dgg321982 It is gradually clear to me that the Japanese Genre movie is nobody's Hollywood melodrama. My adrenaline level did not peak even once within their typical 100 minutes movie length. These gems are like clean water in a stream, flows its way from begin to end without causing too much disturbance on its way. Their movies are much a "movie-nification" of the Japanese people: friendly, beautiful and yet keep a small distance to the interlocutor. For them, beauty comes from distance.Flower 2010 is one of these Japanese genre movies. It is a heart-warming narrative about five generations of Japanese women stretching from 1930 to modern days. Among them, three generations and six of them were particularly in focus. All of them were portrayed by the most celebrated actresses in Japanese cinema: Yû Aoi, Yuko Takeuchi, Ryôko Hirosue to name the three. Together, they all give us a kaleidoscopic view of how the the roles and perception of women have gradually moved forward in the modern Japanese society: from assigned marriage to single mom, from housewives to professional female that stood up against her male colleagues, from happy marriage to being abandoned or widowed but without losing their courage to move on in life. The overlap of these periods and characters were subtle (this is not "How the west was won"-kind tilted narrative, in which some key characters appeared across the generations to connect the time) and the narrative was not linear (scenes were not chronic): only if you watched carefully and take up all the clues and hints that the filmmakers left behind, were you able to figure out who were whose daughters.The pictorial backgrounds were just gorgeous. It took full advantage of the scenic Japan and presented us with its stunning diversity: Sakura avenue, snow scenes, the unique Japanese countrysides with all those oily green rice-paddies, the carefully adorned tatami indoor scenes and onsens (hot spring).For me the welcoming surprise was from two of the all beautiful actresses: Ms Hirosue and Ms Aoi. They are famed for portraying the "kawaii" (cute and adorable) or girly characters before. And here they have proved themselves to be more versatile and picked up the challenge: portrayed two resolute young women, and in the said process they perfectly embodied the Japanese "Yamato Nadeshiko" (the Japanese female ideal: women that are kind, gentle, thoughtful, good at household, attentive to parents and supportive of their husband).The whole movie was perfectly concluded and summarized by Olivia Newton-John's "Have you never been mellow?" in a happy scene, not only the lyrics ("Have you never tried to find a comfort from inside you") but also the mood, just a perfect match. After watching, it just gave me much to think over again and review it mentally.

Desertman84 Flowers is a Japanese drama that covers the lives of six woman whose lives span a period of three generations from the Show period all the way through to the present day.It stars Yu Aoi,Yuko Takeuchi,Rena Tanaka, Yukie Nakama,Kyoka Suzuki and Ryoko Hirosue.The movie was written by Shu Fujimoto and Uiko Miura as well as directed by Norihiro Koizumi.Flowers covers six different Japanese women from different generations.Starting in the 1930's, Rin is worried about her arranged marriage that her parents setup. Eventually Rin has three daughters: Kaoru - who tragically loses her husband in a car accident, Midori - a career woman who becomes shaken by a marriage proposal, and youngest child Sato . In the 1960's Sato gives birth to Kanna and Kei. In the present day, Kanna is now worried about becoming a single mother.Flowers provides the viewer of the ever changing and evolution of the Japanese woman as the years go by starting from the 1930's to the present day.The movie presents the lives of the main female characters with beauty and grace.It tells us how they have managed to live their lives as well as how they have coped up with the difficulties and challenges presented to them by being a woman in the Japanese society.Also,it tells the viewer of their needs as well as what keeps them going and living life to the fullest as the years go by.Overall,it was a great character study of the Japanese woman all through out the years in this generational film.

poikkeus FLOWERS is a skillful family drama spanning several generations, jumping between eras like flipping pages of a book. In 1936, Rin is young, about to enter into an arranged marriage, but uncertain if she has any other options in life. In 2009, the family observes her funeral, but a number of changes have altered the face of Japanese society. More than anything, it's a study of women over the years; some mores have changed, but most remain substantially the same. FLOWERS is quite accomplished from a cinematic point of view. The time periods of the film are defined by the seasons. The springlike 30s are photographed in appealing black and white, the the expected sprays of cherry blossoms; the segments in the fifties and sixties favor Fuji-color reds and flowers in full bloom; and the 90s are set in winter snow, with a more somber color scheme. Ultimately, the film is a portrait of a generation through the lives of its women, plotted in a genial, thoughtful pace that rarely flags for interest. Its only glaring failure is in the culminating montage, presented over a cloying version of "Have You Ever Been Mellow?" (sans Olivia Newton John). If you're going to see FLOWERS - and I recommend you do - you might want to reduce the volume until the montage finishes.The key actresses provide appealing performances. Fans of Yukie Nakama, Ryoko Hirosue, Yu Aoi, Yuko Takeuchi, and Rena Tanaka (in by far her best role yet) will be pleased by the drama.

ihrtfilms Flowers is a Japanese film that tells the story of a group of women from one family spanning three generations. Set in the 1930's, the 60's and the present day, it shows the relationships that form, that disappear, as well as the expectations of women in each era. The film is split into 3 segments although the stories cross over and flit between each: it starts in the 1930's and where a young women, Rin, has second thoughts about her marriage despite her fathers anger. This era is brief at the start and quickly the film focus's on the other more recent generations, both of which tend to cross over. In the 1960's three sisters lead different lives, one is a strong willed working woman longing for love and only finding amorous advances from a less than desirable man: one sister cares for their father and has once herself been in love. She and her husband go away to stay at a retreat, only for us to discover she is pretending he is there, as he died some years before. The other sister gets married and has a daughter and all is well until she falls pregnant again and a hard choice must be made: keep the child and risk both their lives of get rid of the child and risk the regret. These two stories alone are so beautifully portrayed, yet deeply moving. In the present day, we meet two sisters, one happy care free who believes everything must be enjoyed, a device she has used since she was her kid, when she understood her mother had died (the sister from the 60's) and her older sister who falls pregnant and without love in her life struggles with the notion. The film near the end takes us back to the 1930's to see what decision Rin has made, one that of course will effect the stories we have already witnessed.It is in writing a complicated story, but on the screen it translates well, even if at times the flitting from era to era becomes a little confusing, with so many characters, although, director Norihiro Koizumi for the 1930's era, films in black and white, while the present day looks bold and new, while the 1960's is wonderfully realised with pastel colours, sound stage style sets and costumes. Visually the film is radiant with great use of landscapes, snow and of course flowers, which often have subtle placement in many scenes. Radiant too are the actresses who portray these very different but very much connected women. The characters and their lives and the connections they have are at times enough to tug at the heart strings of anyone and emotional side of the film is strong. Yet whilst there are many sad elements to this there are also beautiful ones. Elements of sisterhood, family, friendship and love abound throughout providing a really strong story and one that it is easy to relate and connect with.There's something wonderful about going to see a film without knowing much about it and coming away having had a great film experience.More of my reviews at iheartfilms.weebly.com