Going my Home turned out the way I was expecting it to; basically 10 episodes of Still Walking instead of a 2 hour movie. Everything about Going My Home is great except its the usual Koreeda nothing really happens or takes too long to happen. I enjoyed watching it and last episode was great but there were times I was thinking why couldn't this have been 6 episodes instead of 10? My favourite bits of the whole series were the Abe conversations with his mother and sister. I could watch them argue for an hour.
Having seen Koreeda's movies, Going My Home's lack of pace was pretty much expected. Sadly, I can't call it a must watch but it is definitely watchable. I would be interested to know whether Koreeda thought he needed 10 episodes to tell his story or whether it was a network mandated length.
This series was pure quality; rarely does a drama make me think and feel so much. Yes it's slow-paced, but that in my opinion is what allows such excellent character development and story telling. Easily one of the best series I have ever watched.
ReplyDeleteThe major theme, "death", is handled in a way I have never seen before. I love the reference to Lord of the Rings at the end when Moe talks of Frodo sailing off into the undying lands. Absolutely genius. Except director messed it up by calling the book "The Hobbit" which is of course a different story entirely!
If you knew it would be slow paced from the beginning, how can you not give it a "must watch" for being exactly that? Curious logic right there.
ReplyDeleteJust because Going My Home met my expectations because of familiarity with the director doesn't not equate it to a must watch dorama.
ReplyDeleteEg, I expect a Michael Bay movie to make no sense and have 1 explosion per minute.
I was hoping Koreeda would adapt to the dorama format and quicken his pace. A good example would be the Boku series which is similar but never left me without a feeling of anticipation.
Slow paced does not immediately translate into bad, and a quick pace alone does not guarantee quality. If you have a problem handling a show of this length because it's not exciting enough, how about taiga and asadora?
ReplyDeleteSounds like a flimsy excuse to me.
If only it were as good as Still Walking. Has a lot of the characteristic KoreEda documentary-style, and the fine natural acting of Abe-san, but the whimsical nature of the story (woodland færies, et al) let it down. The public apparently agreed, since after a strong start (13% rating for episode 1), it dropped to 4.5% by episode 9.
ReplyDelete"This world isn't just made up of things you can see." Kuna are cute, whether they exist or not. A Kawaguchi Haruna cameo. What was the point of the story? Haha.
ReplyDeleteIt might have been better as a 2-hour movie. Even then I'm sure it will feel slow, but the story will feel like a better fit.
@IzyData: the point of the story? Life? Liberty? Happiness? Jk. Family matters are endless affairs, and Koreeda is great at depicting that. His style, for sure, will suit movies because he is a movie director after all, but the drama was enjoyable and far from pointless. However, it doesn't have a beginning, a climax and an end like a normal story would. Oh why? Where do our family matters start and resolve... They don't ;)
ReplyDeleteCarter - Slow paced does not immediately translate into bad, and a quick pace alone does not guarantee quality.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree with you more. Did Koreeda need 10 episodes to tell this story or could he have fit in all the important bits in 6 episodes?
The asadora's I've seen have cliffhangers and build up to great climaxes.
Did you actually understand what I wrote?
ReplyDeleteAbe and Nishida fanboy here, but I didn't feel the urge let this drama stick around in my HDD. FTR, I have 7 Taigas, 2 Asadoras and Still Walking in my collection.
ReplyDeleteCarter, what is your 'flimsy excuse' in reference to?
ReplyDeleteIs that hard to understand? Reread the sentence. You quoted something I said and interpreted it the opposite way, so unless you're being sarcastic...
ReplyDelete