Quick Review #141: Terumae Romae 1 (movie)

Title: Terumae Romae / テルマエ・ロマエ　　　　　　　　　　　

Rating: 7 / 10

Recommended for: 

For those who like to watch an entertaining film in a similar style as "Tonde Saitama" but set in the ancient Roman era and/or are fans of the cast especially Abe Hiroshi and Ueto Aya

* Potential spoilers ahead!

* I have not read the original manga.

Liked:

- If you are in the mood for some light entertainment i.e. chuckling rather than laughing out loud kind of humour, this is probably suitable for you. While much of the film was set in the ancient Roman era, the parallels and links between that and the current time in Japan was done pretty seamlessly and provided much comical relief until the tone turned a bit more serious towards the end.

- Abe Hiroshi is definitely very suitable for the lead role of Lucius, not just because of his ability to bring out both the serious and funny sides of the character but also due to his not-so-typical Japanese looks. In fact, if you look at the cast lineup, there were quite a number of actors known for their deep and well-defined features such as Kitamura Kazuki and Ichimura Masachika to play the Romans. As such, this deliberate casting choice helped to make the story flow more naturally so it was easier to immerse myself into the story.

And Ueto Aya was at her best in displaying her cute charm especially when she stood beside the towering Abe. However, those looking for romance between their characters might be a tad disappointed since this part was more or less hinted at but nothing really happened.

Disliked: 

- I thought that the story started pretty abruptly with a full blown explanation on why public baths were such a big thing in the ancient Roman era instead of introducing viewers to the scheme of things gradually. And if you are like me who knows very little about that era, it might not be so enjoyable because I couldn't really see the significance or importance of certain elements in this era or the terumae culture. While I did think at times that the style of this movie was somewhat similar to "Tonde Saitama" i.e. seemingly senseless and exaggerated humour, I actually enjoyed the latter more because I knew more about Saitama and the differences which various regions in Japan had when compared to one another so the jokes made a lot more sense to me. Being clueless about the Roman era probably limited my level of enjoyment for this movie especially the part about building a bathing era for the army engaged in battle for a prolonged period of time.