Awake (2020) poster
7.3
Your Rating: 0/10
Ratings: 7.3/10 from 181 users
# of Watchers: 503
Reviews: 2 users
Ranked #7397
Popularity #12552
Watchers 181

Eiichi wanted to become a top shogi player and attended a shogi player training center run by the Japan Shogi Association. At the training center, he could not beat Riku, who is extremely talented in the game, and Eiichi eventually gave up on becoming a shogi player. To live a more normal life, he enrolled in a university. Because he spent most of his time playing shogi, he has a hard time adjusting to campus life. He does not have any friends at school. One day, Eiichi comes across an AI based shogi computer program. The computer program is more creative and stronger than he expected. This piques Eiichi interest in computer programming, specifically for shogi games. He visits an AI research club and meets senior student Isono. He learns about computer programming from Isono and makes a new goal for himself. Eicchi now wants to write a top shogi computer program. A few years later, Eiichi wins a computer shogi competition. He receives a request to play against Riku. (Source: AsianWiki) Edit Translation

  • English
  • magyar / magyar nyelv
  • עברית / עִבְרִית
  • dansk
  • Country: Japan
  • Type: Movie
  • Release Date: Dec 25, 2020
  • Duration: 1 hr. 59 min.
  • Score: 7.3 (scored by 181 users)
  • Ranked: #7397
  • Popularity: #12552
  • Content Rating: G - All Ages

Cast & Credits

Photos

Awake (2020) photo
Awake (2020) photo
Awake (2020) photo
Awake (2020) photo
Awake (2020) photo
Awake (2020) photo

Reviews

Completed
Fourthaxis
1 people found this review helpful
Oct 24, 2021
Completed 0
Overall 6.5
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 6.0

A mediocre introduction to computer shogi

To be honest, I don't know how to review this movie. Unlike karuta, go or chess, I know nothing about shogi and so I am sure to have missed a lot of the meaning/depth behind few scenes.

Take my review with a pinch of salt as it would be based completely on entertainment value and comparative rating with movies/shows/documentaries on chess variants.

Story:
The inspiration for the movie comes from the Denou-sen, a human versus machine battle where an ai-based computer shogi program played against a professional player, and is set in the early 2010's where computer programs were just getting developed.

Awake starts of slow, picks up in the middle but comes to a quick end. The pacing of the movie felt weird to me and I found the story quite disjointed up till the last 40 mins. After which it ended without much fanfare, leaving the feeling of an incomplete story. To me, this movie fell more under the 'slice of life' genre than anything else.

Acting:
The characters felt very one dimensional to me and I couldn't really connect with any single one.

There were some exaggerated scenes where I couldn’t understand why Eichi got so hyper but otherwise the social awkwardness and introverted nature of the main character was displayed wonderfully by Yoshizawa Ryo.

There were some beautiful instances in the movie where we were shown the dedication the secondary lead had to shogi (particularly when he is playing practice matches with the AI) but these moments were far and between.

Music:
There is very little dialogue in this movie. Music plays a huge part during the silent intervals and many times I felt I would prefer someone said something rather than hearing a tune playing in the background. Though, the melody during the game moves is good.

Overall:
I am pretty much on the fence about this movie. It lies somewhere between meh and okay. Overall, I had more fun watching the movie on AlphaGo. I knew what I was getting into with that one and it kept my interest till end unlike this movie, where I couldn't care less what happened to the characters after the match.

So in conclusion, if you aren’t aware of AI programming this isn’t a bad movie to start your journey but don't expect to be wowed. Its just about okay for a one time watch and that's pushing it.

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Completed
PHope
0 people found this review helpful
Nov 11, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 5.0

Good Enough

Japanese Movie " Awake " is a drama about the riverly in sports-games.

The movie starts out pretty intriguing, hooking the viewer and making them wonder what will happen. The amtosphere is also spot on, dakr and mysterious, giving the feeling that this is going to be an interesting psychological thriller.

However, the ending is A) rushed B) lukewarm, and C) a letdown. The movie was building up to the final showdown and that was it? It could certainly have been better handled.

The performances, on the other hand, were all great by everyone in the cast, especially the two main leads.

So, overall, six out of ten.

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Details

  • Movie: Awake
  • Country: Japan
  • Release Date: Dec 25, 2020
  • Duration: 1 hr. 59 min.
  • Content Rating: G - All Ages

Statistics

  • Score: 7.3 (scored by 181 users)
  • Ranked: #7397
  • Popularity: #12552
  • Watchers: 503

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