IMDb > Waga jinsei saiaku no toki (1994) > IMDb user comments
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7 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
What's not to like?, 17 September 2004
Author: ottaky from London, UK

A private eye film, in Japanese, shot in black and white with the hero going by the name of Maiku Hama whose office is in a movie theatre. How can you go wrong with a combination like that?

This is a really clever film that veers confidently between mild violence, comedy and a relatively interesting story line.

It's the little things that really make this film stand out - the scene where Maiku is beaten mercilessly with a stick by his sensei is hilarious. The cold blooded murders aren't graphic, but you'll remember them for a long time. The cinematography is first rate, especially the use lighting which really makes the black and white medium work fantastically well.

Highly recommended.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Classy, sick, entertaining, great., 22 October 2006
8/10
Author: Mr Yuck from United States

This one caught my eye in the foreign section of Hollywood Video. I've heard it said that noir is a dead type of film, not so. Though in many ways this parodies the noir films of the 40s and 50s, it had its strengths and comes across as a noir pretty well.

The lighting was amazing, as was the framing framing; every shot was perfect and the plot wasn't half bad.

When the film started, I thought it was set in the 50's or thereabouts, with the protagonist driving a Nash Metropolitan and the theatre featuring Cinemascope. But at one point a character suggests that fingers can be reattached now, and then more modern cars were shown parked on the street, stuff like this can get to you.

I loved this, I would definitely recommend it.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
"The Most Terrible Time in My Life" is, ironically, a great way to spend two hours, 24 June 2005
10/10
Author: English B (EnglishLaguna) from United States

I went to my public library to browse their pretty large DVD collection and stumbled upon "The Most Terrible Time in My Life" in the foreign section. I watched it that afternoon and was so impressed that i had to watch it again later that night. It's a perfect blend of what the average American moviegoer would notice as "Kill Bill" (or any Tarantino film) meets "Lethal Weapon" meets "Kung Fu Hustle" meets "Gross Pointe Blank." Really, even this description is selling the movie short. The acting is so effective that even Englsh speaking viewers who usually watch foreign films with the dubbing turned on would appreciate the option of original track w/subtitles. No voice actor could compare. The movie is a beautifully shot homage to classic French, Asian, and American Cinema, while remaining modern enough in story, dialog and situation to appeal to a broad scope of audience types. In short, this movie is definitely one for the collection.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Great piece of modern noir, 23 May 2006
8/10
Author: Agent10 from Tucson, AZ

This and the subsequent films that followed The Most Terrible Time in My Life will most likely get lost in the deep annals of film history. But for those that got the chance to watch these films, these movies take you back to an old-school genre that seems so familiar and accessible, even if it is in Japanese.

Maiku Hama is such a silly and over the top character that you have to think this was a comedy in the making, but Hama displays rather quickly that he is a competent private eye who takes his work seriously, albeit he drives around in a rather ludicrous car. The interesting thing about this movie is that it didn't feel like the beginning to a trilogy. Instead, this is the one movie in the series that can stand alone.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Deathless style, 29 December 2001
10/10
Author: lklee99 from San Francisco

Please do not mistake this film for pulp. Pulp is by definition tawdry, which this film is not. It isn't greasy. Or slapped together. Or sensational and passing and cheap. This film wasn't made to be read through like a paperback and discarded.

The style, beautiful. The lighting, meticulous. The mood made the hair on my arms stand up. Watch this film.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
not bad but not my cup of tea, really, 11 November 2005
7/10
Author: TheatreX from Louisville, KY

A Japanese private eye movie where the hero is called Maiku Hama and drives a Nash Rambler? Yep, this is it. He has an office over a movie theater and one has to purchase a ticket to go inside, only 1000 yen! While gambling Maiku gets into a scrape involving a Taiwanese waiter and finds out the waiter has a missing brother whom he agrees to find, and trouble ensues from there. Seems a bunch of Hong Kong and Taiwanese mob types have formed a new Yakuza gang and they're no one to mess with. This has a good sense of humor to it and yet is also pretty violent at times. It's filmed in B&W like an old-time detective movie but you can tell it's in modern times and there's no attempt to make it look like the 40's or 50's. It's entertaining enough but a bit confusing at times and the ending was REALLY confusing although kind of humorous. Something about a sequel, which if there truly is one I don't know if I'd see it. But, this is different enough to be entertaining and amusing if you're in the mood for a private eye flick of the Asian type. 7 out of 10.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Odd hodgepodge of influences and ideas actually resulting in a really entertaining movie, 2 January 2008
8/10
Author: Justin1983 from United States

The Most Terrible Time In My Life is quite simply a real oddity of a film. The film is a hodgepodge of influences (namely Seijun Suzuki and Mickey Spillane), genres (Japanese '60s B-movies, film-noir, and comedy), and ideas. Really, the film should feel like a mess as it shifts on the drop of a dime from trying to appear like a serious noir to being a wacky comedy, but surprisingly it all manages to work.

Kaizo Hayashi, the director, even gets to work in his heavy influence from Seijun Suzuki without it feeling derivative (that right there, you have to admit, is a feat worthy of notice!). It is strange to watch a Japanese movie from 1994 that simultaneously feels like it is a mid-'90s Japanese film and an early '60s B-movie shot by Suzuki on one of his much less abstract and experimental endeavors.

But see, right there is one of the most charming and endearing characteristics of The Most Terrible Time In My Life; that the film feels old and new, original and old-hat, that it acts serious and then suddenly goofy and then back to being serious, that it can be hip and carefree and then gritty and a downer and back again--and all of this throughout the film somehow works.

This film is incredibly entertaining and interesting, and immensely enjoyable (plus the cameo by Jo Shishido *AS* Jo Shishido, who seemingly is not an actor in the world of the movie but instead the long-standing P.I. mentor to the protagonist, is mind blowing to anyone who is a fan of "Cheek's" films or his work with Suzuki). If you can get a hold of this film, you really should, it is well worth your time if you have any interest in film noir/neo-noir, Mike Hammer, Seijun Suzuki, or left-field Japanese cinema.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
cult cinema/old serials styled psychological yakuza thriller, 1 July 2007
10/10
Author: RabbitFighter (zempasuchitl@gmail.com) from N.Y., N.Y.

This film instantly became one of my favorite movies after watching it. Starring Masatoshi Nagase, who first came to the notice of American audiences after appearing in Jim Jarmusch's "Mystery Train" (1990), this serial styled private eye film just oozes with creativity and dark humour. It's got everything I look for in cult films: ultra-violence, weird cult gangs, great style and a downbeat plot. Some folks will undoubtedly be confused by this movie, especially those who lack interest in cult cinema or those who are not used to the pacing of Japanese films. What can I say, this is not going to be for everybody, but to those who really get it, and you will know who you are, this movie is a classic waiting to happen.

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Supercool detective stuff, 16 April 2002
7/10
Author: thehumanduvet (thehumanduvet@hotmail.com) from uk

This is a fun little flick, a kind of retro private eye kind of thing, all very stylish and cool. It's kind of a blend of hard-as-nails gangster movie, chopped off fingers, gore and all, with a bit of Jackie-Chan-stylee daft comedy. Well worth watching, specially for anyone interested in modern Japanese culture and society, or Mike Hammer.

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0 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
A movie that can't make its mind up, 15 February 2007
6/10
Author: augean_studio from United States

Okay, so we begin with the Mike Hammer parody, the office in a movie theater, and the detective (wildly overdressed) drives a Rambler. Then the mood turns serious and we're supposed to take this clown seriously after all. There was either a bad script or a director who didn't understand the script. The results are a few moments of humor, some pretty gory violence, and almost total incomprehension on my part. There may have been clever curve balls the director was throwing, and I couldn't pick up the spin of the ball. If so, ah well. But if I'm correct, this confection just isn't worth the time it takes to watch it. Good cinematography and clever "cute" ideas start the film off, but they wear out their welcome about halfway in.

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