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.
This one is a decent take on a storyline that had been remade from its original material so many times (at least 3 times in TV alone). What I really like is that it strikes close to my heart and conveys the message in the original material quite well. The vivid cinematography works are also serves very well, especially whenever a dish made by the eatery is introduced.
In my books, both actresses in question are very good young actresses with really distinct acting styles. Matsuhon is fantastic in this movie and carries the acting load of much of the show, of which she's truly capable of. As I mentioned at times, she is already a competent actor but sometimes she was unable to tone down her quirkiness at times, especially when it's needed to pull calm scenes. This time around, it seems she is finally able to 'tune' down such trait. Nao is also decent here but I wish more of her screen time though.
She has proven to be more than able to deliver in well-directed, well-written and layered roles, for example Kaidan Botan Doro 2019. Since those characteristics are absent in romcoms save for a few ones, deploying her too often in such shows could simply squander her potentials.
The strong point of this movie is that it shows more grounded perspective into a family of cult followers. It doesn't even blatantly demonize these characters (particularly the parents and even the cult organization) and instead it chooses to see through more neutral viewpoint, which is very different than other shows with similar theme (for example WOWOW's 'Eerie'). For example, Mana-chan's character development is very gradual - no sudden head-butting against her parents who are fervent believers of the cult. Mana-chan herself does really well, I think it's her acting that keep everything together and could've fell apart if the lead choice wasn't right.
The ending could have been more conclusive though and for me it's a bit of a letdown, because the premise it chooses is full of potentials to make it a great movie.
2 
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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In my books, both actresses in question are very good young actresses with really distinct acting styles. Matsuhon is fantastic in this movie and carries the acting load of much of the show, of which she's truly capable of. As I mentioned at times, she is already a competent actor but sometimes she was unable to tone down her quirkiness at times, especially when it's needed to pull calm scenes. This time around, it seems she is finally able to 'tune' down such trait. Nao is also decent here but I wish more of her screen time though.
8.5/10
The ending could have been more conclusive though and for me it's a bit of a letdown, because the premise it chooses is full of potentials to make it a great movie.
8.0/10