Quick Review #73: Futsugou na kioku (movie)

Title: Futsugou na kioku / 不都合な記憶 (Previously Saved Version)

Rating: 2 / 10

Recommended for: 

Those who are fans of Ito Hideaki and Araki Yuuko

Liked:

- Ito Hideaki's acting which showed the contrast between the normal and abnormal sides of his character Naoki well.

- The visuals in the space residence were sleek, modern and great to look at but a tad cold due to the dark colour scheme. Comparatively, the scenes on Earth or rather in tropical Thailand were warm, had a slight retro touch to reflect that the timeline was in the past and some rough edges to give it a softer touch. This contrast was probably done on purpose also to reflect the change in the relationship of Naoki and Mayumi on Earth vs. in space - from sizzling hot to icy cold.

Disliked: 

- While the story was said to be a sci-fi suspense tale, I found that it was more on the sci-fi side than suspense especially since it was too easy to guess where the story was heading towards. And to have the story end on such an anti-climax note despite teasing for something major or unexpected waiting to happen during the final clash between the couple, the movie simply ended too abruptly and in an unsatisfactory manner. The first hour of the movie was extremely tough to sit through because it was so prolonged and repetitive. As such, to be given such an underwhelming ending made me feel that I wasted 2 hours on this movie. 

The fact that why Naoki behaved in such a manner and why Mayumi chose to put up with him for a long time was never explained properly. Although it was mentioned that they both were "lonely" people and were probably suited for each other to fill that void in their lives, I thought that a bit more information on their backgrounds could have helped me to understand and empathise with them a bit more. Otherwise, this felt like any other story about a married couple, just that part of it happened to be set in outer space and in the futuristic era.

- Araki Yuuko's acting in the first half of the movie was so boring and bland although I would say that it wasn't entirely her fault since the story's setting required that kind of emotionless performance. However, even when armed with full knowledge of what had happened from the start when Mayumi first met Naoki, the transformation in Mayumi's behaviour and mentality seemed too little and not compelling enough. While fans of Araki would be happy to see her getting lots of screentime and looking gorgeous in this movie, I felt that this was definitely not one of her best performances when it came to the acting. And because of the limitations in her character development, the chemistry between her and Ito was also lacking especially when she seemed overpowered by him so many times. It's just a pity though because if she managed to hold her own against Ito on screen, it would have looked like a more interesting battle between the two characters.