Change Your Image
hhnd_2002
https://hhnd2002.wordpress.com/
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Lists
An error has ocurred. Please try againReviews
Un amour de jeunesse (2011)
I would never understand...
...how a boy loves his girlfriend so much, thinks about her every day, yet leaves her for an eternity, knowing that it will break her heart, without thinking twice.
As if unaware of her suffering (though in fact he is), he talks about being with other girls (while still thinking about her). Yet love is just that, it's incomprehensible, and any attempt to explain, to rationalize it is a futile effort. It's easy to judge the character Sullivan as an irresponsible adolescent who just had it too good and went off to search for hardship in an attempt to ward off boredom (in English there's a word for people like him, I think it might be "jerk"). Yet one can't deny that he indeed loves Camille, probably as much as she loves him, if love can be measured, but just in an entirely different way. Just like what the two of them had come to terms with when they were reunited that the only thing they can agree on is that they always disagree, the ways they think, live, and even love, is the two polarizing ends of the spectrum. As viewers, it's easy to judge Sullivan, yet Camille never does. She takes him for who he is, she understands and accepts his actions as best as she could, while of course being unable to bear the emotions that any "normal" person would feel being dumped for no reason, out of nowhere, for an unknown period of time.
But maybe, just maybe, Sullivan just didn't know what to do with the kind of love they had for each other, when he himself didn't know who he was, what he wanted to do, what he wanted from life. Extremely selfish, yes. Despicable? Hardly. Everyone has the right to "discover" themselves on their own, yet still not lose the person they love. Of course that's not exactly how life works, and many young people in fact experience the same ending for their first love. When they were old enough to love, and too young to know what to do with it. Yet it is difficult to forget, once you have loved.
Yes, the movie is slow and nothing happens (that you weren't able to predict). If that's not your cup of tea, please go watch something exciting, because life sure isn't.
Midnight in Paris (2011)
If you like literature and art...
I've read many reviews here saying if you don't like literature and art, don't waste your time going to see this movie. I'd like to add something to that: if you DO like literature and art, don't waste your time going to see this movie (or you should just go ahead, like me, because you can't imagine how bad it is if you haven't seen it). The premise of the movie seems promising: a struggling writer going back to the past to chat with important artists of the 20's (The Lost Generation) in Paris, and he has an epiphany at the end about life, art, or what have you, but the whole thing turns out to be a ridiculous mess. I bet you'd be better off at home reading your Hemingway than listening to the Hemingway in Midnight in Paris give a speech about life, death, and whatever that needs to happen in between, though.
There are names that pop in and out of the movie all.the.times. Salvador Dalí, Luis Buñuel, Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald (and Zelda). They converse, they talk about life and philosophy and art, and it feels like History of art 101 freshman year of college all over. Except you can't really learn much about art or literature or cinema or anything for that matter in 2 hours, so reading the first 3 lines in each Wikipedia article will give you more information than Midnight in Paris ever will.
I can't believe the characters in this movie were so shallow and flat, especially the protagonist's fiancée (only 1 hour after the viewing and I can't recall the characters' names. Not that I want to.) She is just unbelievably crazy and demanding, but is that really necessary?
Well, I was wondering what the movie is all about, but I finally found out at the end because guess what? The protagonist outright gives a lecture on treasuring the present and not being so nostalgic about the past. Thank you very much, I would never have figured out the message if the lecture hadn't been given. Being lectured is never fun, but I particularly detest it in movies; it feels like the director has no respect for the audience's intellectual ability. But hey, if you know who Luis Buñuel is and whom Pablo Picasso had an affair with (and whom that lady had affairs with previously), and your friend doesn't, might as well invite them to the movie and make them feel bad for not knowing such important people. There's no better way to spend a Saturday night.
I have to admit though, there was that part where Owen Wilson talks about Valium and Zithromax and antibiotics, and being someone who works in a related field, I found it pretty funny. But it was just because of the drugs. Maybe I would have liked it even more if Viagra was honorably mentioned.
Kokuriko-zaka kara (2011)
Excellent progress for Miyazaki Goro and enjoyable, but still missing the knot
Compared to Miyazaki Goro's debut film, Tales of Earthsea (2006), Kokuriko-zaka kara is a film much better made, perhaps because the script is written for the film itself by Miyazaki Hayao (whereas Tales of Earthsea was adopted from a novel). The story revolves around adolescent romance between a strong, independent girl named Umi who takes care of her family's lodging business while her mother is away and her father having passed away from the war, and Umi's upperclassman. Umi falls in love with Shun, a boy admired by all the girls in school because of his audacity, but just as Shun and Umi's feelings are about to blossom into something more, Shun finds out a secret that prevents him from having any romantic feeling for Umi. As the "secret" seemed like it would turn the movie into a big melodramatic mess taken straight out of a Korean drama, I was slightly disappointed half way through the film. However, being Studio Ghibli, of course it wouldn't end on a tragic note, but also for that reason the ending felt rush and that something was "missing." I find the movie still enjoyable, though, despite its cheesy twist, because of all the period humor and the nostalgia it brings. The middle segment where everyone was involved in rebuilding the clubhouse was very enjoyable with a lot of humor and inspiration. Graphically, it was beautiful, and the soundtrack couldn't have been more appropriate. This is not one of Ghibli's best, but given time, Miyazaki Goro hopefully can continue in his father's footstep and bring us more great films to come.
La Vida de los Peces (2010)
A nice film with its poetic moment
La vida de los peces starts out with an abrupt conversation, in which Andrés, a journalist working for travel magazines, just returned to Chile after 10 years of absence. His friends asked him if he has "talked to her," referring to Andrés's ex-girlfriend Bea. As Andrés and Bea finally encounter each other and strike a conversation (after spending much time avoiding the subject they want to talk about - that is their relationship), we discover the reason Andrés left town and went to Germany, Bea's current married life, and that they still have (lots of) feelings left for each other. While the setting is purposely made to be a confined space crowded with people, strangers and friends alike, the winding paths Andrés and Bea took to avoid each other and to finally meet each other are the journeys to find themselves, especially Andrés. Regardless of the ending (and they say it's not the end that matter, but rather the process of getting there), I really enjoyed the conversations between the two protagonists that seem very realistic, the strangely romantic moments where they were just standing there looking at goldfish circling around recounting their memories of the past, and especially the final scene, which must have been one of the best ending scenes ever in all the movies that I have seen.
Dare mo mamotte kurenai (2008)
A good thriller
This movie is a good thriller and will keep you on the edge of your seat. As mentioned in the synopsis, it's about a girl whose brother supposedly committed a crime, and how society reacts to this. Well, it might have to do with background, as I come from similar background to that of people in the story, I felt like most things from the movie were pretty standard - the saving face, media cruelty, unbelievable public reaction, etc. Let's just say living in a society like Japan puts a lot of pressure on people, which consequently leads them to erratic behaviors. So it could just be my background, but for me the movie was a good thriller and nothing more. There were a few scenes that stayed, such as the one where the police and the girl sit side by side on the beach, or the last scene, but like most other thrillers, as soon as I watched it, not much remained.
For me, a *great* movie has to be a movie that will resonate through the test of time; this movie unfortunately is not. It illustrates current events and will only make an impact at this time. 50 years from now, people watching it might not be able to relate to it at all. For this matter, I consider the movie "good" and not "great".
Niji no megami (2006)
A romance that's more than decent but underrated
"Rainbow Song" is a romance that has no new motif, but it manages to move me just the same. The pace of the movie is slow without much plot, so for impatient viewers, this might not be the best choice. I've noticed that with Japanese romances, most people opt for the junai genre, with two protagonists falling in love, then one of them dies, leaving one person behind sad but optimistic nevertheless, and the story ends up being very "touching" (but of course, cliché and lacking in cinematic creativity). "Rainbow Song" is definitely not that kind of a movie, though it might appear so deceivingly. Here, what's usually the ending in other romances is told first right in the beginning, so there's no surprise in the plot. You should not watch this movie expecting a surprising ending that will make you go "Wow!"; that's not the point of the movie. The point is to take viewers through the relationship of two young people who, like most of us, have their strong and weak points. Through the movie, we watch their relationship develop (or fail to develop for that matter) through carefully constructed details of their time spent together and also apart. The filming is absolutely beautiful - melancholy but very realistic. All of the young actors here did their job very well, particularly Ueno Juri and Aoi Yuu.
Bottom line: a subtle movie that will be very touching if you pay attention to the details, the filming, the changes in each character, and not necessarily plot development.
Ima, ai ni yukimasu (2004)
The best in its genre, but not my cup of tea
I will not lie. If you watch a lot of Japanese movies in the jun'ai genre (jun'ai = pure love, such as Heavenly Forest, Say hello for me, Nada sou sou, etc.) you will see that Be with you is the best of them all. However, I strongly disagree with some of the reviews that said "if you have a pulse, you will enjoy this movie", or something along that line, just because everyone has their own cup of tea. This was one of the first Japanese movies that I watched, and though I did enjoy the beautiful, almost magical, scenes done by the director, I think the unreal aspect of it turned out to be the factor that ruined it for me. Beautiful scenery does not equal beautiful filming; in fact, this movie (and Heavenly forest, as well as Say hello for me, for that matter) seemed like a tale in heaven or in some lands where there are angels and fairies and not necessarily people. The love story here is indeed touching; I do like the family scenes a lot, but the structure of the movie is just too confusing, and the plot seems like it was written solely to "move" people. When I feel like my feelings are manipulated through each situation in the movie, particular the ending, I usually am not moved by that particular incident.
So bottom line: very good acting, beautiful filming, but unrealistic love story (I know it's not meant to be realistic, but come on, the setting was real life and not a "Once upon a time" sort of setting). Convincing for its genre, but to say it's "the best Japanese movie", or that it had a significant impact on Japanese movies as a whole, is probably misleading. If you want a movie that most likely will make you cry, you can try this movie. However, it didn't work for me. If you want more realistic love stories that are touching, but on the more subtle side, both cinematically and plot-wise, try "Rainbow Song" (Niji no megami) or "Love Letter" (by Iwai Shunji). If you just want a good (but realistic!) love story that can happen just about anywhere, try Oto-na-ri (done by the same director as "Rainbow Song").
Tokyo Tower (2005)
Very average movie, plus good acting
First off, let me say that I'm an Okada Junichi fan. That being said, this movie was average, if not below average. The plot has no commendable twist or turn, the motif old and not creative at all, and there's not much to "learn" from this movie that makes you go "Ahhh". Like other reviews on this board, I have to agree, "What is this movie trying to say?". For me, the theme of loneliness of a 35 year old woman was way better portrayed through the character of Kimiko and her relationship with Koji. I have no idea how the main couple could carry the "35-year-old lonely woman" theme. The interaction between her and her husband, plus her "loneliness" is just not seen nearly enough! One would think Toru and Shifumi love each other because they both are very good-looking! Um, so, this movie is not that good in my opinion. However, every one completed their part very well. Kuroki Hitomi-san was very beautiful and classy, Okada Junichi is expressive with his eyes and voice as usual, but my favorite will have to be Terajima Shinobu-san, who plays Kimiko. Not only does her character has depth, but her acting was good on its own. Through her, and her only, I see the possible loneliness of a woman who's trapped in a boring life, with a husband she doesn't love (or has grown out of love for him), and who yearns for something more than just the everyday life cooking in the kitchen and doing housework from dawn to dusk.
Oto-na-ri (2009)
A light romance that's unconventional and done just right
Oto-na-ri is a somewhat unconventional romantic movie starring a JE actor who can actually act. Why the movie is unconventional, you actually need to watch it because I don't want to ruin the movie for you. For me, the color was a little dark, but that probably has to do with the whole sound-without-sight idea (again, if you're just reading this it might be confusing - the movie is about two neighbors who don't meet; they follow each other's life through the sounds in the other apartment). Simple (definitely not mind-blowing by any measure), artistic, with good acting (though Okada is my favorite actor, I was more impressed by Aso's acting in this particular instance), I would re-watch Oto-na-ri again and again. It's very heart-warming, cute, yet not a conventional chick-flick. Not groundbreaking, but definitely not without merit. Recommended.