Reviews

An interesting gem

"I am what I am" depicts the perception of being in a relationship (and love) from different point of views and we mainly follow Kasumi, our main character who knows she's different from the others and she's happy with it.

It's more about how the society (especially from her family and around her) percieves it and how she "deals" with it, I was sad the fact that we can see she's being pressured and not being understood of what she felt.

It's an interesting movie and an eye opener because I'm not sure that everyone is aware of being aromantic and or asexual. It's even important to produce this kind of movie to spread awareness and be accepted for this but don't judge people because they are what they are.

My only problem is the lacking of something that can makes me more understanding / connecting the character and that some parts felts a bit slow or maybe I'm being nitpicky lol (that's why I didn't give a 10)

Anyway, I recommend this movie for everyone, being part of LGBTQ+ or not, it should be watched and known.

Leia Mais

It's Very Depressing But That's Not Necessarily A Bad Thing

It’s very depressing and it never lets up. Even the small moments of fun/bonding between the two main characters does not lift the tone. This is ok if you are not put off by heavy, sad and depressing topics that don’t sugar-coat things. Me saying that it’s depressing isn't necessarily a bad thing. A lot of satisfaction can be gotten from watching a character go through hardship after hardship and come out on the other side. For me, I don’t regret watching it. I did find some satisfaction, narratively. It was an interesting enough story and the acting was decent. It also had a good message and it didn’t feel like suicide propaganda. In fact, it felt sincere in its message. The last 30 or so minutes at the end of the film are it’s best. You’ll see why.

And for once, they referenced a country with darker skinned people without being derogatory. I particularly liked that the Yun character didn’t look to go there to satisfy some sort of saviour complex or to ‘civilise’ the population. Instead, he went there to be with them. To be with the people who reminded him of himself. He also had lovely things to say about the community there. He didn’t patronise their sense of care and community towards raising the orphan children. Rather, it sounded like he was talking about people he held in high esteem. Listen up Asian film makers…this is how it’s done. This is how you include other non-western countries without being a-holes about it.

Leia Mais

If you only watch one het love story this year...

I'm careful in what I watch by way of het romance and initially We Made a Beautiful Bouquet wasn't high up my list for this year's JFF Online. A J-drama fan I follow on social media had seen it before and I liked what he wrote about it so I gave it a go.

It doesn't do the things I dislike about most het relationship story lines. The FL isn't cutesy or ditsy. Shared enthusiasms are central to the dynamic between the two characters and the framing is also balanced between their POVs. It's one of the most equal relationships I've seen. There's something else I want to compliment it on but that would be a spoiler.

All in all, it's an excellent film. Solid writing and acting so natural I managed to forget I was watching a film during some of it. Oh right, this isn't happening. If someone said, "I'm willing to watch one het love story this year" this is one of two I'd suggest.

Leia Mais

I should have liked the film, I wanted to love it -- but there was one major thing that annoyed me so much I even dreamed about it the following night. I tried to keep this review spoiler-free anyway, but I don't think I managed.

For the most part, the film just shows an old man (Tsutomu) gathering vegetables from the hill and from his field, cooking and eating them; and writing a book. Alongside this, we hear his thoughts about food, and about life -- his own life and how it shaped him specifically. In the film, what we hear is what Tsutomu is writing -- it's probably the essay the film is based on.

It's an interesting choice, to take an essay with Zen thoughts about life and try to turn it into a film -- and until the one hour mark, it works.
We see the season change, the landscapes and the vegetables change with them. Occasionally, the man's quiet life connects to the outside world -- a visit by his editor, by a carpenter, or when Tsutomu visits his mother-in-law.
I liked that part, I was looking forward to see the rest of the seasons. Even the motive of death, which was introduced at the end of the first hour, was fitting -- life and death are interconnected, which is why we like to eat together after a burial or a wake. I even liked the change of pace then, that death made Tsutomo's life more hectic -- that is a beautiful juxtaposition.

But after the scare he gets, his voice-over thoughts start to sound like those motivational quotes on greeting cards / calendars / facebook posts -- every single sentence has this feeling to it. This is no longer like the flow of thoughts of an old man, with some deep thoughts and some more personal observations, it's more like a compilation of "The Best of Zen" you could buy in the gift section of a book store.
I would have liked it much better if there had been more silence in this part of the film, only occasionally enhanced by a single sentence or thought.
Since this film is based on an essay, I suppose that everything we hear in the voice-over is from the essay, and that everything from the essay is in the film -- so unless either the film is longer or parts of the essay had been cut, there wasn't much else to do.

I'm also not too impressed with the relationship between the man and his editor -- is it friendship? Something romantic? It's implied that it's the latter, but the apparent age gap and some other smaller things make it strange.

Let's go back to the good things:
I loved the acting and the looks of the main character. Tsutomu is just an older man who is living his life. I like that he looks just like an ordinary man. With just a few changes in his movements, the actor shows us the change from the sprightly man who ambles through the woods and chases after pigeons to the elederly man who feels as if he's at death's door.
I also loved watching nature change from month to month -- and whenever I met the little frog again, I thought "Hello friend, there you are!" -- and also how the ingredients and the food preparation was filmed, which is something Japanese dramas or movies excel in.
And then, the last few minutes had everything I loved about the film, we also went full circle; but not quite -- as the year is complete, and things go back to the start, we'll have changed and the new year will be the same, and different.

Leia Mais

An Interesting Depiction of First Love

Courage can be as simple as taking that first step toward something you’ve longed for but were afraid to hope for.

In the Japanese BL film Sono Koi, Jihanki de Kaemasu ka? (Can I Buy Your Love From a Vending Machine) adapted from the manga of the same name by Yoshii Haruaki, Salaryman Koiwai Ayuma (Matsuda Ryo) takes that first step and finds himself face-to-face with a love he wants while being afraid of losing it.

The film follows Ayuma as he shyly approaches the strong and muscular vending machine worker Yamashita Ryoma (Tazura Shogo) at his office, using his desire to add orange juice to the options as an opportunity to talk to the man he’s been crushing on. To his surprise, it leads to much more when the more direct Yamashita asks him out.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/06/08/can-i-buy-your-love-from-a-vending-machine-movie-review/

Leia Mais

11:55 PM was a creepy short film that will resonate with a lot of women who live alone. Based on a Korean urban legend with one part of it stirring my memory of an urban legend from my own culture.

A young woman is heading home late at night. When she arrives at the parking garage at her apartment complex her boss calls. She needs to redo her work and have it done by midnight. Put out at the late night order, she accidentally leaves her phone in the car. That’s when things go from bad to worse.

Director Oh In Chun showed how isolated a person can be and feel when threatened. And also how the brain and body can freeze from fear. I don’t know the name of the actress but she accurately portrayed the initial irritation a person would feel at an annoying person disturbing her work and quiet late at night. As the realization of her predicament slowly sank in her face and actions grew more frightened.

If you’ve ever been face to face with a fight or flight scenario when neither response is a viable option, you’ll recognize the terror inherent in the situation. For long time horror fans this will likely feel tame. As for me, I’ll double-check my locks tonight and make sure my phone is charged.

9 June 2024
Spoiler hint for the urban legend below
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From what I read (@cocomila on YT), the symbol drawn on the door means Beta---
Alpha: empty home
Beta: female home
X= saw the inhabitant (usually female) alone or about to rob

And people from my country know the punchline from the story kids tell each other to scare themselves,
“The call is coming from inside the house!”

Definitely going to re-check those locks now!

Leia Mais

What a roller coaster

I went into this knowing absolutely nothing other than the fact it has won numerous awards and received a lot of praise. The plot changes quite a bit throughout this film. The first third gives the impression that this is a con artist movie, the second third gives the impression that this is a high stakes thriller with way too many secrets to keep track of, and then by the end it becomes almost like a horror movie slasher. It's not that I disliked any part of this film, but the whiplash I got as we jumped from one plot to another was quite jarring. I spent a lot of the last half of the movie saying "That wouldn't have happened if they would have just...." which took away from my enjoyment a bit. The ending seemed quite random to me, and it left me feeling a bit empty inside, but not the way I prefer when it comes to media usually.

This wasn't a bad film, but I highly doubt I will ever watch it again unless I'm with someone watching it for the first time because I want to see how they react.

Leia Mais

They Made A Beautiful Bouquet lol

It's sort of like Before Trilogy but make it Japanese with the inner monologues and slice-of-life :3

Honestly, I'm out of words. It's just beautifully written and lovely storytelling. Doi and Sakamoto have such a great team-up. I've always been a fan of Director Doi's slice-of-life works.

And funny that before watching this movie from JFF, I watched "The Lines that Define Me" and so I was surprised to see Kaya and Kanata Hosoda in this film again lol. I remember Doi and Sakamoto are currently collaborating on another film and Kaya will also be there so maybe they grew fond of her : )

Acting-wise, Kasumi and Suda were awesome as expected. Even if this movie is mostly talking, I've never really felt bored thanks to its wonderfully-orchestrated script and plot. Moreover, I love the ending too much lmao! Just like their breakup, it ended in a fun note and that was very refreshing.

It may be just a simple story about fateful encounters, the ups and downs of romance but it sure felt quite realistic and heartwarming. Highly recommended!

Leia Mais

Wonderfully captured Japanese trad art film

Watched this for the first time from JFF. I'm a fan of its theme but unfortunately, it fell a bit short of my expectations knowing it's from the same prod as Chihayafuru's. The movie was good but I think it could've been executed better. Perhaps one reason was due to the postponement of its filming during the pandemic.

While I love the soundtrack and cinematography, there were times when it felt more like a music video or a Japanese SP drama. Also the direction seemed confused on developing Sosuke's character. It just felt unnatural to me. Sosuke felt more like chosen and praised out of favoritism lol. And the supporting charas just seemed to be placed there for the actors' exposure (though I must say I love Yuumi haha).

Personally, it's Kaya who really shined through this film. She perfectly encapsulated Chiaki's aura. Ryusei did great in the opening scene but in other parts, it was okay-ish. Having read the manga, he interpreted Sosuke's chara differently. I think he could've performed better but maybe the writing/screenplay is also partly to blame. Expect preachy lines too.

Nonetheless, the pacing was good and my favorite scene (spoiler) was Nishihama's sumi-e. It was just beautifully drawn and I love his art. I'd say I liked it better than Kozan's lol

Leia Mais

Beautiful and inspiring

Before wanting to start this movie, I didn't really expected something and didn't read the synopsis but the title itself intrigued me a lot.

Despite having somehow a slow pacing, I don't know how to describe it (but thinking again it was the right pace for this kind of movie lol), it still conveys a nice message and also showing some beautiful art.

As Sosuke said, I also want to know more about Sumi-e, I already know Chinese calligraphy which I sometimes practice in my own but didn't know anything about this Japanese art, Sumi-e.

It was kind of healing and heartwarming to see characters that are invested in this art and that can bring them new feels, a new version of them (I don't know if it makes sense..)

Anyway, a nice movie but maybe for not everyone, as I said it was somehow slow or maybe it lacks something so that's why I was a bit struggling to give a rating (but there's some moments later in the movie that change my mind).

Leia Mais

some background knowledge needed, otherwise excellent movie about the creation of anime series

[Edit to add a warning if you're photosensitve or are currently suffering from a migraine, the fast pace, the use of lighting and / or the jumpy half-finished aminations seem to have an adverse effect on some people.]

The film dumps you right in the middle of things. I did not understand at all what was happening until about the 35 minutes mark, and even then it took me another 10 to 15 minutes to really get it. I went in cold -- did not even read much more than the tags on the Japanese Film Festival Online 2024 website -- anime, business, drama -- so I had no idea what this film was about.
Several other things that probably did not help was that a) the Japanese names and titles that were shown with each introduction of a new character often were not translated and b) I do not know anything about the anime industry; also, c) it is not clear in the beginning which secondary characters will be important and which will be not, and most of them are introduced rather fast, so I was not able to keep track of them, and tended to mix them up in later scenes, as well as d) the sets for the two studios also look very similar, and e) I didn't know which anime series was which (because we only hear about the plot after about 40 minutes of runtime).

For the story, this is what I think would have helped to know: There are two production studios, who simultaneously make an anime series each -- both series are scheduled to air at the same time, so they will be direct competitors.
"Soundback" is directed by newbie Saito Hitomi (the woman with the glasses) and her producer is Yukishiro Osamu (sleek guy in a suit), it's colour coded as light blue. This is the one with the two sisters and the group of kids from a rural town.
"Liddell Light" is directed by Oji Chiharu who had a huge hit eight years ago (guy with tousled hair) and his producer is Arishina Kayako (woman, usually in business attire), it's colour coded as pink. This one is about a magical girl on a racing bike (or something like that).

So, live action scenes are supplemented by animations from both series (often half-finished) and also by animated scenes where the ratings and reactions from the audience are shown to us (this is where the colour coding comes in).

The main struggle might be between the creativity of the directors and the constraints of the market (an anime has to be commercially successful!). It also might be between the two directors, who compete and try to make the superior anime (which is where the title comes from). The film is much more complex and can't be reduced to just one "message" -- there are other stories below that, so it is worth to look a bit closer -- what seems the main issue in the beginning might not be what's actually important.

As soon as I got the hang of things, the film was excellent. Of course, the acting is incredible, but I was particularly impressed with the camera work and the editing. Fast-paced scenes in cramped and dark spaces are directly followed by slower, even contemplative scenes.
I loved the use of space and light, of static filming and of following moving characters with the camera -- it's quite obvious that a lot of thought has gone into this.
For example: the fast, almost oppressive, mood in the beginning is countered by an equally fast, but uplifting, mood in the last part -- we have the same sets, the same cast, the same time constraints to finish work, but they feel completely opposite, showing and underlining the main characters' state of mind.

Which is why I think some more time would have been good, maybe even as little as fifteen minutes or so, so that I could have been less confused in the beginning. In my opinion it must be possible to understand a film even if you know nothing about it before hand, even if you're not familiar with the subject (i.e. the making of animes in this case).
I also think that I did not get as close to the characters as I want to, there's no real connection there -- some more time would have helped with this too.

One last comment: I love that the male characters don't overshadow the female characters -- they have all their unique focus and their own strong personality. (Dare I even say it? I think both female main characters have a stronger personality than the male characters.)

Overall, I liked it and I learned something new about making anime, so that's a plus.
If you go into the film with the background info I gave above, and maybe a bit of knowledge of the anime industry, then I think you'll enjoy it.

Leia Mais

Sau schlechter Zombie Film...

Für Leute in Deutschland ist er derzeit kostenlos bei Freevee zu sehen... die Lebenszeit kann man sich allerdings getrost sparen. Die Story ist oberflächlich und dünn, das Setting total einseitig, die Schauspielerische Leistung so gut wie gar nicht vorhanden. Die Zombie Darsteller machen teilweise einen besseren Job als die Hauptdarsteller.
Normalerweise betrachte ich Zombies als eine Art Kunstwerk. Diese hier, sind keine. Die Fangzähne sind übelst billig. Das sieht man direkt... wahrscheinlich einfache Accessoires zu Halloween Kostümen. Die Maske lässt echt zu wünschen übrig. Die Kampfzenen sind so schlecht in Szene gesetzt, dass man hier sieht dass teilweise keine Berührungen erfolgen, das ändert auch nicht der Sound der teilweise an leichtes plätschern erinnert anstatt an kräftige Schläge (insbesondere was den Baseball Schläger angeht, der anscheinend überall zufällig rum steht)
Die Charaktere zeigen keine tiefe, die Story auch nicht. Man fühlt sich zu keinem verbunden. Die Charaktere handeln absolut irrational. (selbst in Panik, verschließt man beispielsweise Türen, um sich zu schützen....hier nicht)
Hin und wieder wurde versucht etwas Witz einzubauen, hat nicht funktioniert.
Alles in allem ist es ein wirklich schlechter Film...schlecht umgesetzt. Absoluter Trash aber eben nicht von der lustigen Sorte.

Leia Mais

A life alone doesn't necessarily mean a lonely life.

Tsutomu lives a life of solitude, alone in his mountain cabin, with rarely a visit from people. His only companions are his dog, his gardens and nature. Living season by season, month after month, life just goes by for the writer.

As he experiences nature bloom and wilt it's way as time passes, he reminisces his past and contemplates his future. Harvesting seasonal produce, cooking it the way he was taught to as a novice monk, reminiscing about his childhood. Meeting his editor, who worked with his late wife, who he cannot move on from, still hanging onto all remnants of her. His carpenter friend, his mother in law, his gardening, everything around him is a reminder of his past and it continues to dwell on his present.

A few unexpected events then allow him to contemplate on his future, whether he should embrace his past and gain closure. His slow life, seemingly devoid of meaning suddenly has more and less meaning than it did before.

An introspective, slow burner, even if doesn't manage to keep you on your toes, I don't think they ever meant it to.

Leia Mais

Finding Solace in Art!!

Art Heals! Art liberates! That's the whole review!

The movie beautifully portrays this idea through the journey of Sousuke Aoyama. Despite suffering an incomparable loss, Aoyama finds solace and purpose in art, in this case painting.

While the story may feel familiar, the execution is done pretty well.
The movie doesn't shy away from depicting the raw and real nature of loss, whether big or small. It emphasizes that how we deal with them defines and shapes our identity.
One of the movie's most poignant messages is about individuality in artistic expression. It reminds us that being an artist doesn't mean mimicking others; our perceived flaws may be beautiful to the world.

Aoyama's journey is heart-wrenching at times yet uplifting. As an apprentice, his struggles with self-doubt are tangible and relatable. However, the moment he receives encouragement from people around him and begins painting, his smile becomes a beacon of hope. Aoyama's determination to paint every day, even when exhausted, serves as a powerful reminder that giving up isn't an option. The supporting cast also delivered remarkable performances overall adding authenticity and warmth to the overall experience.

The film beautifully exemplifies the importance of confronting emotions and persevering through misfortunes and hardship.

Leia Mais

The highs and lows.. of a wedding.

This is what I would categorise as an ensemble comedy, where each character gets their time to shine. Because this wedding was not only about the bride and the groom, it was about everyone who came together for them, and then a few more.

From the groom, to his boss eager to make a comeback, and the bride and her father wanting to display his skills, their friends nervous about the wedding performance, juniors and seniors wanting to make an impact on the wedding and the world, teachers, mentors, and family. And the wedding planner. Each character had a purpose to fulfill, closure to attain, goals to achieve, and all of it came to a head on this wedding date, and of course, chaos and hilarity came with it.

I loved the in depth look we got into not just the wedding trade, but the traditions of modern day Japanese wedding and the role of everyone part of the ceremony and reception. I didn't quite understand the need of the roles of the ex and the random thief, except for maybe comic relief (which I still think was unnecessary).

Funny, chaotic, maybe tapering off a bit for a while, fun nonetheless.

Leia Mais