profound
This is one of those slow, slice of life japanese movies. It's a genre not everyone likes, while I personally am always looking forward to watching this kind of movies. Hence I might be tad bit biased.The movie is about a teenage girl who gets confused about her life. Her family is going through changes and her crush on boy next door seems hopeless. She suddenly befriends a strange grandma, and that causes her to rethink her whole life.
There's not a single thing I didn't like about this movie. It's paced very well, the story unfolds slowly but you can tell it was well thought-out. The fantasy element surprisingly fits the whole mood of this movie.
While the story doesn't seem like anything new, the execution makes it stand out. Stories about teenagers often seem juvenile and disconnected from reality, but this movies successfully manages to combine both hopefullness of youth and uncertanity of adulthood.
One thing I think is worth noting is how this story seems to be 'in the middle'. By that I mean the movie shows only portion of characters' lives, they don't seem to be like paper dolls created just to tell this story. Their life is happening pre and post the story being told in this movie. We aren't shown "everything" and have to guess, which adds to this aspect.
I'd say give it a watch if you are in a mood for a mellow slice of life story. I didn't expect to like it so much, it probably will become one of my comfort movies.
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This review may contain spoilers
A beautiful film about depicting confusion and joys of a teenage girl and those who are around her
''regret only comes after taking action''The movie opens with hour female protagonist (Tsubame)dropping a letter to her neighborhood crush and waking up next morning only to regret it. While she lives with her step mother who is expecting her child and her father , they are a sweet family at first glance. But confusion soon arises around her while she feels conflicted about the new family she will have to live in with her new sibling. Then one day she meets a mysterious granny on the roof of the calligraphy class she is taking and a new part of her life begins.
from here on , the movie takes us on a feel good journey. I am always captivated for this type of element in the slice of life movies and dramas. granny and our FL goes on having journeys around the city and their conversations develop. while she asks for advises from granny about her family , crush and so on , our granny talks strange at times but her words are worth pondering upon.
the next part of the story advances when our Tsubame goes around searching for the grand kid of her mystical granny who lives in a crimson colored tiled roof house, while tsubame takes walk around the city with toru ( her crush) this part of the story is filled with her joys of being with him , in an innocent way. But in the end times of the movie when its discovered that makoto ( tsubames classmate) is actually the grand kid of the granny and after that she disappears telling her new things are coming her way she have to treasure them all ; only after that its shown that she was not alive after all . Now we may think was she the imagination of ... or is a mystical element shown in the movie ? its upto viewers interpretations
now coming into the cinematography of the movie - its excellent . with wide shots and closer shots of the characters it emphasizes the characters expressions as well the stories they are thinking and talking about. color tone of the movie enhances the impact of it. the graphics are fairly beautiful and gives you the magical vibes if not perfect. the sound track goes all well with everything.
now as a whole , this a movie you can watch if you don't want anything stressful , something light about a life of a normal teenage girl with her thoughts. It doesn't lead us to think much about anything or it doesn't make us choose between anything. it's just tsubame , her conflicts and her way of solving them and living in her time , as a normal teenager. but honestly the more i am not fascinated by its story , i am fascinated by the cinematography of this movie , its totally outstanding for me . to point out , the montage when tsubame returns from tokyo in rain and toru has an accident chasing his sisters boyfriend , this part of the movie was so subtle, i would like to watch more movies from the same director.
i read the japan times review that this movie lacks impact and sparkle and i somewhat agree with that however it doesn't make me feel like this movie could have been better. sometimes we need a movie where life is shown through someones normal eyes , general thoughts and with less conflict and average confusions. Though world is filled with so many problems , we need movies where life moves around an imaginary granny , family reconciliations after small disagreements and where joys come from writing letters to your crush ( and also i am not justifying her crush on an older boy or anything , they could be good friends and good influence on each other and she can move on when she grows up) . over all , its a very likable movie with likable characters and houses !
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A journey of self
One thing I've noticed about a lot of Japanese shows, they are a "slice-of-life". Not a lot happens, but we are privy to the main character's daily thoughts and desires. Such is the case with this movie. You have a high schooler, with all the angst, hormones, and everything else that goes along with the age. A secret crush, changing family dynamics, and cyber-bullying add to her everyday worries. Remembering back to my teen years, everything was amplified - the highs were higher, and the lows were lower. I could feel the loneliness, as well as the dissatisfaction in her current life. Along comes a mystical, magical granny to change things. It's often someone completely out of our sphere that we connect with, relate to, that can help us see things more clearly. This person gives her the bravery to come out of herself, and also the opportunity to resolve past hurts. A special person in your life can change you and your perspective forever.Was this review helpful to you?
