poor the reviews were for this movie. I do not understand. I loved it. To be sure, it does not move mountains, but it is not meant to do so. It is a story about two misfit loners who happen to find each other at exactly the right moment in their lives in exactly the right space that connected them to a feeling of fruition. They found each other’s treasured one.
Read the complete article here-
https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/04/19/does-the-flower-bloom-movie-review/
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A Meditative Intensity Story
I could not sleep early on a Saturday morning, and this movie’s review came up in YouTube out of nowhere. So, on a whim, I decided to watch it. Before you know it, I had finished it and had become so engrossed in its plot and story, I found myself caring about these characters with a certain sense of affection. I found myself teary eyed and gently sobbing for them. It is an intensely gut-wrenching film that is deeper than it is given credit for. I was shocked and dismayed at how poor the reviews were for this movie. I do not understand. I loved it. To be sure, it does not move mountains, but it is not meant to do so. It is a story about two misfit loners who happen to find each other in exactly the right space at exactly the right moment in their lives that connected them in a feeling of fruition. They found each other’s cherished one.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Worth the watch
Firstly, I watched this after a few fluff bl so was pleasantly surprised.The spark that Youchi feels stems from Sakurai on meeting him immediately understood his art. Those around him took care to keep him safe but did not understand his expression on canvas. Youchi feels drawn to him. Sakurai, himself, burnt out by his uneventful life, welcomes the attention though struggles to understand why he is attracted to Youchi as this is his first male awakening.
Their conversations are always introspective. At times the age gap is glaring and sometimes not. Yoichi, blunt and direct, forces Sakurai to acknowledge who is creating the distance between them. I should mention that Youchi's immediate family and cohabitants all welcomed and encouraged the relationship as this was the first person that he had opened himself up to.
Then enters Fujimoto. School mate and age appropriate sees Sakurai as a threat. He doesn't waste any moment to remind Sakurai how obscene a man of his age looks when pursuing a boy half his age. His sole purpose to win Youchi fails as he cannot compare to the clarity and bond they share. He cannot see the unfinished painting as flowers which Sakurai readily saw on their first meeting.
Youchi, after a break period between them, understands that Sakurai was waiting for him to come out of his cocoon, come to terms with his past and truly form a stronger bond if they are to be together. Sakurai realised that conforming to other perceptions of their relationship (gay, older man, lover) would not bring the happiness he craved.
Pros:
Pacing was slow which allowed the story to evolve.
The family members, rather than having unnecessary interactions, was used as a vehicle for clarity as Youchi barely spoke.
Main actors embodied their roles.
Scenery suited the mood.
Non visual sex scene was alluded to by the lowering of Sakurai's hand. Perfect for this movie.
Cons:
Fujimoto rushed brashness felt out of place. Probably used to make the viewer like Sakurai more.
Sakurai appeared older than 37 in body movements. Who would get angry at 37 with being caught in a water fight?
At no time was it shown that his family had a chat with Youchi about his living outside of the bubble and the expectations that may be imposed by the public upon viewing their relationship. Their stance was Youchi seems to want this, let's make sure it happens. Except, for Takeo who questioned Sakurai's motives but still pushed for it to happen by supplying Youchi's number.
The subdued mood of Youchi throughtout did nothing to help the lack of chemistry between them. Not even with Fujimoto.
Beautiful moment:
Y: Flowers must be watered everyday
S: I'll call you everyday
Y: This flower will bloom right?
S: Yeah, this time it will bloom. It will definitely bloom.
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Mixed feelings.
There mixed feeling from my side but also from the all plot.Yhe movie itself produced very well, you can drown into the scene, feel every moment, i really liked it a lot, the way they film it , the tenssion, the waiting . everything was perfect like a really good japanese classic film should be.
But.. i have mixed feelings and after i read the other reviews i understand more why.
The actors are not have perfect chemistry, they are good actors, especially the old one, but i feel the young actor is not enough into the character, and maybe it's not his fault, the plot itself is lacking,it's half story, not so mature story, and you figure out that it's based on manga probably for teens, it can't be deep enough to fill a full movie plot, the is a conflict- in one hand the production is in really high quality, artistic, and other hand- the plot is lacking, there are holls...it could not carry the weight of the production.
the moments of the couple are very good, they are passionet, you don't need the kiss to feel the passion, but still again- conflicts.
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i watched shows that dont have a kiss scene and still rated them high because my priority is a great plot and chemistry thats what this serie lacks.. many people are complaining about the age difference but i didnt even care, as long as both are legal, but the other issues tho...
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