This film is quite smart, it plays with your mind and emotions from beginning to end, this is a roller coaster of emotions. From the very beginning I was totally blown up and so many times while watching the movie I just found myself -literally- open mouthed because I just couldn't believe what I was watching. Too good.
They tell us the story step by step without missing details, so we don't get the whole bunch of information abruptly and it keeps you hooked up to the story.
One of the things that I loved the most about this, was definitely the ethical-moral question the whole movie sets. Who's right? who's wrong? who has the right point of view about justice? The film won't answer these questions, it just shows different points of views and it's all up to you to decide who's right or wrong...
The ending is an open ending but not a bad ending at all! it's really hard to make an open ending good, but this one was pretty good. I loved the very last scene so much.
About the acting... Ikuta Toma is a great actor, he deserves every single acting award that exists in this planet. His acting was superb! Actually everyone did a great acting job.
Camera and directing work it's perfect for the film, the colors and the tones and use of the light gives to every moment a special feeling.
Music was pretty accurate to each scene, in some scenes I just felt that music was another character of the movie. :)
This movie is based on the novel "No Otoko" by Urio Shudo :)
Was this review helpful to you?
Centered on the battle of each of the characters’ “Sense of Justice”, the film created a very disturbing aura from which people without very strong stance on “what is right or wrong?” might be drawn to the one of the characters’ beliefs. That is how this film had been so persuasively good in delivering the intent of the story.
The story has a lot of potential to become a series since there are a lot of rooms to be explored. However, that doesn't mean that the movie was incomplete. The film per se successfully established the roots of each of the characters stance. Why and how they become like that. The storyline had been well sequenced including how each twist had been placed and the timing of unraveling the mysteries.
Superb acting from the cast can be expected. The feeling of anger, hate, disgust and pity can be thrown to the characters due to the actors’ outstanding convincing performance in delivering consistently the roles they are portraying.
In the end, the movie will leave you the questions “Who is right or wrong?” OR “What is right or wrong?” – questions that will only be answered depending on your personal “Sense of Justice”.
Was this review helpful to you?
The acting was superb! Ikuta Toma deserves more than a standing ovation for his acting skill. His expression and gesture were the ones that made this movie special. Also, I love the way they expressed emotions using background music.
Although there were still missing points and, for sure, non-sense matters appeared in this movie, I would say the director, the writer, and all team member did a really great job. Thanks for making this movie!
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
It has a good story that has a lot mystery in it, so you keep wondering and asking. Also this movie never has a dull moment. Or it's packed with action, thrilling scene's or there is some kind of drama going on. And I loved the little twists in the movie!
The acting was very good, and especially from Ikuta Toma! I was really surprised about his acting skills (and body, just kidding)!!! He didn't had many lines in this movie, but he made this film is own!
But in little ways this movie lacks some information about the extra characters, I'd liked the story more when there was more information, but this might killed the mystique part in the movie.
Overall a movie with action and some drama that is worth your time to watch!
Was this review helpful to you?
The story-line was deep, and dark. I love films that really make you think and are extremely bad-ass, and this was one of those action packed, psychological thrillers.
A fantastic film although not for the faint-hearted. A total must watch!!!!!!
Was this review helpful to you?
The story in itself has some clichés parts, but the acting and everything is done so well that you can't help but be totally shocked by that movie.
The way it is filmed is particular and suits the movie well. What I liked is that there are a lot of silences, which nowadays lack in most movies. Most scenes are intense, be it an action scene or a psychological scene. All the character are well-developed and feelings have a great place in this. Of course so,e of it was predicable, but it was soooo enjoyable to see it happen,+ the way it's filmed is, i repeat, very satisfying. Sometimes there is a silence and then BAM, suprise. The details have a lot of importance and you can remark them quite easily or hard depending on the scene.
For the acting, I have to say that Ikuta Toma really amazed me here. I had already seen a couple dramas/movies with him, but this is probably his best. The other characters were well developed, although I would've loved to see more of the detective; but I guess it's normal since the movie isn't centered on him. The psychiatrice was a good actress -I've already seen her countless of times and she didn't disappoint me - and the two girls were quite good.
this is actually the secoond time im watching The Brain Man, but I remember -from when it was released, so I agree it's not just a few weeks ago - a few scenes very clearly -the one at the beginning in the warehouse, the ending scene, the scene with the eye... Everything was totally graved into my mind. So the rewatch value is high but I'd say you have to watch a few months to get the same feeling. You have to forget some of the details to get fully satisfied by this movie the second time you're watching it, but I think it's okay if you know the general plot.
As for the music, I though it suited well. The song on one of the last scene (I think it was the one with the car?) was perfect.
So if you like these kind of badass/psychological/action/suspense/brain/ INTENSE movie, Brain man is for you!
Gosh, I'm still shocked by my feelings toward this film. ~~
Was this review helpful to you?
If you don't like psychopathic-themed stories or a few sexual deviations, then I don't recommend watching this movie. If I may conclude, this movie focuses on psychological issues, especially on mental health.
Ikuta Toma's acting skill was truly tested in this movie, and in my opinion he conquered it with great success! Expressions, gestures, intonations, everything is superb!
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
In this movie, there almost seems to be a battle between contrasting sides of good against one evil. One of the interesting things I have found found by watching this movie is the question that arises in regards to which sides of right/good is right.
So, on one side you have someone who believes that everyone has good in them and can change. This was held firm from the ashes of pain and tragedy, however, the pain was still there.
On the other hand, you have someone, who coincidentally doesn't feel pain (or any emotion). come along and after a series of events seemingly solve the problem and remove pain while at the same time bring hope.
The depressed mother in the background could almost serve as a gauge for viewing the two sides. The right that didn't give her any hope, or the right that killed and in the process returned hope to her, or at least made her consider the treatment program. Which in the end was more effective in the real world (the world of the movie at least)?
In general, the movie just makes you question what is right and what is wrong in the first place.
I also kind of like this movie because, while the ideals of what would make up a hero was rebelling against the actions of what would make up a villain, despite all that, the one that could be considered the villain or evil actually won in the end!
It was a great movie. The contrasts in this movie provide interesting food for thought. It's action packed and will play with your emotions. If you love looking into darkness and seeing if you don't flinch when something looks back at you, this is the movie for you!
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Good But Could've Been Great
The core idea of this story was a moral one, like it or not. The main character, the doctor Mariko Washiya, clung to a childish, delusional belief that pure, unqualified kindness could "cure" the worst possible criminals of their criminal tendencies. And by "worst" I mean literal pedophiles. This is, I guess, a nice idea, but it is also wildly, dangerously delusional. It stood at the center of all the other host of moral questions posed by this movie. A lot of them, such as the morality of Ikuta Toma's actions throughout his life, presented genuinely interesting examinations of nature versus nurture. In addition, of course, there was the question of the morality or immorality of using extralegal means to stop the truly horrific criminals that escape police and judicial justice. That's one of the oldest moral debates in modern civilization, but it's still worth having and this movie contributed something of value to that.Where it failed, however, was in its treatment of the doctor's immensely delusional approach to rehabilitation. There is a subset of law-abiding citizens of every nation and culture who find it fundamentally impossible to accept that some people are just bad. Perhaps something could have prevented that outcome, but nothing can change that state one it's reached. Her aim was to prove her hypothesis -- that kindness could cure criminality -- by using the worst possible type of criminal (a pedophile and murderer) as her glittering test case. In the course of the story this "reformed" pedophile was shown to have not been reformed in the slightest, so much so that after being free for less than one week he had already kidnapped another young victim. However, she still maintained her delusion, using her kindness towards Ikuta Toma (which ostensibly but not really caused him to "change") to prove herself right. Overlooking the main fact that Ikuta Toma was never a bad person. Anyone with eyes could see that he was not a deranged, immoral criminal, but rather a vigilante, of sorts, with a firm moral code. However she continued to be "kind" to him even before she realized this. And then, when she started to realize that he was always behaving morally, she took credit for that. This was never called out by the story, this incredible delusional tendency of hers.
A argument could be made that his sense of morality was actually stronger than hers. His shift, however slight and however impermanent, was to allow for the law to occasionally handle some of the criminals who crossed his path, as a way of supporting his efforts, rather than refusing to trust the legal system at all.
The question of pure sociopathy being equivalent to base criminality is an old, tired one made popular by absurd Hollywood representations of wildly brilliant, cunning, interesting serial killer sociopaths, when the reality is that the majority of them are just brainless scum. Pure sociopathy is never seen, in medical or scientific fields, to be a guarantee of criminality or a red flag or a sign of any kind. It's rare enough that it's basically not seen as anything at all but an anomaly. Such a question is so ridiculous that treating it like a deep moral conundrum is beyond boring.
That said, contrasting his sociopathy with that of the two teenage killers made for a very interesting look at nature versus nurture. And it asked some very uncomfortable questions about the nature side more than anything else. That is to say, arguably Ikuta Toma's upbringing was worse than theirs, harder, harsher, crueler. The two girls even, to whatever deranged extent, knew love while he never had. Yet he still had a hard moral core. Could it be, then, that some people are just bad?
I think that's what they were trying to do with this movie, but a few things got left on the editing room floor, I think. All in all, though, very solid. I found the scenes with the female killers almost unwatchably uncomfortable so I doubt I'll ever watch this again. But I'm glad I watched it the one time.
Was this review helpful to you?
