Journey to the Shore is my second Japanese movie for the Melbourne International Film Festival. This was the movie I was most looking forward to not just because Fukatsu Eri and Asano Tadanobu are in but also because Kurosawa Kiyoshi (WOWOW's Shokuzai) directed it and won best director at Cannes. I was surprised to see WOWOW films at the beginning credits.
Fukatsu Eri's husband Asano Tadanobu died 3 years ago and all of a sudden he reappears, saying that he want to take her on a journey to meet the people who have helped him. Its your basic dead person comes back to say goodbye movie with hints about their relationship and what actually happened scattered throughout.
Fukatsu Eri is very good in this one but the script is oh so generic. I have no idea how Kurosawa Kiyoshi got the directing award cause I've seen much better stuff from him. (see the first episode of Shokuzai) The movie is way too lethargic and could have used a lot of edits. Actually I think it would have been so much better as a 3 episode WOWOW dorama than a movie.
I feel like Fukatsu Eri really kept the movie from being a total bore through the force of her acting. Watching the movie I was thinking I've never put her on the top echelon of Japanese actresses but the best thing about the movie was watching her character react to various situations and reading her emotions.
As a dorama, Journey to the Shore would have been not bad but as movie, it was kind of meh and dare I say boring. The last movie for me will be Koreeda's My Little Sister. Fingers crossed. Oh yeah, Aoi Yu has a nice cameo as well.
wow fukatsu eri, one of my fav jactresses. id want to watch more media of her in the lead. your lucky that MIFF has jmovies showing. here in tiff, they only have 1 movie showing a japan/china coproduction.
ReplyDeletetoo bad shes not as popular as yonekura ryoko. id rather have her than the terrible acting and legs of doctor x.
if only people subbed late 90s early 20s dramas starring her and the other of my favorite actresses in her age range (miki mizuno, tokiwa takako, miki nakatani, amami yuki)
one comedy one i have thats been dropped had both tokiwa and fukatsu in kabachitare.
i find it amusing that aside for mitsuhima hikari, and renbutsu and maybe but not quite aragaki (i know shes not a good actress but i had a crush when i was younger) that all my favorite jactresses are in the 40s age range and that there doesnt seem to be any younger good actresses that have caught my eye.
someone subbed the first 2 episode because yamapi was a supporting character on that but dropped it.
any j actress or actors of note visiting during MIFF?
my utter regret 2 years ago for not finding out till too late was abe hiroshi visiting for the thermae romae screeining in tiff 2013. i would have wanted to meet him and get his signature. :/
I had a crush on Aragaki Yui as well, until she got exposed.
ReplyDeleteWhat about Aoi Yu or Kaho?
No Japanese actors visiting MIFF as far as I know. Meeting Abe Hiroshi would have been so good.