Meandering, disjointed, shallow, this is pretty much what I've come to expect from Japanese movies.
I was intrigued initially, having seen the kind of captivating performances Sakura Ando is capable of, in Shoplifters for example. The first five minutes also seemed to pretty authentically portray a dysfunctional family and a lead character with serious and plausible human flaws. Unfortunately, that got my hopes up a little too high. From there, the entire premise seems to sink into the mold of another typical Japanese movie, with the eccentric and quirky shallow characters and meandering, arbitrary storyline. It really got me thinking about why all these sorts of movies are always set in rural areas. One theory is that the irrational behavior of the characters is better justified in these kinds of places. For example, I found it ridiculous that Ichiko still had feelings for Yuji after being so unceremoniously spurned by him and after surely gaining a bit of self respect through her boxing success, but in a small town perhaps we can justify this kind of behaviour by assuming that there simply weren't any other guys around.
The acting in most Japanese movies really irks me because you can see that they're obviously "performing". Look at the side-to-side movements from Noma as he's talking to Ichiko. He looks as though he is doing some kind of manzai performance with her as the straight character. But the director needs to realize that he's directing a movie that is supposedly reflecting the real world. This kind of TV acting performance has no place there. It completely kills any tension or empathy you might have for the characters and reminds you that you're watching actors trying to perform for you. I was really hoping this movie would be different and have some kind of genuine human element to it the way Shoplifters did. Sakura Ando is a class act and I really feel she was let down by pretty much everyone else, in front of and behind the camera.
The storyline also bugged me in that I didn't understand the motives of the characters or the relevance of any of the motifs. Like, why did Yuji keep leaving bananas on the counter? I thought something would come back about little things like that, but they just left it. I can imagine the director thinking that he was expertly "leaving things to the viewer's interpretation" but the viewer is simply left thinking they've been abandoned by the director completely.
The rape of Ichiko, which should have had more bearing on the story and been treated with a bit more gravity, seemed like an insignificant after-thought. At no point are we given any indication that she took up boxing based on that. And it seems a bit sloppy that we see her soon after enjoying sex with Yuji despite having lost her virginity by being abused and raped.
Why did Ichiko suddenly feel that she was justified in assaulting her boss? He was simply telling her to abide by the company rules. It simply does not make sense. It seems that whoever wrote the story and decided what the characters would do didn't think about the plausible motives for those actions. It just felt so arbitrary.
Not that the characters were nearly well-developed or relatable enough to care about by the end of the film, but I was at least hoping that someone would show some kind of significant change by the end of the film. All I noticed was that Ichiko suddenly found an interest in boxing. I thought she'd at least punch the guy who broke her heart and is obviously a selfish prick, but she decides to go out for a meal with him. Roll the credits. Is that the message of the film? Try something new and give it a go, and even if you fail, it's the journey that matters? Are we in high school or something?
I charitably give this 6 stars, but please bear in mind that a movie has to be grievously flawed to get 5 or less. Sakura Ando's acting (physical especially) and the thrilling fight at the end are pretty much the only redeeming factors in the film.
The acting in most Japanese movies really irks me because you can see that they're obviously "performing". Look at the side-to-side movements from Noma as he's talking to Ichiko. He looks as though he is doing some kind of manzai performance with her as the straight character. But the director needs to realize that he's directing a movie that is supposedly reflecting the real world. This kind of TV acting performance has no place there. It completely kills any tension or empathy you might have for the characters and reminds you that you're watching actors trying to perform for you. I was really hoping this movie would be different and have some kind of genuine human element to it the way Shoplifters did. Sakura Ando is a class act and I really feel she was let down by pretty much everyone else, in front of and behind the camera.
The storyline also bugged me in that I didn't understand the motives of the characters or the relevance of any of the motifs. Like, why did Yuji keep leaving bananas on the counter? I thought something would come back about little things like that, but they just left it. I can imagine the director thinking that he was expertly "leaving things to the viewer's interpretation" but the viewer is simply left thinking they've been abandoned by the director completely.
The rape of Ichiko, which should have had more bearing on the story and been treated with a bit more gravity, seemed like an insignificant after-thought. At no point are we given any indication that she took up boxing based on that. And it seems a bit sloppy that we see her soon after enjoying sex with Yuji despite having lost her virginity by being abused and raped.
Why did Ichiko suddenly feel that she was justified in assaulting her boss? He was simply telling her to abide by the company rules. It simply does not make sense. It seems that whoever wrote the story and decided what the characters would do didn't think about the plausible motives for those actions. It just felt so arbitrary.
Not that the characters were nearly well-developed or relatable enough to care about by the end of the film, but I was at least hoping that someone would show some kind of significant change by the end of the film. All I noticed was that Ichiko suddenly found an interest in boxing. I thought she'd at least punch the guy who broke her heart and is obviously a selfish prick, but she decides to go out for a meal with him. Roll the credits. Is that the message of the film? Try something new and give it a go, and even if you fail, it's the journey that matters? Are we in high school or something?
I charitably give this 6 stars, but please bear in mind that a movie has to be grievously flawed to get 5 or less. Sakura Ando's acting (physical especially) and the thrilling fight at the end are pretty much the only redeeming factors in the film.