?????
this film has many problems, perhaps some viewers (mainly men) did not notice. the fact that Rei during the film says that she lost her virginity only at the age of 29 and that she had a relationship with a woman, there was probably sex in him too, as if her virginity was intact just because she hadn't had sex with men, that it is a view mostly present in men. another thing that bothered me a lot was Rei having quoted and thinking that she could only "complete" Nanae sexually if she had a penis, extremely nonsense. the obsession that Rei felt for Nanae doesn’t make sense either, killing someone who didn’t keep in touch for 10 years and who NEVER showed an affective interest in her .... in fact, during the entire film Nanae only showed romantic interest in Rei last 15 minutes of film, the most beautiful scene in the film is just one of the final scenes where Rei is in the cabin with Nanae and they talk about the past. the sex scenes in the movie are very long, I had to stop the movie several times because I couldn't stand watching it without saying that Rei spends half the movie fucking men even though she always says it is LESBIC, the scene she has with the taxi driver seems that was introduced in the film just to perform sexual fetish of the men who watched it, it does not make sense and there is no plausible explanation of the reason for the sex, at first I thought it was for money, but when the man offered money to Rei, her face makes us think the opposite. Nanae clearly uses Rei's feelings for her own benefit, it gets disgusting, and it seems that Rei's only life goal was to have sex with Nanae ... Rei knew that Nanae used her and left it just to keep her close, that it is noticeable when Nanae said that she called the police for Rei to surrender and Rei did not question whether it was a joke or not, she simply knew that Nanae was capable of doing such a thing! hitting a woman who suffered domestic violence? ..... this film is problematic in so many ways .... it is two hours of film made only for men to satisfy their fetishes, a lot of boobs, a lot of nudity, although the movie " The Handmaiden "also having sex and nudity scenes is completely different from this: the handmaiden scenes are more artistic and visibly beautiful, while in" She "it looks like porn.If you want to watch a good LGBT-themed film see "The Handmaiden" this is a true masterpiece.
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not worth watching
as a bisexual woman, i was excited to finally get an asian wlw movie. it started promising for me until the end came... the amount of close ups annoyed me and the long scenes with no talking too... i played this movie on x1.5 cause i wanted it to be done. they made Rei look like she's not really a lesbian by having her have sex with men twice. it really felt like they were making this movie for straight men who get turned on by seeing girls fuck. oh wait that's cause it's directed by a straight man! maybe that's why it's so bad. i had really high expectations from this movie and it all disappointed me.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Best acting in Japanese media but that's the only good thing about this movie
As I said, the acting is masterful. Easly the best of all Japanese dramas and movies I've seen. Maybe even one of top 10 of all media I've ever seen. The cast did amazing job, I didn't feel like they acted at all. It also wasn't anime-like or cartoonish at all which is unusal for Japanese media (that I've seen at least).The soundtrack was also nice, though there weren't a lot of music. Most of the time the background sound was silence. However, these are the only good things I can say about this movie. There will be spoilers.
The first thing I hated was Rei's "lesbianism". Sorry but no. I am a lesbian and it was very hard to watch. She was supposed to be out of closet but she had a voluntary sex with men. What lesbian does that? Was it suppoed to show her awful mental state? Was she trying to punish herself? It's just a very weird decision for me. Moreover, I feel like it only invalidated her sexual orientation. I can't believe she's lesbian because her actions towards men don't make sense to me. Also, it made me feel sick and disgusted. I wish they discarded all the sex scenes but especially those with Rei and men. Or at least didn't claim she's a lesbian.
The relationship between Rei and Nanae is toxic af. They are toxic people and they get worse when they're together. It made impossible for me to root for them. They were portrayed as bad people, not just lost or misunderstood, but I guess it's understandable as the movie starts with a murder. (Also I love how Rei made a disclaimer she's not a simp: "I did not murder a man to have sex with the woman I love". Beautiful.) Another point is I don't believe the love Rei had for Nanae. I don't believe it held for more than 10 years and was strong enough to make her kill for Nanae. I see it as just a cheap way to move plot forward. The actresses did what they could but it's just a big plothole for me.
As for the technical side of the movie. What the hell if wrong with the camera work? It was shaking so much, is the cameraman alright? It did get better further in the movie but it never really went away. It made me quesy watching it as if I had a motion sickness. The shots were also weird, sometimes too close, sometimes too far to the side so half of the screen if filled with irrevelant stuff and you can't see the important stuff happening.
I could write more points but I don't want to spoil it too much. Also, this is long enough. I wouldn't recommend this movie but if you want to risk it then expect a lot of nudity and sex scenes, crying and not much of logic.
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Interesting plot with poor execution
I've noticed Japan's getting better with producing quality BL films/dramas, but they still have room for improvement in their GL.My main reason for watching was because of Mizuhara-san, and I wanted to give Japan another chance for GL themed films. Also, the casting choice seemed pretty solid, and Netflix picked it up, so I thought, "why not?"
Although it was appreciative that the main leads have a connected backstory, the film's plot is all over the place. Mizuhara's character's actions throughout the film were quite questionable. I would interpret her character as maybe bi (?). The goals of these two leads made no sense to me. I could see what falling in love feels like, especially to a person you could never have. You lose a sense of logic and wish for that person's happiness, and sometimes you find yourself to be selfish. But killing someone and losing it all, that aspect and how the film executed it seemed very extreme and unrealistic. What bothered me the most was the toxic relationship between the women. Despite killing off the abusive husband, Nanae still was not free from the inner struggles. Rei's action, including towards Nanae, didn't seem sincere either.
A bit similar to my thoughts on "The cornered mouse dreams of cheese", I felt sorry for the supporting characters affected by the main lead's actions. Don't get me wrong, I felt bad for the main leads upbringing, but many of their situations could have been easily avoided.
OST - Music was pretty decent and chill. It was very obvious they used English songs to attract a wider audience. Cherry by Yui was a huge symbolic ost in the film. Nice use of it.
Overall, I believe with a better story structure and direction, this film could have been better executed. Hopefully, the crew, staff and Japan are open to considering people's feedback on the film for future GL films/drama.
If you're into the dark thriller drama, including GL, and don't mind switching off your brain for a while then, go for it.
If you're looking for a decent GL with a strong story and relationship, this may not be for you.
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Beautiful Story
It is an incredible and powerful story. It is not an adaption of a manga, but a very unique story. In this world, we have all chaotic issues that never surface and reveals itself. This story lure your attention to the women abuse, people dying without any reason etc. It is amazing and shocking that Asian is slowly accepting same-sex marriage. We should value life and not behave differently toward people with colour nor because they are slightly different from us.In the story, "her abusive husband is dead, killed by her lesbian friend who would do anything for her. Now they're running for their lives".
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This review may contain spoilers
RIDE OR DIE
When I saw the trailer on netflix, I knew I had to watch it.The story seemed interesting and it was worth it. I like psychological dramas and even more so when it's a bit psycho. I have to say that the story was as crazy as the two main heroines. I appreciated that it had a quick start going on. It may be a little confusing at first, but gradually it makes sense. It's a nice but also sad story of two girls who are coming to a tragic end based on their decisions. Their relationship, if we may call it like that, was not healthy and the ending is depressing. Some will say it's toxic others will like it probably. Although the film is over two hours long, I definitely didn't find it boring. It was a roller coaster of mixed feelings, but still touching. I knew from the beginning that the girls would not have a happy ending. Despite maybe I would like to know little more details, I liked the last shot of the end. It just gave me that "manga / anime" vibe.
I think the acting was very well managed. The cast suited the roles and it looked real. I liked the most Mizuhara Kiko as Rei. She is so beautiful and her red hair matched her role in the movie. But not just it, she also played it very well, her crazy laughter and tearful scenes. Right into the feels.
Music was fine. The song "cherry" or something like that fits so well in the story with the lyrics. I liked how it in two different scenes sounded first cheerful and at the end so devastating.
I wouldn't have a problem watching the movie again.
CONCLUSION: If you like this style of movie with sad ending and the theme of girly love, I recommend. Even though you may not be a supporter, I think it's definitely worth a look. This film deserves more viewers, but again it's not story for everyone. The end almost brought me to tears, even though what they did was not right.
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Really bad and disappointing.
My rating of this movie is 0.5/10 but when you write a review your rating must be between 1 and 10.Before this movie was released, with each trailer for it, my expectations were getting bigger. In the end, I did not see it until 2022 and I am very disappointed.
The acting was sometimes good and sometimes average. Far too many scenes with the camera shaking. There were so many of them that I started to wonder if it was really on purpose. A lot of scenes with close-ups on the faces of the characters. Some of them looked strange. I really think there should be fewer scenes like this.
The plot idea itself was really good, but the execution was very poor. The whole thing was terribly boring and tiring for me.
The last twenty minutes is the best done part of this movie, but when you watch it you are so tired of the rest of the movie that it is not easy to appreciate it.
Rei is supposed to be in love, but since high school she has shown a great desire to have sex with Nanae. It has been mentioned too many times for me.
Some things really feel like lesbophobia.
I really didn't like this movie. I hate it.
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Nice aesthetics, lacking story
I really liked how this movie vibed in general, from the cinematography to the overall quiet of certain scenes. For what it's worth, the actresses filled their roles well and had some nice scenes together.With that being said, however, I just didn't like the characters themselves — this movie was by no means character driven; there's little to no character development and I felt like the toxicity in the relationship wasn't explored much either.
Ultimately, however, I also just felt like the story in this was lacking; it didn't feel like a story about running or dying — I didn't feel any sense of urgency or even any sort of direction. The time jumps back to the past felt like they didn't have much of a purpose either.
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This review may contain spoilers
I was really looking forward for the movie but in reality it dissappointed me and quite a lot actually. I'll start with the pros. I feel like the two main actresses did such a great job with the emotional scenes. The OST was good, I liked the English songs in the first half and the song "Cherry" which the female leads were singing while riding the car was great and emotional as well. I even quite liked the ending.
Now for the cons, and I think they outweigh the pros actually. There was so much toxicity in their relationship, Rei literally abandoned her longtime girlfriend just so she might have a sex with a woman she hasn't seen in ten years. Plus she as a lesbian had two (2!) sex scenes with men in the movie on contrary of only having one (1!) sex scene with a woman. Also the movie portrayed wlw relationship as something lesser than hetero one which made me really angry and it the main reason for the low rating.
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I basically knew nothing when I started watching.
Overall, I really liked this movie. It was long but it kept me watching attentively.The story was pretty fun one to watch. I how we start the movie in the middle of decisive action and then go back in a flashback to explain how we got to that bloody point. Throughout the whole movie, we get a couple of flashbacks that help explain the current movement in the story and I really liked them. All though, I don't know if it was due to the lack of knowing Japanese, but I was actually confused as to which character the young girls were supposed to be in the flashback at first.
The acting was good. It was the first time I saw anything with the actress playing the main leads and I enjoyed their portrayals.
Musc was good. I liked that they had many English tracks. Might have to do with it being made with Netflix so they wanted songs that would be understood in a wide range of places.
I would rewatch it if I have time to spare.
Since I am not part of the LGBTQ+ community, I will not say anything about this element of the movie. There are other people that are part of the community that can judge it on how accurate/relatable it is in this aspect and I will take their word on it.
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Would you kill him for me then?
Damn, the trailer got me so excited for this movie. First, japanese LGBTQ+ themed movies are still kinda rare. Secondly, it was looking like the story is gonna touch upon some sensitive topics. Lastly, CHE.R.RY by YUI used in that trailer. What can I say, I love that song.N O T S P O I L E R F R E E / N O M A J O R S P O I L E R S
Shinoda Nanae is barely surviving. With her husband beating her up, she calls her old friend Nagisawa Rei to share her pain. Old love dies hard, so others can die easily. Rei takes it upon herself to get rid of Nanae's bastard husband. Both girls being the "damaged goods" decide to run away together. But they were damaged since the beginning of knowingeach other...
There are things I really liked about this movie.
Abuse. Different forms of it. Physical or psychological. The movie was not afraid to show that any relationship can be pretty toxic. Gay, straight, doesn't matter.
Depression and suicide. Nanae is depressed, talking about suicide a lot. The reason why in the story it's Rei killing her husband, instead of Nanae going to the police, is the way abuse and depression is treated in Japan. Killing is sadly way more effective in her case...
Manipulation and obsession. Nanae uses Rei, because she knows she was always obsessed with her. But Nanae herself wasn't able to accept the fact Rei wasn't the only one obsessed for 10 years.
How LGBTQ+ is perceived, in this case lesbian relationships. Rei was told by young age that she should "forget the straight girl", being exposed to toxic masculinity and prejudice all the time, tired of having to hide her orientation.
There were also things I didn't like...
So, who's responsible for this bull... Loosing virginity after years of lesbian sex, just because she did it with a guy once? That's not how this works. Same with Rei thinking she wouldn't be able to satisfy her, because she doesn't have the D. Sigh... Really.
I haven't read Gunjo, but what the hell is the director's obsession with Rei getting nailed by guys? Why? Is this in the original story? Or is it in this movie just to makw it more sex centered? Don't understand it.
Well, some scenes were pretty long. Silent. It got boring really fast, especially towards the end.
Not deep enough. Sometimes it felt as if the creators got too scared to go deeper with feelings, explaining, everything. The informations and problems of the characters kept piling up and that was it.
Also I think the trailer got lot of people confused, including me. The vibe was similar to Handmaiden, just modern, so we expected a thriller. We got none of it and it dissapointed some of us.
Overall, I was happy with first half of the movie story wise, with the other half only acting wise. Was it worth my time? I think it was, but probably won't watch it again.
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Meh
Meh. Too much angst, too much lag, and too many unexplainable events and dialogues. I finished watching it with difficulty and would NEVER re-watch it. There are some plot holes the characters reveal themselves in the dialogues. I also didn't find any emotion/infatuation that was carried by the lead roles which were later turned into love. The intimate scenes were not cringy or awkward, I give that to the actors. They were comfortable playing the roles. There was a lot of unnecessary hurt in the movie. Too many lives were disturbed because of one woman's stupid request. IDK is such things happen IRL. Overall this movie by no means empowers/helps the queer community which was expected after reading the plot. Sad. You could give this a watch but I am not sure how far you'd appreciate this.Was this review helpful to you?
