Movie Review - A Country Doctor

Rating: 7/10


A country doctor is asked to attend to a sick boy ten miles away one winter night. However, his sole horse died the night before. His serving-girl, Rosa, runs from house to house asking for a horse. In his frustration, the doctor kicks the door of his pig sty. A groom mysteriously appears from inside. He gives the doctor two magnificent horses and hitches them to his carriage. Once he is on the carriage, the doctor asks the groom to come with him. The latter refuses, wanting to be with Rosa, and spurs his horses on, leaving the doctor on his own. What follows is a whirlwind of mysterious and fascinating events.
A 21-minute film adaptation of Franz Kafka's short story, A Country Doctor is directed by Yamamura Koji. The animation is err... Disturbing. But it fits in well with the world of Kafka. I didn't like it much because, for one, I don't really know what this is all about. I mean, I can't get the meaning of the symbolisms in the film. So there's that. Second, I'm not in for this kind of weird animation. I'm so much more used to Studio Ghibli, or even MadHouse. Yamamura Kojis animation is just so queer and "vertiginous".

Movie Review - Megane (Glasses)

Rating: 10/10

In Megane, Takeo (Kobayashi Satomi) is a stressed out profesor who goes on an island vacation. She arrives at a hotel named "Hamada" run by Yuji (Mitsuishi Ken). She is surprised when her host sits down to eat with her. More so when she is woken up in the morning by an old woman named Sakura (Motai Masako), who comes to the island only during spring. She also finds the "merci taiso" queer. Takeo decides to check out and look for another hotel. But Marine Palace did not prove helpful so she returns to Hamada, a little awkwardly. As the days pass, she befriends the locals and learns how to "twilight", keeping up with the island's pace.

Megane is a really simple film but, as expected, its meanings are very deep. That is exactly one of the things I like in Japanese movies - they're not as superficial as... Others. Anyway, it's a feel good film with a lot of nice lessons. Watch it! :)

Movie Review - TOKYO TOWER: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad

Rating: 10/10

Nakagawa Masaya (Odagiri Joe) narrates his life, from his childhood up to the present time. As a child, his parents split up and he lived with his Mom (younger: Uchida Yayako; older: Kiki Kirin), but visits with his Dad (Kobayashi Kaoru) proved to be exciting. His dream is to enter art school. When he leaves his province to study in Tokyo, Masaya wastes his time and mother's money on women, drinking, smoking, and gambling. His mother begins running a restaurant to support him back home. At one point in the movie, while playing mahjong, he turns his life around and works hard. When he has enough money, he asks his mother to come to Tokyo and live with him, as her health continued to decline. His mother befriends his friends and cooks meals for them in Masaya's house. For a while, life is good. But his mother develops gastric cancer and she has to go through chemotherapy. After a few sessions, she asks him to stop the treatment because of the excruciating pain. The doctor informs Masaya that she only has a few months to live...
TOKYO Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad is a beautiful drama film. I'm so happy I was able to watch this. Odagiri Joe and Kiki Kirin were great in their portrayals. There were a lot of memorable scenes. The one I remember the most is the scene where Masaya hid his head in his hands, refusing to see his mother go through such pain. It's just a nice, nice mother-son movie. Watch it! :)