Quick Review #98: Umimachi diary (movie)

Title: Umimachi diary / 海街 diary

Rating: 8 / 10

Recommended for: 

Those who are interested in family stories played out at a leisurely pace with a relaxing vibe in Kamakura and the Shonan area and/or are fans of the cast especially the actresses who played the sisters

* Disclaimer: I have not read the original manga.

Liked:

- The movie progressed at a leisurely pace with a relaxed vibe and was quite mellow and subdued even when depicting conflicts and emotional scenes. As such, it was a relatively stress-free experience watching this.

- The cast lineup would be considered very impressive not just back then i.e. 10 years ago but even more so now. Not only were the four sisters played by leading actresses Ayase Haruka, Nagasawa Masami, Kaho and Hirose Suzu (pretty new at that time), the supporting cast also featured Ootake Shinobu, Tsutsumi Shinichi, Suzuki Ryohei, Fubuki Jun, Lily Franky, Kiki Kirin, Sakaguchi Kentaro and Kase Ryo of which some have become bigger names now. It would be hard to replicate such a lineup today especially since Kiki had already passed away.

While the tone of the story was relatively calm in its portrayal of the underlying emotions, I thought that Ayase, Nagasawa and Hirose really stood out and made their characters come to life amid the "peacefulness".

- The story being set in one of my favourite places in Japan i.e. Kamakura and the Shonan area was a big plus in enhancing my enjoyment experienced while watching the movie.

Disliked: 

- You probably need to be in a certain mood and mindset to enjoy this. While the mellowness of the movie worked well in making this less dramatic and easier to digest, the downside was that it might be a bit underwhelming and lacking in excitement for some viewers. There were indeed a few scenes which I thought could be wrapped up faster rather than linger on and on.

- Given that the original material spanned a number of volumes, I assumed that the movie had to be quite selective on what to include so there were some parts and characters who I felt were somewhat incomplete and would like to see more of and find out more about. In particular, I thought that Kaho's character Chika didn't get enough scenes unlike her other sisters so it felt as if she became an afterthought and faded into the background. That was a pity though because Kaho is a capable actress and Chika's story should be more interesting than what the movie depicted.