Beautifully yet unassumingly shot, this movie is as slice as life as it gets. The nostalgic feeling, both in Mio's hometown (I think it's set somewhere in Hiroshima) and East Tokyo's working class Shitamachi district, is so overwhelming especially towards the end of the movie. It also carries very strong and impactful message of the soul of such rustic and somewhat forgotten but colorful neighborhood, juxtaposed with gentrification in the name of 'progress'.
On side note, I like that they incorporate a bit of elements of diversity through portrayal of Ethiopian immigrant community in the Shitamachi area. This movie might raise the issue as well, especially when more and more people from different backgrounds move and live in Japan (or Tokyo in particular). I think 8.75/10 is a fair score for me.
PS: There is also a commercial/video clip style spin off of the movie. This time around, it shows the aftermath of the main movie from different perspective.
It's been 7-8 years since I wrote my opinion on her career (you can scroll down this page to find it). Glad to see her finally gets her acts together and becomes such an irreplaceable and indispensable actor in very dark, gritty roles (such as that of WOWOW projects). She basically goes into beast mode in Eerie, Plage, Nigeru Onna, and her bits in Cold Case season 1.
lol like the wordplay in ep.4, 'urenai' (売れない literally means 'unsold', implies to the sharehouse members who aren't in demand in respective professions and 'uranai' (占い, meaning 'fortune telling'). Brilliant storytelling.
No idea. If it's somehow leaked to the internet (they haven't announced the release date of the DVD), I hope some subber will pick it up. Or perhaps some film festivals will, but the chances are slim especially in these times :(
This is one rare occasion where the massive hype is justified by the quality itself. Easily one of the best movies in an already good year for Japanese cinema (by recent day standard), perhaps up there along with Alps Stand no Hashi no Hou in my books. It's quite an ambitious movie with strong message, but this time they have such strong budget and production and extremely selective cast list (well for the last one it's Kawase's Naomi's though, no surprises) to back it up. For those wondering how the nature elements could take part in a such human relation-oriented movie, which is Kawase's trademark, just check out the cinematography works. Not necessarily a focus, but still serves and blends in superbly well.
The story line and chain of events are exquisitely presented, especially the heart-breaking descend of Hikari (the teenage girl who is the little boy's biological mother) into oblivion and how lack of empathy from her surroundings pushes her to the edge. The cast, unsurprisingly, doing extremely well especially Makita Aju as Hikari who could be well a generational talent. Even the new bunch of talents, which are one of the reasons why I'm after this movie, i.e. the kid playing Hikari's boyfriend, Morita Kokoro, and Komai Ren perform really well and have their moments too.
They are selling it in Japan!https://www.instagram.com/p/CHFigKoDZBu/
Tried the cream puff, and yes its ingredient quality indeed justifies the relatively expensive price (172 yen, which is twice as expensive as mass-produced similar products).
There is not much going on even by its screen time and I think some parts are way too artsy especially for such very simple story line, but it is still somewhat satisfying. The acting is on point, especially the female lead.
2 
On side note, I like that they incorporate a bit of elements of diversity through portrayal of Ethiopian immigrant community in the Shitamachi area. This movie might raise the issue as well, especially when more and more people from different backgrounds move and live in Japan (or Tokyo in particular). I think 8.75/10 is a fair score for me.
PS: There is also a commercial/video clip style spin off of the movie. This time around, it shows the aftermath of the main movie from different perspective.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKOZAfeSwWI
The story line and chain of events are exquisitely presented, especially the heart-breaking descend of Hikari (the teenage girl who is the little boy's biological mother) into oblivion and how lack of empathy from her surroundings pushes her to the edge. The cast, unsurprisingly, doing extremely well especially Makita Aju as Hikari who could be well a generational talent. Even the new bunch of talents, which are one of the reasons why I'm after this movie, i.e. the kid playing Hikari's boyfriend, Morita Kokoro, and Komai Ren perform really well and have their moments too.
9.25/10
Furukawa Kotone: it’s a free real estate
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