A heavily emotional slice of life - family drama, with stellar performances, especially from Mitsushima Hikari and Suzuki Rio, excellent music and cinematography. Painfully frustrating some times, heart-warming some other times, but definitely intense and thought-provoking, with amazing dialogues and (did I mention?) superb acting.
lol xD I should change my name to xingback loves beards xDYYS should atleast give us 1 modern picture of his beard…
Some men are gorgeous with or without beard and you, my friend, gave us some fine gentlemen as examples! And it's not silly at all! It's funny and entertaining :)
Whoever frequents the feeds knew from the first word of this artcle that you're the writer ;) Excellent writing and visual material, as always ♡ And, of course, Dong Mae is the best of all ;p One of the most entertaining articles I've read recently!
Bizarre, funny, sometimes nonsensical hilarious but without being stupid. The highlights were the handymen trio, especially Osada Masaki with his never-ending foolish delusions and misunderstandings, the real Guinness World Record of most snowmen built in 1h, and the magnificent snowy landscapes of Hokkaido.
Zekkyou is a drama not for everyone: it deals with solitary death, society rejection and isolation, raw emotions and actions. It’s dark, heavy, depressing, yet extremely captivating, with a strong, intense, well-written story and beautiful, mood evoking music. The characters’ portrayal and the acting are top-notch, especially the perfectly layered main protagonist, Yoko. Ono Machiko, with her subtle yet intense performance, superbly portrayed Yoko's inner struggles, misfortunes, rejection, frustrations and utter despair, her restraint while her emotions were slowly building up, her will to live and be accepted, her silent scream.
Unique, zany, intriguing, out-of-the-box story with a wonderful Kohinata Fumiyo! Heavy sometimes, hilarious at other times, but definitely a heartwarming drama.
"It's OK to be weak. ... Hey, Kita-san, you're okay just as you are.''
A bizarre, quirky, out-of-the-box story of seemingly unrelated and without any clear purpose scenes, which in the end centres around trust issues, misunderstandings and miscommunications, mainly between Yoon Young and her boyfriend, and the eventual breakdown of their relationship.
An entertaining comical time-travel story with an excellent bromance from Nishikido Ryo and Kamiki Ryunosuke and some not-too-subtle life lessons about the value of life and the importance of having strong moral principles and character integrity.
Subtle, humane, full of kindness, modesty and heartwarming life lessons about coping with traumas and mental illness, as well as the mental care and healing process of disaster victims. Powerful without being noisy or preachy, devastating without being emotionally forceful. Beautifully filmed and exceptionally acted, especially from Emoto Tasuku who delivered a stunning performance of a lifetime. A solid 10/10, an absolute must-watch! Thanks @HPriest for the subtitles of this wonderful story :)
"Doctors don't heal people's traumas. The only thing doctors can do is to offer support as they're trying to recover by themselves." "I finally understand what mental care means. It means to never leave anyone alone."
A slow-paced, gentle, bittersweet humane movie about food and the joys of a good day’s work. Laconic but beautifully shot and acted, with an aesthetically impeccable and naturalistic technical finish. It compassionately portrays three lonely, haunted-looking people, the almost invisible and forgotten issue of the outcast status of leprosy patients and the positive philosophy of life, the wonders of nature, and the necessity of living in the present moment.
Entertaining and addictive, even 19 years later:) Excellent cast and guest roles, with many familiar talented faces and a Kimura Takuya that never fails to deliver!
An underrated gem! An intriguing and intelligent satire that brilliantly points out modern society’s dependence on technology and its impact on everyday life in this story of a family of four caught in an (unexplained) total power cut that forces them to leave home in a big city and seek help in the countryside. Issues like lack of connection between generations, technological dependency, lack of primal skills and engagement with the world around us, as well as the stability of the social order are subtly but successfully addressed. So is their character development through the obstacles they overcome and the interesting encounters they have on their challenging journey through Japan. The film’s family is very well cast, with each character having its very own flaws and strengths, but Kohinata and his smooth and hilarious transformations is the definite stand-out.
A charming, quiet and very enjoyable family-oriented story about the struggles of modern life, the gender roles and expectations, as well as the complications that are often created when trying to balance work and family. Full of heart, smiles and a few life-lessons and, most of all, a confused but proud and stoic samurai played on point by Ryo Nishikido :)
Totally agree with Gwi, Hong Gil Dong & co and kids from Moon Embracing the Sun! :D
Those kids were under my radar since then and I'm so glad they have grown up to wonderful actors/actresses! "Rebel" is still one of my most fave dramas and Gwi is an iconic character :)
Such a lovely article! Pleasantly surprised by Gil Tae Mi and totally agree with Ta Hwan, Yi Yoong and Yi Bang Won :) If I may add a few more, they would be: Bi Dam and Mi Shil from "Queen Seon Duk", Gwi from "The Scholar Who Walks the Night", Hong Gil Dong, his father and Mo Ri from "Rebel", Lady Kim from "The Tale of Nokdu", the three young versions of the main leads from "Moon Embracing the Sun", Gu Wol Ryung from "Gu Family Book", King Suk Jong from "Jang Ok Jung", Iljimae's father from "Iljimae"
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Painfully frustrating some times, heart-warming some other times, but definitely intense and thought-provoking, with amazing dialogues and (did I mention?) superb acting.
And it's not silly at all! It's funny and entertaining :)
Excellent writing and visual material, as always ♡
And, of course, Dong Mae is the best of all ;p
One of the most entertaining articles I've read recently!
The highlights were the handymen trio, especially Osada Masaki with his never-ending foolish delusions and misunderstandings, the real Guinness World Record of most snowmen built in 1h, and the magnificent snowy landscapes of Hokkaido.
It’s dark, heavy, depressing, yet extremely captivating, with a strong, intense, well-written story and beautiful, mood evoking music.
The characters’ portrayal and the acting are top-notch, especially the perfectly layered main protagonist, Yoko. Ono Machiko, with her subtle yet intense performance, superbly portrayed Yoko's inner struggles, misfortunes, rejection, frustrations and utter despair, her restraint while her emotions were slowly building up, her will to live and be accepted, her silent scream.
Heavy sometimes, hilarious at other times, but definitely a heartwarming drama.
"It's OK to be weak. ... Hey, Kita-san, you're okay just as you are.''
Powerful without being noisy or preachy, devastating without being emotionally forceful.
Beautifully filmed and exceptionally acted, especially from Emoto Tasuku who delivered a stunning performance of a lifetime.
A solid 10/10, an absolute must-watch!
Thanks @HPriest for the subtitles of this wonderful story :)
"Doctors don't heal people's traumas. The only thing doctors can do is to offer support as they're trying to recover by themselves."
"I finally understand what mental care means. It means to never leave anyone alone."
It compassionately portrays three lonely, haunted-looking people, the almost invisible and forgotten issue of the outcast status of leprosy patients and the positive philosophy of life, the wonders of nature, and the necessity of living in the present moment.
Excellent cast and guest roles, with many familiar talented faces and a Kimura Takuya that never fails to deliver!
An intriguing and intelligent satire that brilliantly points out modern society’s dependence on technology and its impact on everyday life in this story of a family of four caught in an (unexplained) total power cut that forces them to leave home in a big city and seek help in the countryside.
Issues like lack of connection between generations, technological dependency, lack of primal skills and engagement with the world around us, as well as the stability of the social order are subtly but successfully addressed. So is their character development through the obstacles they overcome and the interesting encounters they have on their challenging journey through Japan.
The film’s family is very well cast, with each character having its very own flaws and strengths, but Kohinata and his smooth and hilarious transformations is the definite stand-out.
Full of heart, smiles and a few life-lessons and, most of all, a confused but proud and stoic samurai played on point by Ryo Nishikido :)
"Rebel" is still one of my most fave dramas and Gwi is an iconic character :)
Pleasantly surprised by Gil Tae Mi and totally agree with Ta Hwan, Yi Yoong and Yi Bang Won :)
If I may add a few more, they would be:
Bi Dam and Mi Shil from "Queen Seon Duk",
Gwi from "The Scholar Who Walks the Night",
Hong Gil Dong, his father and Mo Ri from "Rebel",
Lady Kim from "The Tale of Nokdu",
the three young versions of the main leads from "Moon Embracing the Sun",
Gu Wol Ryung from "Gu Family Book",
King Suk Jong from "Jang Ok Jung",
Iljimae's father from "Iljimae"