This review may contain spoilers
Good concept, execution somewhat lacking.
Let's do this review in parts since the movie is somewhat an anthology.
The movie begins with a set of rules at this semi magical cafe. At first it seems like a straight up supernatural comedy, but things don't always stay the way they seem. Admist the mini stories, there's the main story layered in about the waitress Kazu who helps run the cafe.
1st story: The Story here involving a women's regrets was short and somewhere between bewildering and sweet based on the length of the story. It serves as an introduction to what the story is setting us up for. One cannot change the past. And if you could go back, would anything change if you said what you wanted to then? The story plays on the idea of how do you change rather then how does the other person change as a result.
2nd story: This one is little more sad as it deals with a couple and a debilitating human disease. At first you do assume it's going to be a specific character going back in time but it pulls a swerve. At this point, I realized the movie uses sugar as an way to comfort its characters after a major blow. The second story is something that is very real and was a nice way to look at the effects diseases can have on relationships. The acting was a little stiff in some parts so it didn't hit as hard as it could of but the sentiment is there. I will say the music transition to the past is very corny and kinda ruins the mood before anything happens.
There's some particularly pretty shots when they are outside the cafe oddly enough. The inside cafe interior is nothing impressive but it does a have a unique ambience. The set design in the cafe is fun but also boring somehow? The sequences they use to enter the past though is top notch.
Story 3: Damn this one hit hard unexpectedly. This is my second time seeing Yoshida San act and I'm impressed with her acting abilities. I really liked this one the most. It got so emotional so quickly. Definitely a strong segment. I wanted more of this one. They established backstory quickly and maintained a strong finish. I felt like if the movie had more of this feeling it would of been much higher score for me personally.
After this segment the movie feels like a completely different movie as it starts to refocus on the main character Kazu. I kinda feel like like at this point the movie should of condensed the movie into maybe 3 segments with a focus retaining on Kazu throughout each experience, instead of 3 stories with Kazu as a fourth. I understand each segment has a meaning to Kazu's overall story but I think the execution wasn't as smooth.
The ending segment with Kazu was well done but just can't shake the feeling it was dropped into without proper build up. Same goes with the relationship she has in the movie. I felt like by the end the main relationship was very surface level and not deep enough to warrant the payoff in the end.
And what was with those segments with the first people declaring their goals right into the camera?? It was a like a infomercial in America lol. This was very jarring to me.
The movie begins with a set of rules at this semi magical cafe. At first it seems like a straight up supernatural comedy, but things don't always stay the way they seem. Admist the mini stories, there's the main story layered in about the waitress Kazu who helps run the cafe.
1st story: The Story here involving a women's regrets was short and somewhere between bewildering and sweet based on the length of the story. It serves as an introduction to what the story is setting us up for. One cannot change the past. And if you could go back, would anything change if you said what you wanted to then? The story plays on the idea of how do you change rather then how does the other person change as a result.
2nd story: This one is little more sad as it deals with a couple and a debilitating human disease. At first you do assume it's going to be a specific character going back in time but it pulls a swerve. At this point, I realized the movie uses sugar as an way to comfort its characters after a major blow. The second story is something that is very real and was a nice way to look at the effects diseases can have on relationships. The acting was a little stiff in some parts so it didn't hit as hard as it could of but the sentiment is there. I will say the music transition to the past is very corny and kinda ruins the mood before anything happens.
There's some particularly pretty shots when they are outside the cafe oddly enough. The inside cafe interior is nothing impressive but it does a have a unique ambience. The set design in the cafe is fun but also boring somehow? The sequences they use to enter the past though is top notch.
Story 3: Damn this one hit hard unexpectedly. This is my second time seeing Yoshida San act and I'm impressed with her acting abilities. I really liked this one the most. It got so emotional so quickly. Definitely a strong segment. I wanted more of this one. They established backstory quickly and maintained a strong finish. I felt like if the movie had more of this feeling it would of been much higher score for me personally.
After this segment the movie feels like a completely different movie as it starts to refocus on the main character Kazu. I kinda feel like like at this point the movie should of condensed the movie into maybe 3 segments with a focus retaining on Kazu throughout each experience, instead of 3 stories with Kazu as a fourth. I understand each segment has a meaning to Kazu's overall story but I think the execution wasn't as smooth.
The ending segment with Kazu was well done but just can't shake the feeling it was dropped into without proper build up. Same goes with the relationship she has in the movie. I felt like by the end the main relationship was very surface level and not deep enough to warrant the payoff in the end.
And what was with those segments with the first people declaring their goals right into the camera?? It was a like a infomercial in America lol. This was very jarring to me.
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