The movie picks up from where the drama ended but, unfortunately, its focus isn't only on the story of Nami and Yuki itself: unnecessarily much of its running time is spent on the happenings in Tamami and the methane hydrate project. Overall, though it was a pleasure seeing Ayase Haruka & Nishijima Hidetoshi and their characters again, the movie was definitely entertaining, but not as good as the drama.
One of the most touching, elegant and heart-wrenching family stories I've ever watched! Based on the best-selling, autobiographical book of the same name by Lily Franky, it tells the simple, ordinary story of a mother and son’s love for each other, with an endearing and nuanced depiction of their bonding through laughter, joy, sacrifice, sorrow and loss. With the right balance between lightness and darkness, without any overplaying or forced feelings manipulations, with great performances from all cast members and beautifully complementing cinematography and music, this film was definitely a unique watching experience. And what can I say about late Kiri Kirin's magnificent performance, especially knowing her personal health struggles?
"Your cruel words can kill. Are you a murderer in the making?"
A very emotional yet subtle story that unfolds the events leading to the suicide of a high-school student girl through her sister attempts to shed some light on the apparently inexplicable tragedy and, especially, how her death impacts and changes the people around her. Superb performances from all the young actresses with their challenging roles.
I must admit that this drama reminded me a lot the time I was watching the dysfunctional relationship in Hana Yori Dango: furious about so many things about it, but couldn't stop watching it till the end ^^
What I found really intriguing was the clever addition of the main leads' inner voices/thoughts - they couldn't justify their problematic behavior, but at least they gave us a better insight into their actions and feelings.
Overall, an interesting depiction of a romance between two people with many flaws, in a non-fluffy way :)
A gripping, intriguing psychological thriller with a brilliantly orchestrated build-up, dressed with an elegant classical music score and detailed camera and cinematography settings. The story, though slow-paced, develops smoothly like an intricate spider's web full of stories within stories, secrets, lies and different perspectives of the truth driven by selfish motives and social deceptions. Tsumabuki Satoshi and Mitsushima Hikari with their nuanced performances proved once more how talented and multilayered actors they both are.
I actually found the storytelling compelling but I think that this might be because I was aware of an undercurrent…
That's why adaptations are always risky: not all contents, emotions and motives of the character from the real story or source material can be conveyed in the short time of a movie. And that's why I'm always hesitant to watch an adaptation of a book I've read ^^
An interesting film, with a captivating, nuanced performance from Chun Woo Hee, gripping cinematography and editing, with beautiful shots and colouring that accurately depict the sombre mood and the vertigo feeling throughout the story.
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A delicate coming of age movie with an elegantly introspective character study.
Overall, though it was a pleasure seeing Ayase Haruka & Nishijima Hidetoshi and their characters again, the movie was definitely entertaining, but not as good as the drama.
Knowing it is based on real events makes it even more heartbreaking...
Based on the best-selling, autobiographical book of the same name by Lily Franky, it tells the simple, ordinary story of a mother and son’s love for each other, with an endearing and nuanced depiction of their bonding through laughter, joy, sacrifice, sorrow and loss.
With the right balance between lightness and darkness, without any overplaying or forced feelings manipulations, with great performances from all cast members and beautifully complementing cinematography and music, this film was definitely a unique watching experience.
And what can I say about late Kiri Kirin's magnificent performance, especially knowing her personal health struggles?
A very emotional yet subtle story that unfolds the events leading to the suicide of a high-school student girl through her sister attempts to shed some light on the apparently inexplicable tragedy and, especially, how her death impacts and changes the people around her.
Superb performances from all the young actresses with their challenging roles.
What I found really intriguing was the clever addition of the main leads' inner voices/thoughts - they couldn't justify their problematic behavior, but at least they gave us a better insight into their actions and feelings.
Overall, an interesting depiction of a romance between two people with many flaws, in a non-fluffy way :)
The story, though slow-paced, develops smoothly like an intricate spider's web full of stories within stories, secrets, lies and different perspectives of the truth driven by selfish motives and social deceptions.
Tsumabuki Satoshi and Mitsushima Hikari with their nuanced performances proved once more how talented and multilayered actors they both are.
And that's why I'm always hesitant to watch an adaptation of a book I've read ^^