Watched "Tokyo Sonata" and "Still Walking"

I understand that these two Japanese films were big winners in Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong.  And I happened to have chances to see the both recently.

Thanks to Japan Society of Northern California, I watched "Tokyo Sonata" last night at San Francisco Embarcadero Center.  I was so surprised that the place was PACKED 30 minutes before the start time!  I had to sit at the very front row because of that...  Tokyo Sonata was shown at International Asian American Film Festival, so maybe people heard the rumor locally.  The commercial showing starts from this coming Friday.

The film was DARK, have the common tone with the previous Kiyoshi Kurosawa's films that I saw before, although at the end there was a light.  What really impressed me was the acting of the cast members.  I knew all along that Teruyuki Kagawa, my fav, can do it.  Koji Yakusho, who was playing a relatively small role, was superb as usual - the guy is DEAD serious and depressed, but that causes audience LAUGH.  But I just LOVED the acting of Kyonkyon (Kyoko Koizumi).  As a mother of two boys, with a stubborn husband, I could relate so much with her.  Kurosawa says that he tried to move away from his signature "horror" movie genre, but I think there still was a horror tone - not a "ghost" kind, but a slight anxiety that creeps into everyday life, and can build up to the point of insanity.  It is not just Tokyo thing - I believe it can be share by people in different cultures.  I could see that everything was very well calculated - good movie, without a doubt.

I didn't know that Fortissimo was credited is a part of the co-production team, and lots of international staff are participating in production.  No wonder it is doing well in international film festivals.  I believe it is a good factor in Japanese film making recently.

As for "Still Walking",  I didn't even know that it is by Hirokazu Kore-eda.  I rented it because Hiroshi Abe, my another fav, is the leading actor.  It is a movie about nothing.  Nothing big happens on one summer day, when all the extended family members gather at grandma's house.  Yes, grandma's, not grandpa's - grandma (Kirin Kiki) is the center of the family, not grandpa (Yoshio Harada).  At the beginning, I was a bit bored.  Then I got sucked into it.  The conversation is so sharp and well constructed.  The love and cruelty and reality of the family, and I could related to many of it, like "oh, yes, my father is like that," or "right, she looks just like me when I visit my in-laws."  It is warm, calm, yet a little bit sad but still nostalgic, like an old painting of a farm house.  Many comment the film reminds them of Anjiro Ozu classics (I have never seen one before, tho.)

"Still Walking" trailer

Both films are highly acclaimed in international festivals as well as in domestic film awards, and people speak highly about them.  Yet, I think I did not appreciate the goodness of these films maybe 2 years ago, when I was more naive moviegoers.  I still don't identify myself as movie expert and watch movies by actors, not by artistic value, but still, I think I made a progress.  Cinema is like wine - the more you taste, the more you can appreciate it.  I am happy to notice my "progress" with these 2 films.

Michi

Comments

[Mercy - Desi jokes]

I haven't seen both the movies. I after seeing comment up on that films.

[Dr. Stan Glick]

I saw "Tokyo Sonata" a few weeks ago at Japan Society NYC, just prior to the film's limited theatrical release here. Thought it was a very good film, and I was also very impressed with the acting of Kyôko Koizumi as the mother. Because of the relatively universal aspect of its themes, I found it to be much more of an art house, as opposed to a genre, film. My only problem was with the white subtitles, which were all but impossible to read when the background was light, as was often the case. There should be an international law that all subtitles be either in white or yellow letters with at least a thin black outline, so that they'll always be legible, regardless of the background. I experienced the same problem when I recently saw the 2006 Korean film "Like a Virgin."