I watched this film specifically for Yu Aoi at first. I saw her first in "Welcome to the Quiet Room" and was mesmerized by this thin and pale but beautiful East Asian girl rocking these long thick cornrows, and this solemn persona she had to show the viewers. So I looked her up and found that she was also in this film that I had months prior to watching Quiet Room, but never watched; it was on queue for all the other Japanese films I had discovered in serendipity.
I didn't know what to expect watching this film; I just wanted to see Aoi shine in this dark role.
I loved how somber her character was, since I am a somber person. I can appreciate the giddy kawaii acting type some Japanese films have but find these more serious dramas, following the mature female actress around with every move, to be better. It's not very impressionistic, which I love, with long hard still shots, or long scenes with no dialogue. But it's not a playful film either. It's not very sweet or uplifting, only brief moments do we see Aoi smile, which is fine for me. Reading the description for the first time, I felt it would be a quirky romantic comedy film. It's not. Her character's a bit insecure, and I love she's trying to redeem herself. In complete solitude as well.
*Here comes a spoiler: The scene where she speechlessly finds her pet cat had been kicked out by her new roommate, and left to be hit by traffic as its carcass got drenched in the rain so disrespectfully, really begins to show the attachment to this cat that Aoi's character has. Perhaps she feels just like the cat: stranded, alone, abandoned, down and out, and just wanting someone to understand her. Because she feels she won't receive this since she's been black-balled as a criminal, she deserts her family and hits the road.
What I get from this film is that she doesn't realize just how meaningful life is until she impacts the lives of her new neighbors. She starts to realize what she's running from, which is connections with others. She didn't have a great one at home. In her hometown she dealt with stigma, adversity, and apparently she didn't have much status lost to begin with, with girls picking on her and comparing her to the rest of her family even before she goes to jail for taking revenge on her cold roommate killing her cat. Which was hilarious (the revenge was hilarious, not the killing).
Having to save up 1 million yen before she takes off again to a new place shows she doesn't leave on impulse, so she's not being reckless or selfish on purpose. She wants to connect with people but feels she cannot or better not. It's really sad. Not just my human understanding of her situation but the film does also work to convey this. It doesn't lazily imply, "hey this is sad." It shows her breaking down eventually, it shows the impact her leaving had on people she's stayed with and worked with while drifting.
I give this an 8 because it wasn't particularly fascinating, but the message was delivered very well. I have only seen the film once, and tried to watch again but didn't want to deal with the emotions and disappointment I knew were coming, and there wasn't much else to bring me back to the film anyway, even though I get it completely.
She doesn't do anything emotional except in a scene towards the end reading a letter from her brother who gets bullied, she even sardonically laughs off daydreaming about her boyfriend chasing her down before she leaves for the next town right before the film ends. So some people might find this boring but whatever. There's no sex from what I can remember, there's not even passion, just guys fancying her, who she strays from. It's not overtly funny, so don't expect much there. But it's got a great purpose I think and Aoi does really well to carry this cross of loneliness. I relate to the character as well, being rather impassive and a loner who people may want to get to know. As soon as they do, I shut down and take off, really pathetic.
I didn't know what to expect watching this film; I just wanted to see Aoi shine in this dark role.
I loved how somber her character was, since I am a somber person. I can appreciate the giddy kawaii acting type some Japanese films have but find these more serious dramas, following the mature female actress around with every move, to be better. It's not very impressionistic, which I love, with long hard still shots, or long scenes with no dialogue. But it's not a playful film either. It's not very sweet or uplifting, only brief moments do we see Aoi smile, which is fine for me. Reading the description for the first time, I felt it would be a quirky romantic comedy film. It's not. Her character's a bit insecure, and I love she's trying to redeem herself. In complete solitude as well.
*Here comes a spoiler: The scene where she speechlessly finds her pet cat had been kicked out by her new roommate, and left to be hit by traffic as its carcass got drenched in the rain so disrespectfully, really begins to show the attachment to this cat that Aoi's character has. Perhaps she feels just like the cat: stranded, alone, abandoned, down and out, and just wanting someone to understand her. Because she feels she won't receive this since she's been black-balled as a criminal, she deserts her family and hits the road.
What I get from this film is that she doesn't realize just how meaningful life is until she impacts the lives of her new neighbors. She starts to realize what she's running from, which is connections with others. She didn't have a great one at home. In her hometown she dealt with stigma, adversity, and apparently she didn't have much status lost to begin with, with girls picking on her and comparing her to the rest of her family even before she goes to jail for taking revenge on her cold roommate killing her cat. Which was hilarious (the revenge was hilarious, not the killing).
Having to save up 1 million yen before she takes off again to a new place shows she doesn't leave on impulse, so she's not being reckless or selfish on purpose. She wants to connect with people but feels she cannot or better not. It's really sad. Not just my human understanding of her situation but the film does also work to convey this. It doesn't lazily imply, "hey this is sad." It shows her breaking down eventually, it shows the impact her leaving had on people she's stayed with and worked with while drifting.
I give this an 8 because it wasn't particularly fascinating, but the message was delivered very well. I have only seen the film once, and tried to watch again but didn't want to deal with the emotions and disappointment I knew were coming, and there wasn't much else to bring me back to the film anyway, even though I get it completely.
She doesn't do anything emotional except in a scene towards the end reading a letter from her brother who gets bullied, she even sardonically laughs off daydreaming about her boyfriend chasing her down before she leaves for the next town right before the film ends. So some people might find this boring but whatever. There's no sex from what I can remember, there's not even passion, just guys fancying her, who she strays from. It's not overtly funny, so don't expect much there. But it's got a great purpose I think and Aoi does really well to carry this cross of loneliness. I relate to the character as well, being rather impassive and a loner who people may want to get to know. As soon as they do, I shut down and take off, really pathetic.