anone (2018)

The synopsis , although not exactly inaccurate, doesn't do justice to Anone and probably isn't the most enticing thing ever. However, any possible advantage from correcting it is (in my opinion) inferior to the pleasure of figuring things out on your own, guessing how will the plot flow, how are all those people connected and what makes their wheels spinning. Long story short: Anone is so much more than two women of different age finding each other and healing their wounds. It weaves an intricate network of people crossing paths and trying to achieve their goals (or just living their ordinary lives). It is a drama about people and living in a society, which may sound banal on paper, but never is. It's about a warmth and comfort of a makeshift family (nothing short of a miracle), brutally contrasted with inhuman coldness, lack of regard for others, narrowness of horizons forced on the weakest and most impressionable ones and scarring them for life. You will see 'villains' more bloodcurdling than the most grotesque psychokillers populating your usual crime shows, but they will be completely commonday and manipulating people with little tidbits they have on their loved ones. Not that it strictly divides characters on good and bad, at least not those that stay longer.
It's about dreams, too (another banality on paper). And counterfeiting money. The better part of the plot could belong to an action movie, but the drama approaches it in a casual, slice-of-lifey manner. One arc turns very brothers Coen.
It's fun! In a quirky, gloomy way, with plenty of situational and visual humour stuffed in between tender moments. Beautifully written and directed, playing with conventions, often showing-not-telling and fully using the potential of each episode being a complete entity that can tell a story from a certain point. Highly recommended.

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It's a good drama! Full of hope and good deeds.

Not the one with a prince charming and a princess but it's about life ,courageous and warmness.
People believing in good deeds whatever hard that might be .

What I found interesting ? 365° view of the life of most of the characters . push you to not judge anyone .
Good thing to practice in the real life

Good acting of all the actors: leads and supporting ones.

Another reason I like the movie : There is some wisdom in it . I particularly liked the episode 5 at the 31 mn . You see both Harika and Anone in front of the hospital .
This is the heart of the drama, in my opinion, showing the value of the two persons .

At that moment, I really appreciated the advise that Anone gave to Harika : " ... just stay . You do not have to do anything". Actually in many cultures around the world it's well known that when you are sick having someone who loves you sit by your bedside can help you to heal or even ( believe it or not !) delay death

Happy end ? I will answer " hope"end i.e that ends with hope ...

The title "Anone " is it about the lead actress who always begins her sentence by ''anone " ( do you know?) while chatting with the one she loves or is it about the name of the second lead actress Anone .
Please take your time and watch the drama... I let you answer this question :)

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Sakamoto Yuji has been my favourite screenwriter for a long time. He's never disappointed me, not even once, and with Anone he made fall in love with his writing all over again. I must admit I wasn't that interested in this drama when I first read the plot synopsis, which is the reason I didn't watch it sooner, and I deeply regret it. This easily Sakamoto's best drama since Woman. I've liked a lot the dramas he's written since then, but this is just better, more similar to dramas like Mother, Soredemo Ikite Yuko or Woman than to Mondai no Aru Restaurant or Quartet, although it's not as dark as the first two.

The story is so beautiful. I've always loved stories about broken people who form a family-like bond (and Sakamoto is an expert at them) and this one is VERY good. The drama is filled with beautiful thoughts and ideas in the dialogues, some of which me very emotional I must say. The last two episodes alone are heart-breaking, but the whole drama is poignant in a way only Sakamoto can achieve. He's certainly the best screenwriter in Japan, maybe in the entire dramaland. His characters are so humane and feel so real, especially his female characters. I will always appreciate that he gives a voice to people (especially women) in a way that Japan rarely does. But overall, 99% of the characters in this drama are absolutely lovely.

Now, about the acting. Anone is full of beautiful performances, the entire cast is just perfect (as usual in Sakamoto's dramas, it's obvious actors love his scripts and characters). This is by far my favourite Hirose Suzu performance that I've seen, and I hope she keeps giving performances like that in the future. Sadao Abe and Kobayashi Satomi are also really charming and really good. But it is Tanaka Yuko who stands out the most. I've always thought she's one of the best actresses in the whole world (her performances in Mother and Woman are two of my favourite ever), but after Anone I can't help thinking she's also one of the most underrated actresses too. She's just so...expressive. You know exactly what's going through her characters' head even if she doesn't speak. Lastly there's Eita, who I love, but I have to say this wasn't his best performance, specially compared to the rest of the cast. Oh, and as always, the child actors in Sakamoto's dramas are always brilliant. The kids who play Haruto (young and slightly older) and young Harika are naturals and so talented. The people who cast his dramas are seriously good at finding young talents.

Overall, Anone has been a fantastic, beautiful experience that (IMO) only Sakamoto Yuji can provide in dramaland. It will be really hard to forget this characters and their bond, and I really can't wait for Sakamoto's next drama.

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