Japanese Film Festival Online 2024 5th June - 19th June (films); 19th June - 3rd July (dramas)

Taking a break from the beautiful bouquet. 

Edit: As something really good must happen for me to like this movie more, I've already put my vote on the voting list. 

I see that voting points are just added up, why doesn't it compute the arithmetic mean? That would be a much more significant value than just the sum of all points.

 Elisheva:

My brain is fried (I think from the effects in Anime Supremacy. I'm photosensitive and they weren't enough to pre-seizure but they seem to have done something adverse)

Oh no! I'm sorry. I hope you'll feel better soon!
I can see how some of the scenes in Anime Supremacy would cause something like that. Now that you pointed it out -- I cannot imagine watching it with a migraine. I've put a warning at the beginning of my review.

 TimiZero:

I couldn't make time to watch movies in single sitting, so I only managed to catch 4 movies so far;

I've also watched four movies so far, one per day with the exception of Thursday (too much work on that day). Today's film will be the fifth.

Thank you for your thoughts on these four films! All of them are on my list, and now I think I might try "Wedding High" next, I like it if a film pays attention to details.

School Meals Time Graduation - Physical comedy in the vein of Jerry Lewis or Jim Carey with a very straight face which morphs into something which runs Serious Film tropes over a tongue in cheek situation with an underlying serious message about not taking things so seriously. Plus food. It is Japan after all ;)

Thanks  iwtmd. It will settle. Don't know if I'm going to be able to manage Jungle Emperor Leo, my brain didn't like the repetition of animated ear flicks. But I saw enough to know that I did see an English-dubbed version as a young child. It was a weird sense of deja vu. Still planning on Zen Diary soon to talk with you, wasn't up to giving it enough quality attention today.

Thanks for your mini-reviews Timi :)  We have a Voting List here.  You can add them now or wait until you're done.

re: "We made a beautiful bouquet"

 Elisheva:

So you didn't get on with it? Sorry, thanks for giving it a try. Something did happen near the end that made it stand out even more for me.

Oh no no no! I just had to take a break! I did just finish it, and I am sorry to say, I found most of the film thoroughly depressing. It started with their first encounters where I was reminded of my own time at uni -- I'd always meet somebody, and it just clicked ... and then they'd show their romantic interest, something that usually baffled me, as I did not feel that way at all. Good for them, that they felt the same, I guess?  And then the start into work life that was just too realistic, how first job hunting, then work itself can numb you to the things you used to love. Only the last few minutes were a bit of a comfort.

The something that happened near the end, was it in the evening of the wedding, after he proposed again?

 I do see why people like it, though, and I can agree with everything you said earlier. It just was not for me, which is why I won't rate it.

 Elisheva:

Still planning on Zen Diary soon to talk with you, wasn't up to giving it enough quality attention today.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

 Elisheva:

Yeah, the films which were seen by the most voters will "win". We could do our own your way as well.

Just because there are more films than time to watch them, those which look good but might actually not be, will win -- that's just unfair.
I think I'll do the maths myself after the 19th, and put the results in a comment below the list. Remind me if I forget?

 i watch too many dramas:

The something that happened near the end

Yes. It felt both very real and authentic to the characters and the story yet was healthy and balanced, including the way they grieved together. Both work stress and break-ups are well in my past so maybe that takes some of the sting out of it for me and I could appreciate her emotional intelligence in it all. I thought I would find it depressing but somehow didn't.

 i watch too many dramas:

I do see why people like it, though, and I can agree with everything you said earlier. It just was not for me, which is why I won't rate it.

Fair enough. Thanks for trying it. Is there one you'd like me to prioritise? Zen Diary and maybe BL Metamorphosis are next on my list.

 Dreamy-Nali:

Today, I watched I am what I am, an interesting movie that deals with the different values of love and relationship. Highly recommend this one!

I need to get to those too. My quasi-plan went well haywire :)

 i watch too many dramas:

I see that there's a page for Karakasa now, this hasn't been there before, right?

Yes, that's new. Someone else must have submitted it. I messed up on the first three when I submitted the four listings before the Festival started (the successfully submitted message on the page does not actually mean it's been successfully submitted, accurate textual clarity not being a priority for the devs as with their Add Tags link NOT being the place to, erm, add tags) and my resubmissions haven't been accepted yet (best guess is next Saturday?). Mine have native name and fairly complete info aside from cast. So now I'm waiting for the Rejected because there's already an entry message for KARAKASA in my DMs. I'll make certain they all get in eventually. If this doesn't happen before the festival ends, I can DM those who want to add them to their lists when they are accepted.

 i watch too many dramas:

I notice that I keep pushing BL Metamorphosis back, so I don't know when I'll watch it.

I keep doing that too. Really need to as many of my contacts are BL-friendly so it's a way to get their attention. Evening is better for a slower one for me, so Zen Diary tonight.

 i watch too many dramas:

I don't think I've understood the process but yes to a DM, when the titles are accepted.

The process is confusing. But I'll make sure to let you know.

Ok, will have to watch Wedding High now :)

BL Metamorphosis is such a delight. Loved it, including how women-centred it is.

Zen Diary next.

They rejected my more complete listings for the three remaining horror shorts (someone else added them with zero information). Which means I'm going to have to make a THIRD round of submissions for the three of them. There are days I hate this site.

We're half-way through the film part of the festival!
What film do you definitely want to watch until it ends?

After looking at the reactions in this thread and my own likes, I think these four for me:

• I am What I am
• The Lone Ume Tree
• BL Metamorphosis
• the four horror shorts

Yesterday, I also watched
School Meals Time Graduation -- very simple plot, great comedic acting (I love how teacher Amarida is so over-enthusiastic about his life passion -- and how nobody in the school bats an eye at his antics). And, like all of the great Japanese comedies, the film has an underlying message or two. 

School meals are not just school meals.
Eating is more than consuming nutrients.
Giving children food that will be good for them tomorrow, might not be the right thing for them today. 

That's my second-favourite film so far. Maybe it just speaks to me because I have been working in education in some way or other for the last 20 years, and I hear things that other people wouldn't.

 Not a Camellia:

I still don't know what I will watch next, maybe I will watch 2 prequels before actually watching  School Meals Time Graduation 

I've seen that there are two drama prequels, and a movie -- I plan to watch them after the festival. There's also a third season and another movie, I think.
If you want to watch the first two drama seasons before the film because you want to better understand the plot, I don't think that's neccessary. They give the most important info, and the plot isn't that hard to follow anyway.

 Not a Camellia:

but I gave up

I'm sad to hear that but it's good that you don't feel obligated to do anything. We're hear to enjoy ourselves.

 Elisheva:

They rejected my more complete listings for the three remaining horror shorts (someone else added them with zero information). Which means I'm going to have to make a THIRD round of submissions for the three of them. There are days I hate this site.

:( :( :( 

 Elisheva:

Zen Diary, the richness of his environment and food reminded me of how impoverished my relative 'privilege' is.

That part was beautiful. Richness in simplicity. 

 Elisheva:

And then the second half,

I think mostly it wasn't grieving, it felt more that he had to understand his own mortality. (Or, if you'd like to see it that way, he was grieving himself?) In accepting that he, too, will be gone, and not too far into the future, and thinking about how the world will be like when he's dead, he is able to go on with life and let go of his wife. I like that the film includes the topic of death, and the pace felt right to me -- it *was* several months. 

Do you really think he was selfish? I won't pretend to know why he did not want her to live with him either -- I can understand the wish to die alone, however. It also felt that she only said yes because he had that heart atteack and she was scared to lose him, not a *real* wish to be together. And, human emotions are complex things anyway.
Their relationship was strange for me from the beginning, I do admit. It did not feel very romantic, but also not like they were really comfortable with each other.

I see that you weren't as annoyed by the voice-over in that part. To me it no longer felt like the flow of thoughts of an old man, with some deep thoughts and some more personal observations, it was more like a compilation of "The Best of Zen" you could buy in the gift section of a book store. Too much anyway. More silence with the occasional sentence would have made more impact. 

Oh, and re: ranking (I don't know how to quote when editing a post) -- I choose ranking for thevoting list just by what feels right. There's no kind of rational reasoning at all.