Weaboo Hero Loved the raw picture of a modern culture in which people are getting by with 1000 year tradition behind them yet battling new world problems. As if a piece of a puzzle, you witness just one unit of this society politely confronting each other with themes of death, separation, ego, love, and trust. The film's tone, tempo, picture was pleasant and the story unfolded well. I guess I'm the target audience age group so the resonance struck well with this film.

writers_reign A few months ago serendipity brokered a meeting between me and an exquisite film from Japan entitled Our Little Sister. I was totally captivated so much so that I watched it again within days and bought the DVD as soon as it appeared. This week another film by the same director - who also, it appears, works on the screenplays of his movies - was released in London. I found it had already been written about in glowing terms here on IMDb and I noted with interest that the comments came from several different countries around the world, testifying to the universal appeal of this minimalist filmmaker. It's difficult to conceive that this virtually invisible style of acting co-exists in the world of, say, Robert de Niro, Dennis Hopper, etc, where the goal seems to be last one to be sectioned is a sissy. After The Storm is yet another sublime essay about ordinary people coping with everyday traumas or not, as the case may be. Though it's churlish to single out any one actor it's equally hard not to wallow in the beautiful performance of Kirin Kiri as the mother/grandmother coping with the dysfunctional son and his fractured family. A true gem.

Gordon-11 This film tells the story of a failing novelist who turns to be a private detective to make ends meet. He has a gambling problem unfortunately, therefore his salary goes to gambling instead of child support. His ex wife is less than happy, and threatens to stop monthly visits if he doesn't pay.The story is slow and uneventful, even though a storm is approaching. Viewers get a glimpse of the novelist's failing life, and it can be seen that he still lives in his pride from his award winning novel from over a decade ago. His interpersonal relationships are quite messed up, as he alienated his family members with his previous financial failures. On one hand, I do wish that his life will pick up and be great again, but on the other hand, I can't really care less. Most of the screen time, especially towards the end, I just wished​ the film would end soon because I was quite bored.

ctowyi There are not many directors whose films I greet with enthusiasm, let alone Japanese ones. I think Hirokazu Koreeda is the only one. His films are a different breed - simple in design, but brilliant in architecture and sublime in closure.Koreeda is the leading exponent in contemplative cinema. Under his minimalist approach, the essence of familial life and couplehood is distilled into abstract thoughts lingering like warm tendrils wrapped around your mind. The movie may be over but it refuses leave the confines of your consciousness and you would want to surrender to its warm lull again. The tone of After the Storm is pitch-perfect - nobody screams in your face, there are no pointing fingers, no low brow soap-opera. The acting is exquisite and nuanced. What is not said speaks louder than what is uttered. There is humour of the familiar kind; it is the kind of humour you laughed heartily because it is so familiar and you recognise the situations because you have gone through them before. There are not many filmmakers who are as sensitive as Koreeda. Above all else, this is a director who listens to characters' inner thoughts and emotions like an old master piano tuner and he knows how to calibrate the performances for everlasting emotional heft. For Koreeda, it is always about the small moments leading to the big truths. After the Storm is not one of Koreeda's best films (it needlessly took too long to establish Ryota's character) but it easily transcends way above all the flashy films that inundate our cinemas like ants to candies. I wish I had a notebook last night because some of the metaphors are amazing. Here is one, asseverated by the grandmother Yoshiko, "The longer a stew sits, the more flavour it develops, just like people."