Karinanose

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A frustrating watch to be honest. Not because of the movie itself. More so the themes behind the movie are so true and harsh.

The theme of this movie seems to be about how we are just expected to be someone as soon as we enter the job market in society. In Japan, it is a big deal to land a good job and if you do it must be with a company. Those jobs pretty much mean you are there for life. It's generally looked down upon taking up jobs that aren't with giant companies and leaving such jobs is also a very big faux pas. Therefor work culture in Japan can sometimes be toxic and leave many people in disarray during the job hunt.

We come across 5 individuals all looking for that release. When they will find the job that will make them a productive member of society. Each one has a goal in mind to find the job but they are extremely reluctant to do so. Many of them end up having to compromise in order not to feel failure. Failure is a large component of this movie. In fact the main Protagonist Takuto somewhat revels in it. And this is where the movie becomes extremely frustrating.

Takuto is always analyzing his peers and making his judgements on their decisions. His character is majorly flawed in that he has totally been crushed by the world and doesn't take responsibility for his own downfalls. This creates a large vacuum of despair within himself. It's as if his self loathing is projected onto his friends. We learn at the end about what he's really been thinking the entire movie and it's awful. As someone who has had issues in the past comparing themselves to others, I can understand where he's coming from. We attack because we lack awareness of our own vulnerabilities. It's one of the reasons it's hard to watch this for me. We know he knows that he isn't amounting to anything but he can't express it himself anymore.
A largely trapped feeling that dwells on past stories.

The other characters are parallels of this journey. Mizuki who has to grow up in order to protect her parents who she feels she owes. Kotaro the drive less musician who has to move on in order to survive. Despite this he continues to head toward a goal that seems almost implausible. Rica who wants to do good in the world and does everything she can to make herself heard. And finally Takayoshi who has already decided that the world is beneath him and he doesn't want to live in such a world that breaks someone's individuality. All of these characters represent many repressed feelings of youth who are growing up in such a society that values you more as a number then a person. The main cast all present themselves in a way that represents a role in Takuto's mind play. People who hide their insecurities and sadness behind walls. They are all equally disgraceful in his eyes. But we watch on as entertainment. So then the question the movie asks is how can we be so blind to these feelings?

Visually the film is well shot and there's some really good tight shots and the stage play shots are really inventive. A lot of the film focuses on subtle little cues. Like the shuffling of a phone or the eyes of Takuto making his analysis of his friends.Body language is also very telling in this story. There's a major difference in how let's say Kotaro, Takayoshi and Takuto present themselves. Takeru Satoh has this innate ability to portray a devilish quality behind his acting. It's kinda like that swarmy evil underbelly of someone . In this movie it makes him pretty unlikable as a character. Kasumi once again steals the show with her distant emotional breaks. I think she had the best scenes in the movie.

I would say this movie is ok to watch when you just maybe feel a little sad. It's mood is definitely subdued with it's warm intense lighting. It uses a lot of techniques that stage plays use I thought. So it has a lot of spotlights and colored lighting to convey tones.

Finally the film expresses the one true thing we all know. Twitter is a dumpster fire.

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Continue on

I want to say what a beautiful piece of media this is! A delicate story of life and balance. Despite what may happen in the story, the answer is always to move forward with a smile.

The actors have great chemistry. Kentarou and Kasumi lead the cast with their amazing body language and melancholic stares. These two are undeniably great together. If you have seen Sayonara no Tsuzuki, it's almost like watching a seemingly parallel relationship play out. Kasumi always has this expression I call the "Arimura stare." It's when she stares off to the side looking down as if she's looking through time and space.

A lot of things happen in this story to poor Toko. Arimura was the right choice in depicting such a flurry of emotional turmoil and strength. I tend to find she takes on roles a lot where her character is constantly being pulled in many directions, only for her to stand her ground and make her own decisions about what's best for her. That's why I'm so drawn to her roles. She expertly has honed this very specialized talent of the listless soul searching for meaning.

Kentarou plays his part with a gentle nature and ease. His outburst feel more emotional as his character is so reserved. I liked that about his acting. Whenever he was dealing with things, his body language would become awkward and stiff. Thus allowing him to fully express his inhibitions.

I was also enamoured with Kang Ji Young as Han. I loved her acting and smoothness. Each of her scenes felt really relaxed. The dynamic she had with both Toko and Kiyotaka was great!

Amane's part as Shinji was a little jarring at first as an insert rival but he came around. I think Shinji and Toko needed more interactions to make me understand the relationship better. Kiyotaka and Han felt more fleshed out and had better layers built upon it. So I didn't quite feel that much for Shinji. He was a plucky underdog that in the end lost but not forever. His tragedy seemed to be an amalgamation of trying to work your hardest but still losing in the end. Which I think is important in this particular story. He didn't get a fairytale ending. He hid things and lashed out due to all the stress. A trait that many in Japanese society can understand I'm sure.

I liked that this story started with tragedy and then ended with bittersweet ending. There's so many things that happen in this story that feels like a train wreck. It's almost just bad news after bad news that these poor people endure. But I appreciated that they handled each story well. I was not expecting the story to feature the Philippines. That segment took such a drastic turn of events!

Each story I felt had a important message about rebuilding and supporting each other through tough times. I think that's what made me really enjoy this story. Hardships we endure and the power to move forward is something that Japan heavily focuses on. It's a strength of Japanese media. Soshite ikiru is trying to tell us to not dwell on the negatives because we are still here in the end. Things may come and go but we can find happiness in how those hardships led us to the things we have now.

In the end we can always strive to move forward.

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Time and time again

Honestly it's hard to really say much about this movie.

At first it's ok and intriguing. Then as the movie progresses it just starts getting silly.
The acting by the young actors are great. The older adults come across as phoning in the roles honestly.

I didn't like Satoru's depth at all. His acting didn't seem believable and I just couldn't get behind how he was reacting to situations. Like when his mom was killed what sort of reaction was that?? Katagiri was also just kinda there and the ending had no impact due to their undefined relationship. There was not enough build to make it matter. They all felt too mellow in their scenes and it made the movie feel like nothing significant was happening.

I also don't understand how situations played out. We have an adult in a kid's body, yet his logic during key scenes was like not to speak up or defend himself. The acting of Kayo's parents also seemed to be so dissonant from the scenes. I don't know how to explain it. They weren't acting at the other actors, they were just playing out the scene if that makes sense.

The pacing and plot were ok for the most part but as everyone else said the last 20 mins is just absurd. Let's just go to a super high roof alone with the killer.

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We never should feel bad for a life we lived.

I fell in love with these characters over the course of this 10 episode series. Despite the main theme of the story being something that is brought up a ton in Japanese media, this story felt fresh and unique.

Having the story set up about the life of struggling comedians was a great idea. I loved Haruto's blunt nature, Shunta's infectious spirit and Junbei's unwavering quirkyness. Each of these characters felt so natural in their interactions with their banter being the highlight. Sometimes the dumb jokes were nonsensical but that's what makes this more believable. The fact that the jokes they had with each other didn't seem that funny to me spoke volumes about how realistic the friendship was. These are stupid little jokes only they would find hilarious. I really liked that aspect and was able to laugh along as they really made no sense to me. The sketches were beyond crazy. I had no idea what I was watching half the time lol. Make sure you stay until the end of the credits as they finish the sketches.I did find comfort in them just like how Rihoko did however.

Rihoko and Tsumugi had an important part to play as well. I resonated with both of their struggles as they hit really close to home. Rihoko is brilliantly acted by Arimura Kasumi and Tsumugi by Kotone Furukawa. I've seen these two together in so many shows now, it makes sense why they are paired together. They have wonderful chemistry. Rihoko probably has the most dramatic scenes in the series and steals the show whenever they pull one out. Tsumugi felt a little more one sided until they opened up about what her character was experiencing and it felt all too real. I thought her character had the most interesting reason for being the way she was. I will include Natsumi in this as well. Natsumi was a cutie, and I want all the best things for her. Her character motivations and demeanor were so wholesome. I really liked that there was practically no drama with her relationship with Everyone. I was half expecting a burst of emotion at the events but it was tempered with the story.

I also liked for the most part that the series is so light hearted despite such heavy subjects as suicide, life goals, mlms and failures. The themes resonate with anyone who are now in the midst of their adult years. I felt joy, sorrow and appreciation for how they depicted so many different subjects with pillowy tact. The show respects that things aren't really bad or good in all aspects and that was a core takeaway. We don't need to normalize taking the opposite route of everyone else is a bad thing. As long as we have faith in ourselves, it wasn't for nothing.

Sometimes it's ok to take the road less travelled if it means getting you closer to who you want to be.

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This is just all over the place

Quick preface by saying I have not read the manga.

I tried to give this movie the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes we can take movies at face value and just turn our brains off and enjoy, but this movie is messy in its execution.

The acting is all over the place. Momo the main character is carelessly thrown about with no real reason for character growth. Her goals and grievances are very haphazard. It doesn't help that her acting is not very believable. It's hard to root for her when you don't feel any sort of attachment. The crying scenes especially felt very off. Like the crying was good the emotion seemed misplaced if that makes sense?

The movie also seems to focus way more on Kairi then her. Kairi's story is decently ok but he is extremely irritating. His family acts so hilariously like typical drama family that none of it feels like it matters. The father especially feels like a completely different story is going on. Toji is extremely just there to be cool. And Sae is just a maniac with no good reason to actually hate Momo. I like both Mackenyu and Mei so it was disappointing seeing their characters so one sided. I also think the cast had really bad chemistry together. Every interaction felt extremely forced or awkward.

Each plot point just goes so quickly and there seems little build up to these characters. It's like they were just rushing to get to each plot point. Every new plot introduced just made it feel like this would of been better as series. There seems to to be a lot missing perhaps found in the manga. This hurt the pacing quite a bit as they tried to cram so much into the movie.

Not recommended at all.

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Grant me this wish God of cinema

As a lover of period pieces, I was looking forward to the setting of this movie. While the movie itself mostly takes place in the present, I found it hard to really get to grasp onto the characters struggles.

The main issue I had with was the lack of build between Yoshiko and Gou. I found that they lacked chemistry and that the story didn't actually touch too much on why they liked each other. Being the main core of this story, I couldn't help but feel disconnected from the story as their relationship was poorly put together. Gou and Terashin had much more impactful scenes together that made their relationship feel well thought out. Gou was probably the best realized as a character and his younger self had a good amount of the same characterizations. Yoshiko felt like two different characters, which makes sense in context of the story but was not really expanded. The film also does a little tongue and cheek nod about not explaining things and letting audiences figure things out themselves and I felt like this movie was that the whole way.

There was something also off about Yuta and Ayumi as well. Yuta, I'm not sure if his character was meant to be that awkward but he was really stiff in all of his line deliveries. His character kinda came off as someone with issues due to his disfunctional family. But he's just kinda there. Eventually his story plays an important part in getting things together but they don't really do much with that plot point. Ayumi also I felt didn't quite live up the daughter. I'm not sure if this was due to lack of chemistry but the cast to me didn't click as a family unit. She just didn't seem as upset in certain scenes or was really kind of phoning it in. Her most powerful scene was sitting the speech but even then it felt underwhelming. I understand that was one of the plot points but it seemed very haphazard.

The plot Itself was easy enough to follow, but there was a few odd swerves it took. I think the main issues were just the pacing and story didn't feel like it earned the emotional moments. The only scene that seemed to really get to me is when Yoshiko and Gou are reminiscing over a photo of her and when Sonoka does her final scene. The acceptance speech as well. That's when I think we truly get the movies' purpose of repentance. But I think it would of landed better off they spent a little more time on the Family dynamic.

Interestingly enough Covid came into play into this story. This movie came into theatres in 2021. So it seems it may have been unfortunately a casualty during the filming shutdowns and barriers due to social distancing. I wonder if this affected the movie's script?

I'm not sure I would recommend this movie overall.

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I just want to be a normal office lady

This is one of the silliest movies I've watched. The fact that this isn't a manga adaptation is hilarious. The movie itself goes through a typical shonen manga arc. It even explicitly tells you they based the whole story on manga arcs revolving Yanki men. I loved watching the cast, you could tell they were having fun indulging in this silly world. The movie had good comedic timing and a lot of the actors played their parts humorously. I particularly liked Shuri, Etsuko and Shiori.

The fights in the movie are silly and surprisingly mobile with their long skirts. They aren't amazing action sequences but they at least are fun to watch. It's really hard to take Mei Nagano seriously as a combatant due to her demeanor, but that's what's so fun about this production. I loved seeing this angry side of her. Alice was a hearthrob! I loved her hero like energy and style. The bosses of Tomsun were absolutely hilarious. I loved how the boss was so typical of a silly anime villain. I loved the aura of Reina and they really played that up with her speaking mannerisms.

The production had some fun cinematography, with it's comedic cuts and vibrant bright lighting. The music coming in every time a big fight happened was fun. The plot is super nonsensical and should just be ignored lol.You came here to watch ladies beat the tar out of each other and that's what you get. I thought it was so silly how a lot of fights ended with the same scars on certain characters.

Just turn your brain off and enjoy the idea.

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A drama where no one wins

Motherhood is hard to watch. Many of the characters go through such demanding circumstances that you feel generally bad all around. Though through innovative storytelling we unravel the many failings of displaced trauma. The story is told into two view points. We initially see the mother's side of what she thought happened. Then we are treated with what the daughter experienced. Now the question is, which is the correct reliable narrator?

Storywise, the grandma's offer two distinct types: the over bearing hater and the gentle enabler. What I liked about this story is that they show the issues with both these sides of motherhood. Despite Rumiko growing up with a caring mother, she developed a complex to only please her mother and others above herself. Meanwhile Rumiko's mother in law is a straight up maniac. Just constantly degrading Rumiko and coddling Ritsuko while ignoring her son's plight in his younger years. The movie scathingly shows up how neither is sustainable on a child in the long run. Rumiko's mother in law is played so convincingly harpy like it's hard not to hate her. That was impressive act. While Rumiko's mother was shown with such a gentle nurturing side. She was like a ideal mother in terms of composure and warmth, which made her final scene heart wrenching.

Erika Toda herself reminds me of Shelly Duvall. She has a gentleness that comes off as a ticking time bomb. Where her emotions are just seething slightly below the surface. There were many times I was expecting her to just explode at her daughter. During her scenes, Rumiko I felt had a really interesting way of speaking about how she was trying to keep things together. It was in her line delivery that made me felt like she had so much to say but was keeping it all in.

Sayaka is played lovingly by two different people. The younger version played a very convincing child who was scared of being reprimanded by her mother. Her eyes told so much. It was great acting on her part. Mei Nagano who plays the older Sayaka has always a slight sparkle in her eye and has played this sort of part before. It was actually somewhat funny seeing a reverse of "And so the Baton is passed," her previous movie that had a very similar idea but in a completely opposite direction. Mei plays Sayaka brilliantly. You can tell all she's thinking with every little side glance. I particularly praised the scene where Sayaka comes home to her screaming grandmother who wants hot water. Both actors in this scene rely so much on body language and emotional rage. I loved it.

The father was basically non existent in this movie.

Much like how it is in asian families, father's tend to do absolutely nothing to help their children and rely on the mothers to raise their children. He barely even had many lines and for the most part he was basically shown as uncaring and emotionless due to his own background. I was hoping they were going to allow him to speak up. The focus on his painting's emotional state in the beginning was the perfect way to allow him to have some sort of emotional control. Alas that moment never really came. even when he had his scene allowing for him to explain his actions. He rarely got a word in.

As for the guts of the movie itself, the movie is shot beautifully with vivid colors and great color coordination. Many of the outfits and sets were very well done with the older 1990s setting it seemed like the world was well executed. The music, I don't really remember much of so I can't really say anything there. For the overall plot it was very meaty and I liked being able to re-frame each scene with the differing perspectives. The ending is a little iffy and kinda abrupt. I wish they spent a little more careful time for better impact. But this is how it is in relationships in reality, they are messy and they don't clean up easily.

This movie is probably best to watch when you're in for some serious drama. Although the Mother in Law is almost comical with how mean she is lol.

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Smile, and it will attract all kinds of luck your way

Our childhoods are driven by what we learn from our parents. Some of us don't have the luxury of knowing those parents all of our lives but the ones that take their place have impact on us no matter how small a role they play. "And so the Baton was passed " is a beautiful story about how the young Mitan manages to live a good life despite her various changes in parenthood. Do we then hate the parent for their abandonment? Is there more reasoning to forgive them? Can we call our foster parents our real parents?

That is what this story tries to answer.

The story is a little complex at first as there's many moving parts to Mitan's life. Rika enters Mitan's life as someone who had no aim in life. She drifted from place to place but she found a home. That stability quietly ceases as her secret concerns start to way heavily on her. Then from this place onward, Mitan is moved around to different homes as Rika tries to better seemingly her own life.

There seems little disregard to what Mitan is feeling.Rika is played with such vigor it's hard to hate her. Throughout the movie it feels like the movie frames her in a way that we are not supposed to root for her. But it's hard not to because of the magnetic performance of Ishihara Satomi. When we are eventually clued into the full story, there's a heart crushing sense of understanding with who Rika is as a character. She's made bad decisions yes, but she was only after the best interest of Mitan. Her actions are then redefined in a more positive light adding much nuance to her character arc. These decisions still may not sit well with the audience, but that is the point.

The young actress playing Mitan does a bang up job pulling at your heart strings. We can all relate to her sadness, as I am sure we have had parents make decisions that caused us sadness in our past in some way. The young Mitan has a beautiful scene where she learns of the soothing power of the piano. When they overlayed these stories of the young Yuko in the beginning, at first it was a little confusing. I thought there was 2 stories playing before I realized what was going on. This was probably due to the odd editing in the beginning. But it made more sense after they started revealing more of the backstory.

A teenage Mitan now going by Yuko is played with heart and quiet sadness. Mei Nagano has such a soothing voice, it's really well suited for characters that are a little downtrodden. I thought her portrayal was so strong and she had so many emotional scenes. I admired how she was able to emote sadness, happiness,heartbreak, triumph in all her different tears.I think she is well on her way to become a great actor in her mature years. She's already so strong based on things I've seen in her before. She hasn't hit her ceiling yet and you can tell she's got a lot more in her future career.

Morimiya san had a strong fatherly presence that was well balanced and felt very natural. I enjoyed their many interactions during their eating sessions. A particular scene with them cooking together is where I appreciated their chemistry. The dialogue used between them also felt very natural and had that timing you get when you've known that person for a long time.

The love interest Hayase kun doesn't play a huge role in this movie. But he's crucial to include as he's the reason a few things happen in this movie. His relationship with his parents also show the stark contrast with her own parents. To be honest, he felt somewhat simple as a character. But as the focus was on Yuko this was fine. He didn't distract from the mainline plot. I'm sure if this was a series there be a whole backstory about his single mother and lack of direction.

Once the movie's plot starts rolling in full gear, the movie is hard to put down. We are strung along with hope and faith that things turn out ok for these families. The plot plays a lot with expectations only to throw those out the window. I think that's one good thing about this film. I felt they were pushing the story in a certain direction only for them to remain steadfast and keep you engaged with the reality of things. Japan's dramatic cinema tends to have these melodramatic cliffs sometimes, but I find a lot of the ones I have consumed will include realistic moments of levity. Each time we experience a little joy, there comes a sharp hit of sadness. It makes for high notes and the low notes.

Speaking of which,I would also like to mention the moving piano pieces in the movie. The graduation sequence will probably hit everyone hard. The movie's title I felt should of been something more to do with the musical motif the film had. However in context of the actual plot the baton is more apt. I do think they sort of shoehorned in the reasoning for the name right at the beginning. But it made sense in terms of Morimiya's character trying to make up for his own failures with Yuko's upbringing.

The passing of the baton is a responsibility that is entrusted to the your next teammate. It is within this trust that we work together and pass the finish line. It is important that we strive to carry this baton with our utmost care, just like the passing of you from your parents to the world ahead.

It is in that regard that I hope this movie doesn't pass you by.

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A perfect end to end off the series

After watching the series, moving directly into a movie was the right call. In the beginning the movie felt like just a tv movie. But as soon as they started adding in elements of the investigation and more background to the main reformed criminal, it felt more like a theatrical movie. That was the distinguishing reason why you could call this a movie rather then an extended special. This distinction is important now due to so many shows going to movie endings. There was just enough extra in this that the movie felt warranted as this was a extra complicated case meant to be taken in one go.

The story was a perfect way to end this series. After the first 3 people she helped all dealt with different aspects of criminal history, this movie dealt with the most appropriate unexplored side yet. This movie dealt with the failings of the institutions meant to help those in need: The police, the orphanages, the care workers and the lawyers. Which in contrast to the series was a very smart way to go. Zenkamono came full circle showing all the things capable of creating and sustaining the cycle of victim hood. Covering the failures of the people meant to help those in need was a strong subject that needed to be addressed in a story like this and in glad that they didn't just end up going with another story created by personal issues. As mentioned earlier this is the reason why they needed the extra time to properly represent the many ways in which things can fail.

Kasumi plays her part very strongly in this movie. After a point you can feel that she strongly recognizes what resonates with Kayo and her motivations. The movie finally fully explains what happened to drive Kayo to be a probation officer and how it affected her growing up. In the aftermath we also learn that she became estranged from her former love interest Shinji who has become a police officer due to the same incident she experienced. The contrast between these two greatly affected how they see criminals and rehabilitation. This differing of opinion is very much a reality in this world unfortunately. How others perceive criminals after they have returned to society are at odds with common morality. It's a devastating topic to be explored.

The movie does not shy away from showing scenes of child abuse and crooked cops. These were important in the discussion of how the world can be so cruel and unjust. This allowed for the story to show both sides of the morality. Nothing is ever black and white. The same could be said about our major criminal pair. They had reasonable vengeance expectations but as the movie reiterates, all this does is create more victims in a never ending cycle. The acting for the main brothers was sorta uneven however. They felt the least compelling out of all the characters. The youngest brother was a little too overly dramatic, creating a cartoonish like quality to his character. The main brother also was fairly mute with little body language I found, so it was hard to gauge his acting capability. He did deliver on his final scene however. This didn't overall affect how they were portrayed as abused humans. I just thought they needed a little balance.

Midori makes a return and finishes up her arc with Kayo in a beautiful way. I thought it was sweet that Midori is there to witness Kayo repent for her own crime of stealing a library book in the end. Showing Midori that Kayo isn't some perfect person either. That's just something that stuck with me.

Great overall movie where you don't need to watch the series necessarily but it definitely be more impactful understanding Midori's scenes.

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Are we bound by our past mistakes?

Zenkamono deals with heavy subject matter. The main stories are split into 3 separate stories with some overlap. Each one takes a look at how difficult it is for criminals to reintegrate into society after crime.

Arimura is the most aggressive that I've ever seen her. She's also at the weakest I've ever seen her in a role. I respected that aspect about her character. It's really explosive sometimes. Sometimes almost comical. She goes through the most extremes I've seen her in terms of character personality.

The first story I felt was the most powerful. Midori and Kato have an amazing chemistry together. I thoroughly enjoyed their interactions and banter. Midori's character arc had an amazing setup and back story with a great payoff. I thought the inclusion of the her childhood trauma and friendships were a good addition to the layers of her character. I felt bad for her circumstances and thought her case was nuanced. I think the strength of this show is how it factors in reasonings for their crimes and how sometimes doing something for the right reasons in their minds lead to the crimes. Midori also added a good balance to restore faith in Kayo every time they interacted.

The second story I thought at first was somewhat odd. Kazu was introduced as a quiet fellow but then when they through in the other layer of his lust, I was surprised. This segment's actor had such amazing body language. He felt awkward and scary. I've met people in real life who have had his posture and mannerisms and it was exquisitely done. The framing of this one was very unexpected and was a good morality question. When we don't agree with someone's morality are we still able to help them? I thought this was an important question to ask in this series. When the end of his story began with the confrontation of his lust and his effect on the other victim, I thought this was some powerful drama. It forces you to understand perspectives on both sides of this story.

The third story was great too! The reframing of the criminal into a victim themselves is something that is a very real occurrence. Allowing Tamiko's character to make poor judgements due to her disposition was a smart way to show the human side of criminals. These people aren't perfect and they themselves know what they did was wrong. But they cannot be shunned from help because of this. Everyone deserves a second chance. Tamiko's fraility and dependence was well communicated in Kotone's acting and body language. They also did excellent work on her makeup to make her look sickly.

The drama on this show is done very well with respect to the subject matter. I would if looked to have seen more in the logistical side of how probation is done. But I think for the human side it was focused well. The cinematography was crisp and movie quality. I can see why they opted for a movie sequel with the series. Enjoyable watch with a little room for more.

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A quiet little side quest

For the most part this series is a slice of life show. It doesn't really have any stakes but it does ask some questions about life. It's not deep questions but they are things that sometimes we think about on our days off.

For someone to enjoy this, there's a small prerequisite that you already enjoy Kasumi Arimura. This is a fictionalized version of herself, but I could see some of her genuine personality show in many of the scenes. Each episode talks about something interesting. From hidden family drama to health check ups and even opening a jar of kaya jam! i found that each episode was uneven in quality but that was mainly due to the different directors involved. Kore-eda himself directed a episode, which had all of his usual trappings. I found the last two episodes the most enjoyable personally. The story of the young child whose seemingly living with a single parent and the baseball episode was the most eloquently presented in speech and direction I thought. The 2nd episode was a great take down of societal issues in Japan. The third was somewhat odd but it felt very cozy due to the setting. Episode 4 touched on some interesting aspects of celebrity status but it also veered into such a weird space. The Jam episode was also lightly comical but ended with a surprising amount of alienation and solitude. The couple episode was also a little uneven with the themes of inadequacy and relationships. I thought this one was paced very strangely. Therefore I really only enjoyed maybe half the episodes out of the 8.

As for the filming styles, since there was a mix of directors each one felt uniquely distinct in the type of blocking, framing and lighting. The baseball episode felt the most cinematic out of all of the episodes to me. The little girl episode felt the most charming and metaphorical. Episode 1 with Kore-eda had his usual flourishes with long lingering scenes of family activities and careful hand gestures. The health episode I shall warn some that the sounds it creates may make some people uncomfortable. As the sound of ultrasonic gel can be heard smearing around kasumi's stomach for long points in the episode lol. The music was cute. I liked the main title song and ending song. I also enjoyed the little bts polaroids at the end.

It's a nice little distraction of a show honestly.

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Time to consider

Sometimes as we go through life we wonder, is this the right path? What if we had time to consider our choices? Would we ultimately be happy?I think this is what the film is trying to explore.

In this quiet little area we have many stories playing out with people stuck in decisions that they aren't too happy about, while a panicked staff try to quell their needs. While the chaos is going on, we get little glimpses of intrusive thoughts in each character. The most astounding one is; if you had the chance to experience death, would you take it? This movie brings up a couple of morale qualms in the midst of the comedy. Questions of morality and what we say can have negative effects that carry on and stick with someone. I thought that was the most interesting thing about this film. Being in a time loop is somewhat like how peopled dwell on the same moment over and over in their mind and that can lead to violence sometimes. But overtime we tend to let those moments pass. They will always be a memory there to us, but time heals.

Another impressive thing was the camera and staging! When they moved through so many narrow hallways and created immaculate mirroring it was very impressive. Many times I wondered how they were gonna deviate or try to one up the last sequence. I thoroughly enjoyed that.

Despite these things, there are a couple of negatives. Some characters don't really get any sort of closure. Like the owner and main host. A bit into the movie, I randomly started to hate Mikoto because of her shelfisness.But then I realized that was because of her inability to want to change and move forward. The climax of the movie is really silly. But I suppose that's just Japan for you. The ending is a little unsatisfying but I think that's just a fact of life lol

Either then that though movie is a fun time waster.

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Do we have to share blood to be family?

A strong performance from Kore-eda on the meaning of family. In this story of personal growth and lament we see a overly strict father find his family's worth. The idea of a child being switched at birth is fairly common in Asia drama, so I wasn't too keen on seeing it again. But thankfully this plot wasn't too hard on the emotions.

I can honestly say I didn't like father character at all. So bravo to the actor lol. Even in the end, I didn't like how it turned out for him. Ryota goes for very minuit changes so it's hard to really feel strongly in my opinion about his change of heart. The actor rightfully showed diverse ways to ignore his other actors on screen, making him to be really dislikable lol. He barely looked at people as he talked and I was livid.

But that's what so great about his portrayal. The other actors all felt more akin to "proper" parents. His wife Midori showed a very docile wife burdened by years of servitude. I appreciated that they called out traditional motherhood issues in Japanese society very subtly. She had a warmth to her child rearing but a tinge of fear because of Ryota's demands. The scene where she confronts him over his love of Keita was the best scene in the movie.


The other two parents felt more loving and caring about their children despite the way Ryota felt. Even though Yudai was seen as a money grubbing sleezebag, he felt like he cared much more about his children then Ryota ever did. The difference in interactions with both families really spoke to that. In a way I felt a little sad about Keita's upbringing because it seemed so strict and structured. But hopefully we see a glimpse of the family changing to better support allowing to live out his childhood. Yukari I thought felt very matronly and had a real repertoire with the children actors. She felt really sincere and positive.

Many of the scenes I feel drew attention to lifelines and growth. From the dad working as an architect to the artificial forest that housed many wildlife. The powerlines seen connecting area to area in one car scene I felt were like the red string of fate that connects people. All the little things in this movie were guiding principles of family.

It reminded us that things connect and grow no matter where they begin. The idea of family not connected by blood but by heart is a reoccurring theme in his movies. Not to mention also generational trauma passed down from father to son. The pushing of hobbies onto Keita at the behest of his father and the attempt to live up to Ryota's standards all felt very familiar to any child.

The traditional family structure VS the non traditional being explored in small details was great in this movie. I thought it was no better showcased then to both families reaction to Keita's injury. Or how both fathers reacted to fixing toys. Yudai allowing his children to watch and see the process of fixing rather then Ryota trying to hide his lack of skill and telling Ryuusei to buy another with his mother. There was a real subtleness in how this depicted their care style.

I think this movie will probably be more geared towards people who have children already. It will probably resonate more with them. However people who have family issues with their parents may find a little something to think about it.

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A wish is all you need

Kore-eda has this magical sense of life's inertia. This movie really isn't about anything and yet it's message is beautiful.

A story about life as a young children who carry small burdens. The movie touches on family dynamics and its effects on children. We have the brothers with differing views on how they saw their parents relationship. We have a young Megumi who is trying to pursue a dream in which her mother doesn't approve. We have gambling problems, body problems and companionship. In a way the story was about the affect parental negligence has on children. Though nothing is explicitly expressed, Kore-eda's films usually deal with family structure and nuiance. Each child represented very real problems children can face and their resilience against adversity.

I thought the way the movie ended with Koichi not wanting to make a wish spoke volumes about him understanding the feelings of everyone around him. I felt for the most part of the movie he was a little selfish. But I think through all the help he received, he realized that everyone deserves their wishes to come true. His wish would of interfered with that. The montage of everything they went through to get to this point was beautifully done.

The kurukan cake I felt was also a metaphor for adulthood. Something so plain and unassuming like life but having a slight sweetness, spoke about life's little wins. A life that goes by day to day but there's hints of good. During the course of the movie we experienced these little wins and courage thriving on in your young protagonists.

As usual many of the shots in the movie linger on the inate beauty of the everyday. We have all these micro interactions such as; a hand being placed on a shoulder, the mixing of ingredients, the dusting of a table. Each one is nothing in the grand scheme of things but the focus on them is what makes his movies special. It's the little things that matter to Kore-eda. These small gestures all make up our daily lives, subconsciously affecting how we see the world.

I wouldn't say this is my favorite of his works, but it was an enjoyable 2 hours and a nice way to turn off your mind for a while.

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