The story isn't that great, but the excellent performances from Sasaki Kuranosuke and, especially, Nagasaku Hiromi, with her bickering, sarcasm, piercing sincerity and endless support, made this movie worth watching.
What else can be more heartwarming and comforting than food and family warmth combined? What else can be more touching than a father subtly communicating his love and devotion for his daughters by cooking some incredible gourmet chinese dishes for them? That opening scene with him cooking was pure perfection!
A hauntingly seductive and painfully elegant story, with an impeccable nostalgic & sci-fi futuristic atmosphere, a captivating musical score and superb performances full of passion, longing, desperation and quiet tears.
“Love is all a matter of timing. It’s no good meeting the right person too soon or too late.”
Balancing between sudden bursts of brutality, subtle moments of black humour, colourful artistic statements, laconic dialogues, pondering silences and unspoken tenderness, "Fireworks / Hana-bi" is a haunting, violent, uncomfortable, but also very sad and emotional urban crime film. For those who are familiar with auteur Kitano's unique idiosyncratic, one-of-a-kind directing and acting style and the wonderful music of Joe Hisaishi, this is a very rewarding, impressive work of art.
A delicate, compassionate and honest story that explores motherhood -with all the love, sacrifices and hard decisions it requires- through the difficult and very sensitive themes of teenage pregnancy and child adoption, enhanced by a wonderful performance from Makita Aju.
A dark, cold, sad and gripping story about obsession, greed, revenge and a love tragedy. Even though sometimes the pacing is slow and the use of two different fragmented timelines can be confusing, the atmospheric cinematography and the impressive musical score, that compliment each other beautifully, made this film an intriguing experience, almost like reading the book from which it was adapted.
A film about a yakuza's family rise and fall, which is not only yakuza action-packed. A powerful, violent, as well as melancholic and emotional story about yakuza's life behind the glamorized front and their family-like bonding, with a wonderful performance from Ayano Go. Pleasantly surprised!
A story about the power of education, morality, imperialism resistance and patriotism, based on true events from resistance fighter Kim Chang Soo's life.
A slow-paced, very realistic, raw approach of eating disorders, compulsive behaviours, depression and mental illnesses. With no easy answers or explanations -but only some subtle hints about the inner struggles, the isolation, the pressures the teenage protagonist faces and the effects they have on her, her family and friends- this film explores what it is like to suffer from an eating disorder and how the triggering conditions and consequences often go unnoticed or hidden.
A heartwarming story wonderfully depicting that, regardless of our background (social, economic, educational) and physical or mental ability, we are all still human and we can dream and make our dreams come true. And that -although there might be some hindrances, misfortunes and health issue, as well as gaps in language, culture, gender, age or social status- we can still form a strong, lifelong connection with someone.
"You cannot choose not to sit on a wheelchair, but you can choose how to sit on it."
Confronting our past, our memories and feelings, that are tightly connected with people and objects of our lives, is never an easy job. It takes a lot of courage (and perhaps time) to decide what we need to let go, what is really important, and successfully move on with our lives. But can we really let go of the things that are parts of us and makes us who we are, though?
60 
186 
13 
1 
1 
1 
2 
What else can be more touching than a father subtly communicating his love and devotion for his daughters by cooking some incredible gourmet chinese dishes for them?
That opening scene with him cooking was pure perfection!
“Love is all a matter of timing.
It’s no good meeting the right person too soon or too late.”
“All memories are traces of tears.”
“Nothing lasts forever, anyway.”
For those who are familiar with auteur Kitano's unique idiosyncratic, one-of-a-kind directing and acting style and the wonderful music of Joe Hisaishi, this is a very rewarding, impressive work of art.
Even though sometimes the pacing is slow and the use of two different fragmented timelines can be confusing, the atmospheric cinematography and the impressive musical score, that compliment each other beautifully, made this film an intriguing experience, almost like reading the book from which it was adapted.
A powerful, violent, as well as melancholic and emotional story about yakuza's life behind the glamorized front and their family-like bonding, with a wonderful performance from Ayano Go.
Pleasantly surprised!
With no easy answers or explanations -but only some subtle hints about the inner struggles, the isolation, the pressures the teenage protagonist faces and the effects they have on her, her family and friends- this film explores what it is like to suffer from an eating disorder and how the triggering conditions and consequences often go unnoticed or hidden.
Not just sad, but utterly heartbreaking and infuriating.
And that -although there might be some hindrances, misfortunes and health issue, as well as gaps in language, culture, gender, age or social status- we can still form a strong, lifelong connection with someone.
"You cannot choose not to sit on a wheelchair, but you can choose how to sit on it."
It takes a lot of courage (and perhaps time) to decide what we need to let go, what is really important, and successfully move on with our lives.
But can we really let go of the things that are parts of us and makes us who we are, though?
A story beautifully told, shot and acted.
It's been so long since I've read an article of yours :)
So glad to see you back xD
Beautifully written and presented :)