| [filmlover-l] Movie this wednesday at 6:30:
Aruitemo aruitemo (still walking) |
Saturday, January 09, 2010
4:36:22 PM |
| From: |
tbco@mtu.edu |
| To: |
filmlover-l@mtu.edu |
Hello everyone,
For this week, we are showing a Japanese movie
"Aruitemo aruitemo (Still Walking)" directed by
Hirokazu Koreeda. (more details below).
It was first released in Japan in 2008. I think
the movie is rated about G to PG, i.e. no
violence or adult scenes.
Please feel free to pass the message around and invite
your friends. The more the merrier. Hope you can join us.
Regards,
Tom Co
===================================================
Title: Aruitemo aruitemo (Sill Walking)
Date and Time: January 13, wednesday, 6:30-9pm
Place: 308 Cooper Ave, Hancock
Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Partial List of Actors:
Hiroshi Abe
Yui Natsukawa
You
Kazuya Takahashi
Shohei Tanaka
Kirin Kiki
Yoshio Harada
US Rating: not rated ( I think it is G or PG )
Language: Japanese (with English subtitles)
Length: 114 mins
Media: DVD, color
Summary: ( by "Film Catalogue" via www.imdbd.com )
"Still Walking is a family drama about grown
children visiting their elderly parents, which
unfolds over one summer day. The aging parents
have lived in the family home for decades. Their
son and daughter return for a rare family
reunion, bringing their own families with them.
They have gathered to commemorate the tragic
death of the eldest son, who drowned in an
accident fifteen years ago. Although the roomy
house is as comforting and unchanging as the
mother's homemade feast, everyone in the family
has subtly changed."
My Comments:
I liked the movie a lot...and would recommend it highly.
The movie is on the quiet side, with soothing background
sounds and minimal acoustic music. What does occur is
the interaction among the family members...all very
human and "normal", but goes back and back forth
between sweet and sour within seconds. I would say that
the movie holds a palpable tension among the
characters. For me, the difficulty of watching them is
probably because the dialogue and scenes are well done
and very close to being real...at least within my own
experience. So...during family reunions, do we really
want to know what family members are saying or thinking
in some corner of the house or behind closed doors?
...perhaps not.
The director is best known for his other movies
"Nobody knows", "Maborosi" and "After Life". The
acting are also generally very good. Also noteworthy
is
there is almost no melodrama... imagine a very very subdued
Edward Albee play. The movie is often compared with
Ozu's
"Tokyo Story". This is perhaps true to a large
extent, but
Koreeda's "Sill Walking" is more wistful in theme,
while "Tokyo Story" is more pointed.
