Main Cast: Kobayashi Satomi, Kase Ryo, Kuroki Haru, Harada Tomoyo
Official website: here
Screening date: from 22 October 2011
Deciding to watch this movie at the Japan Film Festival was largely spurred by the presence of Kobayashi Satomi and Kase Ryo in the cast lineup and I thought that the synopsis sounded really appealing. However, I must say that it takes a lot of patience and tolerance to sit through this movie especially the shaking shots which really made me so giddy in the beginning and sleepy in the middle.
There are three stories in this movie featuring Kase Ryo, Harada Tomoyo and Kuroki Haru where Kobayashi Satomi takes on the role of a woman who bumps into them unwittingly in different situations. Little is known about Kobayashi's character but as the story unfolds, the conversations she has with these people slowly reveal the type of person she might be. The reason why I say "might" is largely due to the fact that Touko (Kobayashi) doesn't seem to be telling the truth all the time so there are some parts which I think are questionable.
The movie begins with Nagano (Kase) at a convenience store and the camera follows him as he walks along the aisles picking up what he wants to buy. This is a pretty long scene and the fact that the camera is deliberately filming in an unstable manner to depict the motion in Nagano's movements. However, it is really difficult to concentrate because the movements can easily make the viewer giddy. Things start to get a bit better when he finally steps out of the convenience store with his purchase. As Nagano starts eating his ice-cream bar, he sees a woman (Touko) dressed in black and stepping out into the road. Out of instinct, he throws his ice-cream to the ground and grabs Touko away from the road. However, when Touko clarifies that she was just trying to hitch-hike, Nagano is flabbergasted and starts to walk back to his van. Before he can leave, Touko stops Nagano and asks for a ride. Nagano doesn't want to do that and even asks Touko why she dares to hitch-hike from strangers but she simply says that she doesn't think that Nagano will be a bad guy since his van is filled with boxes of lettuce. As the journey continues, there are little revelations about both Nagano and Touko. Nagano used to be in the school volleyball team just like Touko who claims to be an actress and ran away from a filming set without telling the staff. Nagano is more convinced that she had attended an funeral because she is wearing an all-black outfit. At the break of dawn, Nagano drops off Touko at a beach and they go their separate ways.
The next story features Kikuchi (Harada) as a staff member of a small cinema and bumping into Touko who used to work with her. From their conversation, it's apparent that Touko is indeed an actress and Kikuchi was a scriptwriter. However, Kikuchi felt that continuing to write scripts wasn't really something she wanted and decided to quit while Touko who had similar thoughts about her career continued to press on. At the end of their chat, Touko encourages Kikuchi to write scripts again.
Last but not least, we see Yasuko (Kuroki) going through an interview as a part-time staff at a zoo. However, the interviewer is taken aback when he hears that Yasuko has never had a job before despite being 23 years old and feels that she's somewhat weird. As Yasuko wanders around the zoo, she happens to meet Touko and they start to chat. Yasuko failed the university entrance exams for five times in a row and she's thinking of giving it up and finding a job instead. They say goodbye to each other when it's time for the zoo to close for the day and Yasuko starts to think if she should give her dream another chance.
I must say, this movie leaves a lot of room for imagination and even more for the viewers to infer. For a start, I didn't get Kase's character name until I checked the official website. Same goes for Kuroki's role. By reading the descriptions on the site, that did help me to understand the story a bit better. In addition, it's not easy to identify which of Touko's revelations about herself are true. She seems to be shuttling between telling lies and saying the facts so it was difficult to see what she really meant. Frankly speaking, after watching this movie, I get the feeling that we may have known something about these characters but actually, it may not be the case. It seems to suggest that people living in cities or Tokyo in this movie, tend to have facades which they show to people but their true self is hidden behind these masks. Touko's nonchalance and carefree appearance seems to be a disguise for the anguish and pain she may be suffering from which is pretty much the same for Nagano, Kikuchi and Yasuko. However, with the theme of the movie being so not-obvious, it can be really difficult for viewers to identify with the message in this movie without doing some background research. That is something I feel that is regrettable.
Kobayashi is great in roles like Touko where she appears like a vibrant and energetic character who has something hidden deep within. I really like her exchanges with Kase where they trade barbs and provide much needed humour in the beginning which was full of scenes that made me giddy. Her interaction with Harada was really subdued because their characters go a long way back and supposedly know each other very well. When Touko was with Yasuko, it felt quite lighthearted as they waltzed through the zoo and got to know each other better. Actually, I think it was Yasuko who told Touko more about herself than the other way round. The ending scene of Touko walking alone on a busy street seems to offer a very open ending for the viewers. You can say that Touko still has to live her life on her own despite meeting these people who might have an impact on her decisions or that she has become more confident after hearing about these stories. Either way, I get the feeling that Touko was affected by her interactions with these people and vice versa. As for how it actually influenced her, it's really anybody's guess.
And my ratings for this movie...
Story: 4 out of 10 (Slightly too intuitive and slow at some junctures. It would have been better to be more concise rather than have long drawn-out scenes)
Acting: 7 out of 10 (The main cast members did quite well but the script really doesn't allow them too much room to show more of their acting chops)
Theme song: 4 out of 10 (Not much of a BGM that leaves a deep impression on me but the ending theme sounded OK)
Visual effects / Scenery: 2 out of 10 (I think the motion shots while Touko and Nagano were travelling were meant to convey the feel of actually travelling in a vehicle but it was really too much for me.)
Teamwork / Chemistry: 6 out of 10 (More for Kase vs. Kobayashi, the other pairings were slightly weaker)
Total: 23 out of 50
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