There is RAPE – very GRAPHIC. This is not a spoiler, this is a warning. If you cannot stomach that, then don't watch it. I found it as unexpected as I did in A Round Trip to Love – very GRAPHIC and Together With Me.
This is an manga based movie. Of all the mangas, yaoi mangas, they could have picked from to turn into a film they chose this one boggles the mind. I went to read the manga* after this travesty to see if I could rationalize this travesty, however two things seemed to happen:
Questions:
1) did the scriptwriters feel they had to remain faithful to the manga?! 2Moons scriptwriters felt the same to their doom.
2) why choose such a poorly conceptualized story? - was it b/c of the popularity of Nodame Cantabile?
I didn’t have a clue for no.1 b/c really that leaves the characters utterly one dimensional and useless. As for no.2, It covers 2 points. The massive craze over BL that has taken over East Asian girls and international girls and men across the board. fujoshi fandom love. In addition, you get to tap into the Nodame Cantabile craze. Mentally it's a win-win. Problem is everything else.
This is a horribly conceptualized story about obsessive love, control, rape, cognitive dissonance, and abuse. We have an individual who will leave everything in his world behind, everything he has owned and search to the ends of the Earth to find this fig mental "thing" he has deemed his love. Then he will take what he "loves" and FORCE it to "love" him back. DEMAND it. The absurdity of it all is that everyone around the victim seems to believe the victim was blessed to be loved in such a way. The victim sees the absurdity of the situation but then falls prey to this thinking and believes the lie of those around him.
** You don't need to read the manga to understand film. I never read before the film. I just read it to see if I could rationalize something. However, it was a direct copy. It did help me in thinking through some of the ideas a bit. Not much.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Don't watch it! You'll regret it! (This movie doesn't deserve the overall user rating it has)
One word: Rape. Rape that is excused and diminished. It's treated like he just accidentally stepped on him. That's how much they don't care about it and act like it's nothing. Everyone, including the victim, acts like it's something to just move on from and forgive and forget. Not okay! And "cultural differences" is not a valid explanation/excuse. He also almost rapes him a second time!
There have been some shows and movies I've watched with some questionable consent scenes. I can dismiss these scenes (majority being kisses obviously) for a lot of shows/movies, because it's questionable At Worst, they have only completely consensual scenes from then on, and I recognize that it's not real. There have also been some (like Love by Chance) where there is a side couple that has a rape scene and uses it as a romantic trope, which is absolutely gross. I can skip it and watch the other couple/couples and be fine, because they aren't the focus.
This is not the case with this film. This film has one "couple." And it's not questionable consent at all; it's undeniably rape. I couldn't look past it or skip it. This was a waste of my precious time on this earth.
The only thing I'm getting out of watching this is that it was another movie added to my watchlist. That's it. I saw a thing. Unfortunately, it was horrible.
Was this review helpful to you?
A first
So this was my first Japanese BL movie, and although I didn't go into it with high expectations, it was an okay movie.There is RAPE – very GRAPHIC. This is not a spoiler, this is a warning. If you cannot stomach that, then don't watch it.
This is a horribly conceptualized story about obsessive love, control, rape, cognitive dissonance, and abuse. We have an individual who will leave everything in his world behind, everything he has owned and search to the ends of the Earth to find this fig mental "thing" he has deemed his love. Then he will take what he "loves" and FORCE it to "love" him back. DEMAND it. The absurdity of it all is that everyone around the victim seems to believe the victim was blessed to be loved in such a way. The victim sees the absurdity of the situation but then falls prey to this thinking and believes the lie of those around him.
Since this was my first Japanese manga, I didn't get the whole story line. the start the over-acting was hilarious - yeah bad acting - but it was funny and wasn't taking this seriously, as also found some of the character's likeable - not Natsuko (who just went from bad character to worse!) but other character's in that orchestra where quirky and fun to watch.
Defiantly not a good start to the JP Drama!!!
Recommendations are welcomed for any good Japanese BL Dramas!!!
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
a relic best left in the past (major trigger/content warning below)
Overall: I want the time that I spent watching this back. If you want m/m romance, please go and watch, literally... anything else. This is adapted from a manga/anime which I haven't seen and I'm reviewing it on its own merits/flaws. Watched on GagaOOLala.Content Warnings: rape (graphic and a long scene), ptsd, manipulation, victim blaming, manhandling, physical violence, second attempted sexual assault
What I Liked
- it looked like they had some actual musicians for some scenes/shots
- some acting was okay
- the conductor did apologize so he wasn't a 100% sociopath, but still a really awful human
Room For Improvement
- most live action dub/non con in BL/Yaoi has some element of the FICTIONAL mouth says no but body says yes, it turns consensual at some point. But nope, this was full on non con from the beginning to the end and it was awful to watch.
- that pos (piece of sh*t) "friend" told him it wasn't that bad, he was only raped once in a crowded restaurant and her drinking doesn't make her any less of a pos
- her indirect kiss was awful
- that conductor said he was sorry and wouldn't do it again and then basically almost rapes him a second time!!!
- how on earth did he all of a sudden think "my beloved"???
- character repeatedly says that he can't love men and he's not gay- that conductor's flashback at the end was terrible, so he had a love a first sight and that gives him the right to rape another person, WTH?!?!
- open/confusing ending, so they don't end up in a romantic relationship? I want them to never see each other again. Actually I want the conductor to spend some time in jail, therapy and have to give financial restitution.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Yes this is that bad - if i could, would give this minus 10 stars!
like WTAF was this plot and i get that in manga world, Everything goes - but when ur adapting it, shouldn't u rewrite this mess?!? i should've "listened" to other commenters warnings, not to waste my time on this - but laughed at their comments and curiosity made me watch - wondering "...how bad could it get..." - Oh it was as bad as everyone said, heck it was worse -i donno in which universe, infatuation and love is an excuse to rape - even if Tonoin for a sec though Yuuki was gay - is that the go-to(?) gay guy's just force themselves on the person they find attractive(?!?) and that's how the relationship starts? - really? like WTF is wrong with Tonoin that he comes-up with this kind of logic, and then he not ashamed, but calling Natsuko - why? who she too Yuuki, talk about adding insult to injury - considering how she acted -
as is from the start the over-acting was hilarious - yeah Bad acting - but it was funny and wasn't taking this seriously, as also found some of the character's likeable - not Natsuko (who just went from bad character to worse!) but other character's in that orchestra where quirky and fun to watch. and then that out of the blue rape scene where Yuuki's acting was killing me - like come on, he not serious - its not like he a teen girl that can't over come the body-builder Tonoin. and yet he can't cause that's how its written and then he actually falls asleep in his rapists bed?!? and the morning after he still lounging about in his underwear instead of legging it?!?
guess someone should rape the writer, so they get how illogical that whole scene was (let alone how insulting it was to real victim's out there and the trauma they have to live with for life) - but the idiocy was just starting - of course after u get raped u fantasize about "getting it on" with ur rapist - and then the cherry on-top, a drunk Natsuko taking Yuuki out for drinks and telling him "so what if u got raped once" saying "he won" i seriously would've slapped her sober, if i was in the pub and not just looked on shocked like the other patrons -
a woman talking this kind of crap and down-playing rape - telling Yuuki he was making a mountain out of a molehill was infuriating to watch - Yuuki actually taking Natsuko's words to heart and acting on them, just added fuel to the raging anger in me, watching this crap -
of course it doesn't get better... and seeing Tonoin side doesn't exonerate the f*cker and Yuuki (at the end) making some grand sacrifice for the orchestra, makes this a total disaster of a movie - that i wish i had never wasted my time on
Was this review helpful to you?
Další japonský snímek, který vzbuzuje spíše odsouzení u velké části diváků, kteří nechápou jeho smysl, proč byl vyroben a pro koho. Sex, tvrdý sex, vynucovaný sex, znásilnění. To jsou všechno prvky yaoi mangy tak, jak si je v průběhu mnoha desetiletí postupně japonské dívky a ženy vynutily, nebo lépe řečeno, takto byla určena pravidla, která se Japonkám líbí. Nemá cenu se divit, proč ve filmu po znásilnění ani nenásleduje odsouzení druhých. Jediné, co mi trošku vadilo bylo to, že Yuuki (i po devíti letech stále roztomilý herec Takasaki Shota), koncertní mistr, neuměl ve skutečnosti hrát na housle ani omylem.
Was this review helpful to you?
So wrong and raw, but shows rarely seen emotions.
In a nutshell you have a conductor who fell in love with a violinist, his love turned to obsession and a need to possess him. It becomes quite tragic where that leads him.The violinist may, or may not, be gay -- the one thing that's very clear is that he currently believes he's straight but also is confused about his sexuality. (as seen by the dream he had about the conductor)
The violinist is in love with the female flutist -- but she falls for the new conductor -- who has fallen for the violinist. It seems relatively straightforward until you witness the interactions and conversations they have.
The flutist is, in her own ways, equally as problematic and emotionally broken as the conductor, especially after you see her conversation with Yuuki in the bar when she's drunk. That's just a whole other level of messed up.
I can understand why so many people say that they are offended by this content, but honestly, if they're offended they should just turn it off and not watch it. I will have a significantly higher amount of respect for someone who says they don't like the content and that they're offended if they don't finish watching it than if they finish it and proceed to just bash the content and fail to see the deeper side that they were trying to illustrate.
Nowhere did the creators let us believe that the things that occurred were acceptable or romantic, but they showed us both a victim's angle and how a perpetrator could attempt to rationalize their actions, even when they know they were wrong. It also gives a deeper look into just how dark true jealousy can be and the things a person may wish for under abnormal circumstances. (I think in some ways I'm more horrified by the gal's comments & jealousy than I am regarding the conductor's actions)
All in all the movie isn't horrible, the acting was decent and the music was amazing. The story as a whole could've been better and had more detail and gone much further into exploring the emotions and what drives the characters. In the end it's certainly not for everyone. And that's okay. It's absolutely, positively OKAY to be offended and disgusted by the actions in this movie -- is also okay to just not watch it if you're that affected. There will always be others who can be objective and see the art and the lessons even in the most grotesque of works.
However, if you are the kind of person who can tolerate intense scenes and legit non-con but still be objective regarding the work and it has to offer, then I would recommend this. If you are someone who wants to avoid non-con at all costs, then I would say please don't even bother starting this.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
it's a whole movie not one scene
i wouldn't say it's good cuz it's actually bad , but if i have to be really honest as someone who has watched alot of bl's including one's with r@pe scenes, it was very bad in a cinematic view, r@pe can and should never be justified and i definitely don't enjoy watching those scene's either, and i definitely do not recommend watching it if you really don't like those typa scene's, but i also hated that people are acting like the r@pe scene is the whole movie(it is not, that scene is max 4 min) which is btw something people tend to do a lot but there is so much more to one story than just that but people look over it because of one bad scene, but at the same time i can't blame them too much cuz this movie was just too bad to really feel the emotions that the actor's where trying to convey, but it still kinda annoys me when people look past things because they feel worthless and only reminisce about specific scenes they can continue to talk aboutoverall this movie is not really recommended because of the weak execution of the story and lack of conveying important emotions to viewers
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Ne pas s'arrêter à la symphonie des apparences
Bon, j'ai longtemps hésité à regarder ce film car j'ai bien du lire et relire 2-3 fois les commentaires, mais pour le coup, ça n'a fait qu'attiser ma curiosité. Alors j'ai récupéré le film, j'ai appuyé sur play et j'ai commencé le visionnage en restant sur mon quant à soi, de toute façon j'étais prévenu.e.Avant de commencer à écrire mon avis, je tiens à préciser qu'il est possible que je parle de certaines choses très précises, que je signalerai en SPOIL, mais ne venez pas dire que vous n'avez pas été prévenus.
D'autre part, je ne vais pas revenir sur la fameuse scène, ou si peu, car tout le monde l'a fait en long en large et en travers ; oui, c'est horrible, c'est abominable, c'est impardonnable, c'est un viol quoi. Je vais ici parler du reste du film (si, si, je vous jure, y'a un film autour de cette scène).
J'espère ne blesser personne si j'utilise un trop franc parler mais je n'exprime ici que mon opinion.
Tout d'abord, le film m'a paru faire des clins d’œil ( ou des hommages), d'une part à l'animé Piano Forest par la découverte d'un génie en musique qui joue seul au milieu des arbres. D'autre part, le chef d'orchestre me fait penser à un autre qui lui ressemble étrangement dans le personnage de Terrence Fletcher du film Wiplash, même brutalité, même façon de traiter les musiciens, même talent,...
Tout ceci m'amène à parler des personnages et du triangle amoureux entre nos principaux. Il faut bien avouer qu'ils sont connectés ces trois là, mais celui qui en prend plein la tête c'est bien Morimura Yuki. En effet, d'un coté le chef d'orchestre qu'il respecte plus que tout pour son talent et pour le fait qu'en sa présence la musique jouée par l'orchestre devient bien meilleure, le traite comme un objet sous prétexte qu'il est amoureux de lui. Et de l'autre, la fille dont il est amoureux, non seulement en aime un autre mais en plus il s'agit de Tonoin Kei ET elle le traite, elle aussi comme un objet ( le coup du "bisou" par l’intermédiaire des lèvres de Morimura Yuki )pour espérer se rapprocher du chef d'orchestre.
D'ailleurs, quand on parle de Kawashima Natsuko, j'ai pu voir que tout le monde s'insurgeait du fait qu'elle minimise le viol que le héros a subi. Mais évidemment qu'elle le fait ! (là je m'attends à une levée de boucliers en règle...), il faut comprendre qu'elle agit comme ça parce que la personne qu'elle aime s'est tourné vers quelqu'un d'autre, qu'elle l'a rejetée en montrant ainsi qu'elle n'avait aucune importance. De ce fait,Kawashima Natsuko pense également, en gros, qu'elle ne sert à rien, qu'elle n'a, en quelque sorte, aucune légitimité à vivre, et donc, elle minimise les faits pour se donner une importance, une existence qu'elle pense avoir perdue, parce qu'elle pense ne pas pouvoir vivre sans être aimé.
D'ailleurs, elle le dit bien : "C'est merveilleux d'être aimé" et pas, c'est merveilleux d'aimer.
Enfin passons à Tonoin Kei car c'est lui le deuxième personnage central du film. Je pense qu'il a agi comme ça avec Morimura Yuki car, comme il le dit plus tard, et comme il le montre depuis le début, il a toujours eu l'habitude d'avoir tout ce qu'il voulait presque avant même qu'il le dise et il veut Morimura Yuki. D'ailleurs quand il décrit ce qu'il voit comme de l'amour, c'est la définition même de l’obsession. Il lui faut posséder les choses ou les gens pour qu'il ai l'impression d'exister et d'être maitre de sa vie. Car, comme on peut le voir dans la scène dans le bar, il n'est jamais maitre de sa vie ou de ses choix. On lui a toujours tout apporté sur un plateau mais, comme c'est un pur génie, le revers de la médaille est lourd à porter, il a les mains liées et on lui dit toujours ce qu'il devrait faire, c'est à devenir dingue.
Encore une fois, je ne cherche pas à l'excuser mais à comprendre son cheminement de pensée et sa façon de voir les choses.
Je voudrais revenir une dernière fois sur Morimura Yuki car j'ai pu lire aussi qu'on disait que lui aussi minimisait les actes qu'il avait subi. Je ne suis pas d'accord, jusqu'au générique il clame haut et fort qu'il ne le pardonnera pas mais ce qui lie tous les personnages, principaux comme secondaires, c'est la musique. Elle n'est pas là pour donner une excuse à faire le film. Les personnages aiment la musique, tous, et presque plus que leur vie pour ce qui concerne Morimura Yuki, en tout cas, c'est ainsi.
ATTENTION SPOIL
Il décide de rester et faire rester Tonoin Kei parce qu'il ne peut vivre sans la musique qu'ils parviennent à créer avec ce dernier. Ce n'est que pendant le générique de fin que ça change un peu mais là, on ne peut pas dire combien de temps a passé et si finalement il commence à le pardonner.
FIN DU SPOIL
Voilà, encore une fois, j'ai écris un roman, pardonnez moi mais j'avais vraiment envie de parler du film en lui-même et pas seulement de la scène en question. J'ai apprécié ce film en tout état de cause.
Maintenant, à vous de vous faire votre avis.
Was this review helpful to you?
