So I was looking around for other Japanese movies to watch. There's the Fujiwara Tatsuya movie Monsterz but ikemen thrillers aren't usually good. There's Wood Chuck starring the dude from Minna! Esper Dayo! and Wald9 had one show everyday with Japanese subtitles! However Masami is in it and I'm sick of the fact that her acting will not improve.
I can't complain that all her rolea are usually in her comfort zone but Bushin showed that she can't rise to the occasion.
There is one movie being showed at Toho cinemas but only (as far as I know) and that is Ishii Yuya's Bokutachi no Kazoku. Who is Ishii Yuya? He's the lucky fucker who married Mitsushima Hikari and he also directed Sawako Decides and The Great Passage. So off to Toho cinema in Kinshicho I went.
Bokutachi no kazoku on the surface sounds like a boring tv soap. Mom starts to forget things and the family of four need to learn to deal with mom's illness. At the end of the screening I thought, "Wow, that is such a simple story but the execution and the acting is just superb".
Bokutachi no kazoku feels less than a family movie and more about well developed characters. The mother's forgetfullness turns into a great storylime tool as the family's past issues slowly come to life. Its one of the movies where no one is a caricature and first impressions are always wrong.
Tsumabuki Satoshi does great work as the older son and he does a great job conveying the great weight that is on his character's shoulders. Shingai from Mozu absolutely steals the movie as the younger son. All I can say about his performance is wow. Even Nagatsuka Kyozo looks like he's awake when it seema like he's sleepwalking through his dorama rolls. Hada Mieko looks like she's having a blast playing the mother.
This is jmovies at its finest. Simple but beautiful and saying a lot with less words. Absolutely must watch. Japanese should be flocking to Bokutachi no kazoku instead of the boring Thermae Romae 2.
Edit : I am sick of the song from Frozen/Anna to yuki no jyouou, Sono Mama being played everywhere I go. Must resist subliminal message to watch it....
Rootabega:
ReplyDeleteAkiramike, I saw that "lucky bastard" in person at the VIFF when he was doing a Q&A after screening his first full-length "Bare-assed Japan". He was quite young and seemed really kind and modest, so I'd say Mitsushima-san is in good hands.
Thanks for the recommend. I usually need a lot of convincing for movies or doramas with the word "family" in the title, for some reason.:)