Reviews

A very important movie in the Zhang Yimou-Gong Li filmography

This was a groundbreaking movie of Zhang Yimou, with a formidable Gong Li starring as the peasant heroine of the late 1980s. It was spot on. So many things I could compare to real life back then, and yet a good story.
Qiu Ju goes to court had both comedy and tragedy, together with being a mirror to the bygone era of teeming masses.
The music is almost exclusively folk tunes and Chinese opera excerpt, and the sounds are real life, so it is very realistic.

With the new drama "The Story of Xing Fu" translating the story into the 21st century, this movie is worth rewatching again for comparison. In the new story, the countryside is more tame, despite the lingering rural-urban divide, which was poignant in the movie.

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This movie - and manga - deals with heavy subjects, in particular with depression and suicide, both done and attempted, so beware!

I've been reading the manga - currently, I'm up to the end of vol. 4 - so I was curious how the movie compared to that. And I must say that Yamazaki Kento was amazing as Kakeru!

What I loved most about the story was the theme of friendship above everything. It didn't really matter who ended up with whom - if Naho ended up with Kakeru or Suwa or with neither of them - what really mattered was the friendship among all the six characters. Because it was not romance what kept Kakeru alive in the end, it was friendship.

To me, it was really interesting how the five friends, warned by their future selves of what would happen to Kakeru, decided to save him. Because it's quite easy to stop someone from getting hit with a brick or enter a plane that's about to crash. But how do you save someone from himself? How do you convince someone not to kill himself?

I loved the way they went about it, showing Kakeru again and again that they were there for him, that they loved him, that whatever burden weighed down on him, they would help him carry it. It truly warmed my heart, all of their love for Kakeru - and his love for them which swayed his decision in the end. It was so beautiful...

Overall, a really good, heart-warming movie. Highly recommended!

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Just Action packed movie more American in styling than Chinese

I watched it because of Jacki chan and Yang Yang ,, to be honest ,, Jacki Chan wasn't that good even as a boss in the movie ,, it was meh ,, his action scenes is something of reminiscing about old jacki Chan action movies in America nothing more
also the nature and the styling in the movie seemed like American action movie ,, it doesn't have chinese tropes or Chinese emotional scenes that makes them unique ,, it was all explosions ,, car chasing and fights but may be the famously CGI chinese edits even the animals were crappy CGI ,, It was so obvious
the story had potential of some romance but it didn't show any but moment or two ,,, it had potential for emotional scenes but they cut it way too short ,,, it was good amusing watch ,, funny sometimes with the flying skate board soldier seemed from marvel universe super hero or Captain china wtf ??!!
what is captain china ?? they has their own heroes they didn't need American's marvel crap
Yang Yang was amazing in his actions scenes but they didn't give him much space to act in romantic or even emotional scenes like when he was trying to save his friend
Also representing Arabs was hamulating as usual ,,, more like America represents Arabs ,, I'm an arab so I felt offended
overall it's not bad movie but expect more actions like Americans do it than chinese heart felt emotional drama

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Quite decent for a horror flick...

It's got enough suspense to make you sweat at the edge of your seat, but my most favorite part was The Caretaker.
It would be good if they also added a bit of a backstory about the GwangLim Church and what horror lies in that closet.
From how the cult leader looked, he must've been in that basement for decades, with all that spell plastered on his body.
But then I kinda knew from the start that the caretaker would be the end game. This is already familiar to me.

At the end of the movie, my guess is that his girlfriend already knew that he's no longer her boyfriend the moment she saw him.
Instinct kicked in.

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Hopeful

This is perhaps one of the best Japanese movie I’ve seen. At first I was just looking for a Japanese BL due to most recent released of JBLs when suddenly clicked on this and tried to look for reviews and the rest is history. lol

I was really impressed by the storyline, at first I was thinking if Jun Yamamoto is really a ghost. Hahahaha But things turned out at the end, it was he’s twin brother. Huhuhu

I also love how the leads portrayed their character, I just love the chemistry despite that this is not a BL that I am looking for.

I cried, yes I cried at middle of the story maybe because this is soo touching and heartwarming. This is not about friendship. I have learned to value your family, people around you and most especially, loving yourself.

Over all, this is a must and worth to watch/rewatch.

Thanks for giving us such a masterpiece, indeed!

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An Intimate movie

It is true that it is set in 2011 and in South Korea, but it is tiring and tiring that gay stories always end with a sad ending for the simple fact of being Gay. Even so, we must highlight the atmosphere, the complicity with the viewer, how well the actors act, but even so, as I said, it is a tragedy that reinforces the misfortune of the destiny of being Gay in society. Only if you want to suffer for this is it advisable to see it, although its performance certainly deserves applause and I atmosphere the performance, but it hurts too much and leaves unknowns to be resolved, such as how it is possible to hide a double life for five years. finally hard and sad

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Damn good horror. I didn't yell at the characters too much.

As the tag indicates, there's some gore. Personally, it just makes me wanna gag so I just fast-forwarded through those. Blood and guts just don't do it for me, sorry.

The atmosphere though? Nailed it. It's not a 'chills down my spine' effect. It was more of a dread that seeped under my skin and clung to my bones. Even when the settings were more comforting, lively, or even mundane, I was tense. They did well in keeping that consistent.

The usual horror tropes are here but I don't mind them as long as it's executed well. Characters who have never seen a single horror movie in their life? Check. Flickering lights? Check. A protagonist who can't catch a break? Triple check.

Moral of the story: Turn the car around. Go home. Live a long, boring but curse-less life.

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Leaves you grossed out and in disbelief

The acting is actually very good but it lacked plot. There isn't much actions besides gore scenes that pop up randomly. The people who acted as the crazy or infected ones in this movie are very brave considering what they had to do in this movie and the sudden switch from not infected to being infected is crazy! I don't wince at gore scenes but this movie had me wincing at almost every scene from just how real they made the gore look. The ending was also very shocking and it did leave some unanswered questions but I think for the most part it was the best way to end it instead of some other paths they could've taken. I won't ever rewatch this since I want to have some sanity left and don't wish to be grossed out again but don't listen to the description. It's just rape and gore on max with some small scenes at the beginning and a small talking scene at the end. The actors did well though, just wasn't the right movie for them.

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How a Guy Speedran His Mid-life Crisis: The Movie

Now, I know what it sounds like when I literally rate this a 10/10 across the board but I swear I cannot overstate this when I say this is forever going to be one of my favorite movies for the rest of time. Director and writer Liu Jiangjiang was very humble when he said that some people might think it's an immature movie, with immature/inexperienced staff and actors, and with messages that might be too on the nose -- he went on to say that he just hopes everyone will appreciate the movie, even if just a little bit, because he and the rest of the cast and crew put so much of their heart into it. And you know what? Lighting Up the Stars exceeded all expectations, at least for me. Heartwarming, funny, profound, playful, a tearjerker... This film is the equivalent of finally coming home after being away for a while, of being wrapped in a blanket on a cold winter's day, of sleepovers with your friends in childhood, giggling after lights-out. Words cannot do justice to how this film makes you unlock emotions you probably weren't even aware of -- in a good way.

Before I go on with this review, I do want to stress that there's a scene near the start that's extremely uncomfortable to watch, showing Sange basically attempting to sexually assault his ex-girlfriend. It's obviously not shown in a good light, and nothing happens because they get interrupted by her new boyfriend who she cheated on him with while he was in jail. Still, I want to add this warning beforehand, because despite how much I adore this film this was the sole thing I absolutely despised.

It's a very straightforward story, but that doesn't detract from everything else at all, it's one of its strengths. The topics of funerals and death is one that has a lot of taboos associated with them, and choosing to tell the narrative from a child's (Xiaowen's) point of view gives the already novel subject matter a spin you don't often see. While ostensibly a movie about a little girl losing her grandmother and gaining a new family, it's about much more than that. Yes, Xiaowen is at the heart of the story; it is, in many ways, a story about her more so than the adults around her. But it's also about what family really means, it's about what you want in life, it's about love in all its forms, it's about what you do -- and what you don't do. It's about the very outlook on life and death, and how one small change can make the difference. It's about a little girl just wanting her grandma back, and a man who is disillusioned with the world desperately wanting to live up to his dead brother's image finding each other and being what the other needs.

Connected through a series of funerals (of course, what else could it be, when it's Sange's literal line of work), each one is distinct in not only execution but also atmosphere, set dressing, and so on; each one a beat in the movie showing the changes in the characters and driving the story forward. While the ostentatious one with the old man who pretends to be dead is by far the loudest and most colorful (and definitely the funniest), the funeral that stuck with me the most was actually one of the first, with the little girl. From Xiaowen pretending to be Sange's daughter to get her family's approval to manage her funeral to her drawing on the girl's cinerary casket which couldn't be washed off, to the girl's family bursting out into tears of gratitude because their little girl loved to draw and Xiaowen's scribbles are so much better than more impersonal casket it originally was... While to some degree you can see it coming, it definitely sets the stage and does so well to convey the unpredictability of life and death, and human's hearts. Liu Jiangjiang's family is in this business and it shows in the care and details he puts into every one of the funerals depicted, the people who are buried but also their friends and family who are grieving for them.

For a movie of roughly two hours, the pacing doesn't feel rushed or drawn out, and the character development, while at times a little flat for anyone who aren't the main leads, is still very well done. Sange going from "she's my arch nemesis" and "look how you're going to ruin me" on day one to appreciating her place in his life and wanting to keep and protect her not even a day and a half later is, yes, hilarious, but on a fundamental level it's so heartwarming to see his entire outlook on life change for the better because of her, and in such a short amount of time. It shows how much he really wanted something (someone) to care about this much, a sentiment echoed later by his ailing father. Vice versa, when Xiaowen gets adopted by Sange's friends (which happened through a hilarious turn of events, and for a movie about death, there's way more comedy than expected, or, perhaps, just the right amount to offset everything else) and nominally by Sange himself, she starts letting go of her grandmother and starts opening up, all of it culminating in her telling Sange that she knows he lied, but that's okay, she's not scared anymore because she's got a dad now.

It makes their separation all the more painful when he basically lets her mother (who! surprise! is not dead but just had horrible luck in life and hit rock bottom and went to jail like Sange and just wants to be a good mom now and loves her daughter deeply and means well despite everything and-- well. You get the idea.) kidnap her in the middle of the night. One might be frustrated at the lack of communication from Sange, but when you remember how he never really had a childhood growing up in a funeral house, and how he has inferiority issues and a slew of other problems, his actions become understandable even though still not justified. All's well that ends well though, and they reunite with a scene that had me bawling when I first saw the clip months ago, released as promotional material, and that made me bawl again watching the full scene, entirely attached to both characters.

The cast of the movie is phenomenal. Zhu Yilong has delivered probably his best performance yet, portraying a character entirely different from his body of work and doing it in such a way it feels entirely natural and immersive. In interviews, Liu Jiangjiang mentioned how he wasn't sure about Zhu Yilong playing someone like Sange -- isn't he too handsome? Isn't he too pretty? Isn't he well-known for playing gentlemanly, scholarly, soft-spoken types of characters? And to a certain degree, he's right; Zhu Yilong's entire image is that of a prettyboy actor who, despite being fairly well-known as a good actor beyond his looks, and simply does not get cast as an uncouth rogue like Sange. So, a departure from his previous works for sure but in the best way possible. Zhu Yilong as Sange shows once again how versatile his acting skill is, and what range he has as an actor. When shooting, everyone called him Sange; Han Yan (the producer) even said that once he'd cut his hair and they started shooting in Wuhan, Zhu Yilong wasn't there anymore: he was Sange.

The fact that the entire movie was mainly spoken in Wuhan dialect (Xiaowen mainly spoke in a Sichuan dialect, or Sichuan-accented putonghua) or Wuhan-accented putonghua (they couldn't have the entire movie be in the Wuhan dialect, for viewer's accessibility, so han-pu was the compromise) added a lot of depth to the film as well, really showing the locality and anchoring it in a way most films don't consider. From a personal point of view, it's also just such a breath of fresh air not to hear standardized accents from everyone when it's filmed and takes place in a very specific part of China where of course everyone would more likely speak in the local dialect. Zhu Yilong, a Wuhan native, was said to have added a lot of his own knowledge of Wuhan to Sange's character, from when to speak the pure dialect and when to speak han-pu, to which scenes he'd smoke cigarettes and when to mention something specific to the culture there. All of this shows in how real Sange feels as a character. While he's been known to be meticulous when crafting characters, this one, more than any other role he's played before, is the one that cements his status as character actor.

Yang Enyou, the other lead in this movie, was also amazing. While I generally don't approve of child actors (on moral grounds more so than lack of acting skills or otherwise), the fact of the matter is that as Wu Xiaowen she really was the glue that kept the movie together. It was a joy seeing her on the screen and her acting was convincing and emotionally poignant. For a debut movie, this role really made her shine. Zhu Yilong also treated her the way he thinks Sange would've treated her to help her with acting, and interacted with her in a way that was really sweet, as were the other cast and crew members. I will say that from cast interviews and behind the scenes clips there are things I definitely don't agree with in how they handled having a 7 year old on set, mainly how they intentionally ignored her or made her angry by teasing/bullying her to get her in character. While it's no Shelly Duvall in The Shining type of situation, it still feels needlessly cruel to be mean to a literal child purely for a better shot or a more "real" emotional reaction.

The actors for the side characters also did a great job, all with their own motivations and lives and relationships with each other and outside of the scope of the movie, brought to life (or not, haha) by the cast. I especially loved how every character, no matter how minor, was played with the utmost conviction and with every last bit of heart that the main cast had too. Lighting Up the Stars is a work of love, and the way every single actor brought that to their character shined through.

I also adored that everyone looked like quote-unquote normal people. As with the usage of Wuhan dialect over putonghua, the deliberate choice to cast actors who aren't conventionally attractive like idol dramas and movies (it's why Zhu Yilong's casting made such waves), and instead style everyone to look like someone you could meet on the street is probably an understated but no less important aspect of this film. It brings together everything else about the film as well; Liu Jiangjiang said he wanted to focus on the day-today lives of ordinary citizens, the nitty gritty of everyday life, and the styling of the characters reflects that vision. From Sange's floral shirts to the background characters' colorful (but not distracting, more like the bassline that adds to the symphony of the rest of the film) clothes, everything fits and has that feeling of "oh this really is a movie about normal people" to it. The only person who stands out, then, is Xiaowen's mother, who looks sleek and dresses fashionably, and is immediately branded as an outsider because of it. Even without everything else in the narrative telling the viewer she is different, this visual element tells a whole story in itself. And yet, it's also because she cares so much about Xiaowen that she looks like that, perhaps to leave her past behind where she failed her daughter, but more importantly to show that she can take care of her daughter now: look at her, all dressed up, visible make-up, brand name clothing and all.

Xiaowen and Sange being styled after Nezha and Sun Wukong was also a detail I especially loved. Xiaowen's feral little act, especially near the start of the movie, with her red-tasseled spear and her hair in two buns, drives home her resemblance to Nezha. Sange on the other hand doesn't look like a lot like the Monkey King (although the funeral where he's in opera get-up and starts twirling the staff to protect Xiaowen is incredibly reminiscent of Sun Wukong and his golden-banded staff), the resemblance being more narrative- and dialogue-driven. Their stories mimic those of Nezha and Sun Wukong to a certain degree as well, and there are a lot of jokes and references made to Journey to the West, especially with regard to Sange (memorably, "Are you Sun Wukong, always changing your shape so easily?!" because he changed his mind and wanted to keep Xiaowen by his side after wanting to get rid of her initially).

I'm sure there are things I've missed, things I couldn't think of or that I felt didn't fit in this already too-long review of a film about family -- I haven't even touched on the many dynamics in this movie that aren't the main leads' which I nonetheless truly loved. I'm also sure that there are people who think it was much sillier than I make it out to be, or not as good as I've praised everything from the narrative to the acting to the styling. In the end, though, the message of the film is very clear: if you think you hit rock bottom, adopt a child.


And if none of this managed to convince you: Zhu Yilong strips down to his underwear in this film.

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Light Hearted Fun

I ran across this on Viki and decided to give it a go based on the premise alone. I am an absolute sucker for love at first sight stories and I don't mind any of the inevitable cheesiness that comes with it. Thankfully, this is light on the cheese because the ML and FL don't spend that much romantic time together. He meets her and falls in love and then spends the ENTIRE movie trying to prove himself worthy of her love. Whole months elapse during this period, so you can assume this is a long term effort because everyone around him says so. Again, there aren't that many scenes between the ML and FL, but you know the ML is working hard for her love because that's they whole point and plot of the movie. Because this is an an action/comedy/romance then there are some fight scenes, which are surprisingly well done all things considering. Overall, the movie had a nice blend of everything I liked. I wished there was more chemistry between the ML and FL, but again that's not really the point. We aren't meant to understand why this particular woman lights his fire, you just know that she does, so really you don't need that many scenes with her to convey that point. If you're looking for an out and out romance with all that entails, then you should probably pass on this; though, you may want to give it a try. I laughed at loud at certain parts and the ML is quite easy on the eyes. Theres's also a nice height difference between him and the girl, which looks very cute on screen, especially when she calls him a yeti...lol

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A twisted yet entertaining look into the yakuza world

The Blood of Wolves duology can be described in three words: Violent, over-the-top and exciting. While the first movie was all three of them together, Last of the Wolves takes (also known as The Blood of Wolves Level 2) the wacky violence and the idea of controlling a ruthless and unpredictable hierarchy for your own benefit, and turns it up to eleven.

Set a few years after the events of the first movie and into the early 90s, we follow the journey of protagonist Hioka Shūichi (played by Matsuzaka Tori) who took the place of his mentor Ōgami as the secret autarch of Hiroshima's criminal underworld. His past experiences turned him from a well-intentioned idealist into a cold, calculating cynic who tricks and manipulates the local yakuza into staying obedient to him. However, things take a turn for the worse when Uebayashi Shigehiro (played by Suzuki Ryohei) gets released from prison with plans to avenge the death of his patriarch Irako and gain back the power his family has lost during his stint in jail. His presence rattles the perfect order Hioka preserved in the past few years, and he decides to send his friend Chinta (played by Murakami Nijiro) to work as a mole in Uebayashi's gang and help him gather information on his future plans. With the aid of Chinta and a mild-mannered veteran detective called Seshima (played by Nakamura Baijaku), Hioka investigates the matter to keep the lid on his activities as fast as possible, and also begins to find buried secrets that will shake him to the core...

The first thing you need to know about the movie is that it's BLOODY. If you can't stomach graphic violence then I recommend you sit this one out. Our introduction scene to Uebayashi's true character is so graphic that it's ridiculous, and the movie reminds us of that over and over again (Let's say he has a thing for eyes). The acting has a great balance of over-the-top anger typical for yakuza movies, but also more subtle moments of grief, sadness and loneliness. Matsuzaka Tori does an incredible job portraying Hioka as a jaded, self-serving but also well-intentioned man, and makes sure to give him depth that keeps him from being too unsympathetic. Suzuki Ryohei's performance as Uebayashi was enjoyable as much as it was disturbing, showing us just how vile and deranged his character really is. Returning actors Nakamura Shidō II, Takito Kenichi and Otoo Takuma also do a great job with their roles, but my favorite has to be Murakami Nijiro as Chinta. His downward spiral is absolutely heartbreaking and I guarantee you'll wish you could have given him the biggest hug by the end. Nishino Nanase's performance was a bit lackluster, but it's one of her first so I'll be easy on her.
The plot is unpredictable and exciting, with many twists and turns that slowly fall into place and keep you on your toes, and the final fight between our protagonist and antagonist is cathartic as hell. I really liked that while the color scheme is more muted than the vibrant palette of the first movie, the lively feeling of nighttime Hiroshima still makes the story feel more grounded in reality despite the crazy action, but also make the scenes of depravity, death and corruption a lot bleaker.

Overall, this is a violent but still very fun experience to try if you're in a mood for a yakuza flick that feels like it's pulled straight out of the 90s. Just make sure you're not eating anything when it gets to the grisly parts.

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This is a Shaw Brothers production so the choreography was on point. I really loved the beginning fight scene with the rope action... VERY WELL DONE!

The Special FX are terrible even for 1984. I was going to give that a pass but I can't. I mean, the fake blood, the strobe lights...NO!

I really enjoyed the first 40 minutes of this thing but after that the story just didn't really hold my interests and I thought the secondary plot was dumb. I mean, a guy did sell his soul to the devil so what was I expecting? I don't know but I think b/c most of the good action and story happened prior I was just a little disappointed.

Also, inquiring minds want to know what the wardrobe/costumes department was thinking by putting the male lead in that damn clown costume. Just a weird choice. I did like the demon costumes though. There were some really funny scenes but overall very below average martial arts flick.

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English tramslation of clinchamps's review: La cuisine est ici le chemin de la vie,...I agree!

Tampopo (Dandelion in Japanese) holds a small ramen gargotte. She is a widow with a son who is bullied by his friends from primary school. One day a tanker truck stops and the driver and his teammate go to eat. As the two men find ramen bad and they seem to know anything about them (especially Goro the cowboy-looking driver), she asks them to teach her.

This learning will give rise to several digressions all as tasty as each other, because for the Japanese, Cooking is an art in its own right, like Pottery or Sabre and this film is the very essence of Japan. The narration is anything but linear: we walk through this film by crossing different characters more or less connected to the story, or even not at all like the yakuza in white suit and his mistress. Cooking as an art where all the senses are put to use is the very plot of the film (the yakuza and his mistress prove to us that the pleasures of the palate are closely linked to other pleasures!)

We meet all walks of life from clodos to a rich bourgeois and the common link is always the culinary art. Little by little the gargotte of Tampopo will become a small restaurant where people queue, because everything is linked: the appearance of the kitchen, the look of the stove make the kitchen even better! And as this film is Japanese, of course the ending is perfect, positive, (Ah! the scene of learning how to eat spaghetti without noise, or the one where tramps sing...) happy, but with a light and sweet melancholy, when the tanker goes away for the last time on its highway!

This movie is a magic potion, a slice of pure happiness that should be reimbursed by Social Security. Impossible not to finish it with a smile on your face with the irrepressible desire to put yourself in the stove.


By the way, Miyamoto Nobuko is the former wife of the late director Itami Juzo...

According to a online video interview of Miyamoto Nobuko about the movie, she said that her husband kept asking her about her opinion as to what people would think about a movie about this topic or that topic, or a movie about ramen.

Her rely to him was, "Why don't you just make the movie and see what the people think about it."...so he finally did and created a comedy to last an eternity!

There was criticism about the vignette not being 'cohesive'...it is a comedy! It doesn't have to be cohesive!

Itami Juzo is partially mocking the chefs and their secrets to making the perfect ramen. He is also portraying the Japanese city as the scene of a Western; with cowboys riding delivery trucks rather than horses; with individuals becoming jilted at the tought somenes 'stole' their ramen secrests, which they did, time and time again!

One reviewer complained about a turtle being killed; HOW DO YOU THINK ANIMALS ARE PREPARED BEFORE YOU EAT THEIR MEAT??

Cows are killed before the beef in your grocery store sells it to you, and pigs are slaughtered

Someone kills the cow and processes the meat into hamburgers!

The same process is done for pigs, lamb, birds, sheep, et al. Animals 'die' and their meat processed before you eat it!

The main and support cast worked well together and there was just enough drama to make the comedic parts funnier.

There was also criticism of the egg and oyster: take alook at daytime Japanese television and teh 'egg and oyster' sccenes are NOTHNIG campared to daily Japanese sexual hijinxs on Japanese daytime television!

This film reminds me of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)" and
It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)...so funny and so universal!

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From the moment the film opens with a black clad narrator in front of a curtain you know you are in for a different movie experience. The Ballad of Narayama is a colorful stylized kabuki inspired film that felt more like an elaborate stage play. New backgrounds dropped, scenes faded to black all on a meticulously created stage. A sing song narrator guided the audience through this strange land where the elderly were carried up to the mountaintop to die once they reached the age of 70.

The story focused on Orin, a kind, industrious grandmother who was about to turn 70. She set her affairs to order, including finding a wife for her widower son, Tatsuhei. He loved his mother and was in no hurry to carry her up the mountain. His son, Kesakichi, on the other hand, was a greedy, lazy and obviously shortsighted young man who wanted grandma gone. Orin knew that adding to the family meant more mouths to feed bolstering her resolve to do her duty.

The ungrateful grandson created a song about his grandmother and her 33 demon teeth which the villagers picked up on and sang throughout the film. Orin, embarrassed to meet the god on the mountain with a healthy mouth took matters into her own hands.

As gracefully as Orin was facing her end, Mata, an elderly neighbor steadfastly refused to take the journey up the mountain. His family kicked him out cutting him off from their food supply.

Eventually, the new year came. Orin and her son were given the traditional rules.
1) Don’t talk on Narayama
2) Let no one see you leave
3) Never look back once dropping off the family member

Tatsuhei broken-heartedly carried his mother on the arduous journey, spurred on by not only his sense of duty and tradition but also his mother’s resolute silent acceptance leaving him no room to back out of his deadly task.

On top of the mountain the film differentiated from assisted suicide and murder. Splitting hairs when leaving someone to die of starvation and exposure.

The story highlighted group needs and tradition over the individual’s. Tragedy collided with tradition and sorrow with ceremony. Ironically, Orin was the most productive and resourceful member of her family but at 70 she was expected to make the fatal trip.

Every scene in this film was lush and lovingly created. Lighting was used in a variety of manners to highlight the mood and conversations. There were a few close-up shots of the actors but mostly they were seen at a distance as if in a play. Both dialogue and silence were used to good effect. I can’t say I enjoyed the traditional music but it fit the film perfectly.

This film’s style will not be for everyone. It took some adjustment for me to be absorbed. The obvious stage nature worked to keep me at a distance. Yet, the story did resonate as human nature and survival was put on display. The role extreme poverty played in the development of traditions, treatment of the elderly and the nature of a mother’s sacrifice were touched on. The film was beautifully shot yet it felt like there should have been an opening to question whether traditions need to be blindly accepted or perhaps reevaluated at times. It was hard to be too judgmental of the impoverished village when modern societies are not much more merciful to their elderly.

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This is a movie about 3 BFFs since childhood: Shuta, Michiru & Saku. Saku dies of an heart attack in high school and since then, Shuta and Michiru's ways part, they never see each other again, both feeling guilty about what happened. But then, one day, Shuta finds a way to travel back in time and change the past. But it comes at a cost.

At first, I didn't think I would cry as much as I did because the first 2/3 or so of the movie are actually quite funny. I started feeling a little wobbly when Kyoko, the time traveler stuck outside of time for over 60 years, told Shuta about the consequences of changing the past - the loss of all memories. Everything gets rewritten. Everyone forgets the time traveler and he/she forgets them. And Shuta still decides to save Saku because he wants Saku to live, even at the cost of becoming a stranger to both him and Michiru...

And then, the scene at the train station. When Shuta saves Saku and they manage to catch Michiru before leaving and Shuta thinks that Michiru loves Saku and that Saku loves Michiru and so he's okay with them forgetting him because they will have each other, so it's okay, everything is okay...

But then, in the very last moments before everything gets rewritten, Shuta finds out that Michiru was never in love with Saku, she was in love with him, with Shuta, and Saku knew that. Shuta's realization... When he started crying - his friends' shock because they didn't get why! - when he managed to ask Michiru to smile at him if they ever meet again, even if she didn't remember him, when he told Saku he was entrusting Michiru to him - and in the next moment, they forgot all about him... Yeah, that's when I started bawling like a little kid.

Also, Kyoko's tears. Her, "I will remember you..."

And then the last scene on the beach, when Michiru and Saku met Shuta there, strangers to each other... The way they looked, like an old married couple, sweet but, well, boring, to be honest. It showed how different their life was without Shuta in it. But Shuta felt also a little different, so... peaceful. I think that if he remembered what he had done, he would still find it worth it.

Gosh, this movie. My head's aching from all the crying I did.

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