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Juninin no yasashii nihonjin (1991)
FIne Japanese way of adapting "12 Angry Men", but...
For most people "12 Angry Men" is no doubt a classic, yet it left me some doubt. What if Henry Fonda stood for 'guilty' instead of 'not guilty'? Could other juries agree with him at last?
In 1957, 'justice' still existed. To believe in young man's (beautifully-shot) eyes was 'good', and most people could cheer for that. The other juries in that movie had that sort of 'goodness' deep down in their hearts and that is why most people felt satisfied after watching "12 Angry Men".
In my experience, it is very hard to change other people's opinions. Even if they do, they can never change their 'feelings'. They can never totally agree against their intuition unless their 'feelings' are fixed. People rely on their reasons because they 'feel' they are true.
But I'm Japanese. This may be a Japanese way of see things. And that may be why I come to like this Japanese parody of "12 Angry Men".
Still, it is quite fair to say "12 Gentle Japanese" is one of the Japanese classics. It successfully illustrates Japanese way of seeing 'justice'. Japanese jury system finally began in 2008 (not exactly the same as American system though), and today the movie's presence is even stronger.
In Japan, unlike in US, perhaps, intuition or feelings often weigh more than reasons. And likewise, often 'what is appropriate' is more important than 'what is true'. We don't trust in men of reasons easily. All the juries represent that sort of Japanese nature well.
However I don't rate 10 to this movie like I do to other Japanese classics like Ozu's. What is most dramatic about modern Japanese society is that we have severe conflict between 'what we have been' and 'what we will better be'. I cannot see this conflict in "12 Gentle Japanese" and it should have been included. All the juries represent what I call Japanese nature so well, but none of them seem to be doubtful for that. All casts look like just pieces of chess, i.e. 'I am the one who change my mind easily' or 'I only believe in my intuition'. They only represent what they should represent. They don't doubt themselves.
I heard that this was originally written for a play in the theater. That may be why the performances are over-the-top and stereotyped. Or not. In either way, this movie is 8/10 for me, now.
WALL·E (2008)
Poor imagination
Perhaps I expected too much on this film because people's voting in this website are terrific and many wrote that this is "the best animated film ever".
From the time of E.T., I have been wondering why American want robots or things like that to be human-like. I don't want to see pandas chew gums like Yanks or robots look down when they feel sad. Is that "reality" for American? Pandas are real when they do things we cannot guess and so do robots. There is no mysticism here and that is so unreal to me. When fantasy is drawn unreal, there is no chance for that movie to knock on my emotion.
I am not an enthusiastic patriot, but to talk about animated films, why don't you just watch Miyazaki's films? Those are the ones filled with fantasy or imagination I am talking about. You may say children cannot appreciate the characters when they do not move the way we are familiar with, but let's just believe in children's open-minded nature. I have just witnessed children laughing and got excited watching Miyazaki's strange new film "Ponyo on the cliff by the sea". In my humble opinion American only try to listen to the sound of two-hands-clapping not the sound of one-hand-clapping. Imagination, man. What if god does not speak English or not even human-like? Oops I've gone too far.
Cinematography is great. And obviously the director ("Finding Nemo") is talented. Characters are pop and cute. Message is clear. But one decisive element is lacking.
Mogari no mori (2007)
Sympathy Without A Cause required or The Men Can't Take It
This movie is so depressing most of the way and I fell from the grace of its reincarnation theme at the end. I was so alone when the casts are crying and yelling. The screenplay and the direction may lack some fatal information in this movie, but I had to 'understand' this because it won the Grrrrrrrand Prix at the Cannes.
Erratic is the word. I had no idea why suddenly Machiko somehow eagerly chased to catch Shigeki after he fell down from the tree. Was it because Shigeki's mischievous action ignited Machiko's frustrated sadness (her son's death) and Machiko agreed to burst it out with him? In my eyes she hadn't been such frustrated or, saying more accurately, she looked good at hiding her own secret emotion. If I should understand and recognize her action only by watching that poor explanation, well that must be something like "sympathy without a cause", which I hate most.
The latter half of the movie is filled with Machiko's sobbing call "Shigekisan, Shigekisan". It might imply her hidden cry to call her late son or her husband, but to me that sounded too self-indulging. The people on this movie might have extremely sad experience which an ordinary man like me can't even guess. Actually the movie has some snobbish impression due to its lack of explanation. Perhaps Machiko had divorced after her son's death and working for her own. OK, it must be hard. But how hard? It's too bold if the director wants me to sympathize with her sadness, again, only by that little information.
Remember, the former half of most Kurosawa movies are boring as hell. Even for this Japanese man, his b&w "classics" are way too aged and often boring. But that boring pile of information gives the roles their lives. They become even more real than real people when the latter half starts. That's where all the story begins. We need that to get along with the director's "lies".
It's not even the Eastern Zen style this movie wears. I know some Japanese movies have fine essence of that kind (eg. Ozu's), but this one only lacks what is needed to be there. It's not even poetic. In poets, the lines themselves conveys powerful meanings as well as the spaces between the lines. If the director said the motivation to make this movie was her grandmother's senility then she should know not all grandmother is senile or not every son & daughter realizes its possibility clearly. She may want people to realize that but she did little thing to make that happen.
Some nice people acclaim for its cinematography. The scenes might be clean or green but you know what I'd say. Instead, I'd like to comment on its sound mixing. At first I thought it was at the director's will when I couldn't hear the main casts' voices clearly and the sound of people or the nature surrounding the main casts were too loud. But it wasn't fixed until the end. I was too tired to see the next round (the same director's "Sharasouju" for which I waited more hopefully) when the movie was over. Or was it the cinema theater's fault?
I've been saying sh*t on this movie, but there is one big suspension. How do women think about this female director's movie? According to the rating breakdown on IMDb, obviously women appreciate this movie. I can't help imagining there is some kind of emotional code in this movie, of which only women can share without any further explanation. My comment can be nothing short of the same old "men's lack of understanding". But still.
Tenkôsei: Sayonara anata (2007)
An impression
As a 38 years old man, I have seen some classic movies and I enjoyed most of them. Chaplin, Ford, Ozu, Kurosawa, Fellini, Kubrick, Jarmusch, Miyazaki... I cannot describe how deeply I got influenced by their movies. But.
You may say I am too sentimental in my nature (like those other Asian, I am Japanese by the way) to leave comments about movies here on IMDb. For example, I much prefer Chaplin's movies to Keaton's. That may tell you something. But.
I even saw the original Tenkosei movie. And I understand many people say that the original is 'more attractive to film lovers' or 'better acted'. But. Still.
"Tenkosei: Sayonara Anata" is one of the best films I have ever seen. Or frankly speaking, this movie tops them all. This movie gave me indescribably profound emotion. This is not just about boy-meets-girl-and-they-switch-their-bodies show. This movie rather reaches me like a matter of 'why we are ourselves' and 'why we love someone', the motif similar to "La Strada".
I have no idea why I say things stupid like 'the best movie of all-time in the whole wide world' in the 21st century. There is no common ground for us all any more, and never a universal sense of value even within myself. Or maybe there is. Because there used to be there and some of them might be able to remain. I slightly sensed that the tears I shed (awful lot) all through the last half of the movie were a bit childish. As a child I cried. Director Obayashi here talks to us as children, who got ripped from mothers' bodies, being in love with ourselves, and will be in love with someone else. Anyway "Tenkosei: Sayonara Anata" deals with birth and death, and more importantly, to grow up. The universal theme, I think.
However I really understand why many people do not appreciate this movie. Unlike the early Tenkosei movie which gained many applause, this re-make has a lot of weakness. Expect other people to name the list, I only say those weakness did not bother me at all because 'the universal theme' in the latter half of the movie was so powerful. This powerfulness did not exist in the early version of the movie, rarely in other movies, too.
This is just my impression of the movie. I write this because the movie worths more exposure.
Lost in Translation (2003)
A Japanese reaction
Well, this is not a review, just a comment, right? I'm Japanese and I was there in Tokyo when Sofia and other clans like Hiromix and Nigo were firing the town in 90's. I didn't say I was with them, I was just living there. So, to me the scene Bob and Charlotte meets Charlie Brown was a bit nostalgic and I confirmed Sofia enjoyed her time in 90's Tokyo. Clubs and Karaoke scenes really have some exciting and romantic feels.
Johansson is so like Sofia. I don't know Sofia Coppola personally but the movie makes me feel like I know her well. Nice... work of art.
And cinematography. wow. Believe me, Tokyo overall is not cute or bladerunnery as seen in LiT. Sofia just shot it like that. In my humble eyes Tokyo or Kyoto is like the same old gray, faceless, nervous big city, but in her eyes it wasn't. And of course, it's not a matter of true or false.
It was kind of itchy when I saw this film. It's like a tale of Pygmalion, people never get to know each other completely. We know just what we are ready to know. But often we want others to know ourselves completely and immediately. The great Bill Murray looked like saying 'scratch my heart'.
It was so hopeless when I was in a foreign land and lost the life track and someone who meant so much to me. I imagine how hard Charlotte needed a person like Bob at that time.
Glad to have a film like this from LA.