Nobody Knows

Out of the many films that I had watched for this module, the mothers portrayed in the movies are selfless and willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of their children, but Nobody Knows by Hirokazu Koreeda (2004) certainly is an exception. A movie based on an actual event, Nobody Knows is about four children abandoned by their mother and left to survive on their own, and the main lead of the movie Yūya Yagira won the award for Best Actor at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival for his performance in the movie.

Yureka

Eureka by Shinji Aoyama (2000) is a lengthy movie of three and a half hours. A story about a road trip, a pair of siblings survived a violent bus hijacking ride, along with the bus driver, who is the only other survivor.

Departures

Departures by Yōjirō Takita (2008) touches on the theme of “death”, depicting the profession of funeral embalmers. Daigo, a former cellist, takes on the job of a funeral caretaker, and throughout his journey, he gains new insights on professionalism, respect for the previously shunned (i.e. he learning to see his career in a new light), relationships, and ultimately, life and death. The movie definitely shed a new light on how the funeral profession is like, and after watching the movie, I have newfound respect for these workers, their job certainly encompasses more than what we can imagined.

Fireworks

Hanabi by Takeshi Kitano (1997) is a film that speaks more with violence rather than the use of dialogue.

Seven Samurai

For my diary response to Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa (1954), I have designed a poster, which compromises of the samurai sword, the movie title, and of course, the flag used to represent the seven samurais in the movie.

Tokyo Story

“As long as life goes on, relationships between parents and children will bring boundless joy and endless grief.”

Ugetsu

Ugetsu by Kenji Mizoguchi (1953) is a Japanese ghost story that is full of cinematic poetry, every scene rolled in front of the audience eyes is simple yet beautiful.

Out of the movie, the famous lake scene left a lasting impression on me, the fog and mist shrouds the characters, then a boatman appears. I loved how the mist slowly unveiled the boatman, and the accompanying singing of the traditional Japanese songs add on to the charm of that scene.

"Death exists, not as the opposite but as a part of life."

“I once had a girl. Or should I say, she once had me.” – Norwegian Wood, The Beatles

I managed to catch Norwegian Wood by Tran Anh Hung (2010) in the cinemas yesterday, along with two friends. An adaptation of the novel by Japanese author Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood is a 1987 novel which brought the author to national recognition, which was ironically, to his dismay.