Paul Magne Haakonsen "Laundry" might be somewhat of an overlooked title to make it out from the Japanese cinema. And it is only my undying love and interest in the Asian cinema that lead me to this movie as I stumbled upon it in a DVD store in Hong Kong.The story told in this 2002 romantic drama is about a young man named Teru (played by Yôsuke Kubozuka) whom suffered an injury to the head and brain during his childhood. He is now looking after the coin laundry service for his elderly grandmother. Here he meets the brokenhearted Mizue (played by Koyuki). A random chance friendship sparks as the two starts talking with each other.For you to fully enjoy "Laundry", then you must enjoy a story- and character-driven drama. To some the storyline might be slow paced and somewhat of an enjoyment killer. But if you do enjoy these kind of movies, then "Laundry" is a rather wholesome entertaining movie that is rich on story, character development and acting performances.The acting by the two lead talents was really great, and they really pulled their weight quite fabulously, both individually and together on the screen. There was a really good chemistry between Yôsuke Kubozuka and Koyuki.While "Laundry" is not a drama that will have you in tears, it is still a rather enjoyable movie, and I can more than warmly recommend that you take the time to sit down and watch this 2002 Japanese movie. It is the type of drama that sinks into your soul and sticks with you for quite awhile. So thumbs up to director Jun'ichi Mori for this accomplishment.

dbborroughs A young man, who's mentally handicapped, meets a young woman, with a great deal of baggage, at the laundry where he works and they fall in love. This is a very quirky love story that was exactly what I wasn't in the mood for when I watched it. Still I stayed with it, so I laughed and cried a bit with these very quirky characters.I'm of two minds about this movie. I want to say that this isn't a bad movie, which I know sounds like a backhanded compliment. But its the truth, its not a bad movie, so I feel rather bad having anything less than sterling about it. My problem is that the film is almost too quirky (A term I hate but unfortunately is the only thing that comes to mind when I think about this movie). Everyone is a "character" with quirky (forgive me) traits. This isn't bad, its just that I felt that my cup runneth over, especially when the film runs just over two hours.At the same time you have to love a movie that treats its characters as individuals. I loved the fact that even though Teru, our hero, is handicapped he doesn't twitch or convulse or speak in a funny voice. He's just this guy, which is something that can be said about all of the characters, they just are. I also loved that the course of events seemed natural to the place that the story happens in, we don't have any weird twists at the end to make it more sad or more happy, its just what it is and it somehow makes sense.I liked this but I wanted to love it. Certainly you should take a chance and see it if you come across it since it is quite good, though if you watch it like me, at one thirty in the morning, it may not hold your attention the way it should.(Comments subject to change pending second viewing)

Gigo_Satana Primitively speaking, there are too many bad movies with happy endings and unfortunately fewer good movies with sad or convincingly well crafted happy endings. Not that either comparison applies to Laundry, it's just that lately I have been pleasantly exposed to some extremely touching films that ended on rather gloomy notes, causing me for a change to crave more heartwarming tales of romance that even through expected sorrow and frustration managed to end benevolently.So I began watching Laundry and the first thing I noticed were the characteristics of the male lead named Teru played by Kubozuka, who for a nice change wasn't suffering from spasms or speech impediment, that we so typically are subjected to in similar drama pieces. Still with such a condition his setbacks aren't exaggerated nor is he stripped down to looking like a helplessly poor individual. Also gone is the sometimes overly dramatized cruel world of physical and verbal abusers, replaced with people who actually share their life stories with Teru and in return listen to his.Next is Mizue, played by Koyuki, who shines with modesty, although her on and off depressing ways hint for deep scars that she might be carrying inside, symbolically mirroring the real scar on Teru's head which caused him to be the way he is. Without giving away too much detail, their interactions are played off with essentially good chemistry. Koyuki is extremely beautiful and radiates subtle emotions with simple expressions and smiles. The story with her younger sister is very affecting in its short time.Ultimately I was pleased with how this film turned out, mainly how it avoided the very noticeable and frustrating digression of the story as seen in the Korean film Windstruck, which not only ruined the flow of the entire film, but radically replaced humor with tragedy. Laundry maintains all those elements harmoniously, letting them naturally float and complement the changes that the two characters go through.Give this film a try and hopefully you'll find it even more touching than I did.

aflameinside A slowly paced, but heartwarming love story. Like the reviewer said before me about the slow pace...it is intentional and actually gives the film a true to life feeling. The writing is great and the cinematography simple and beautiful.As far as I know the DVD is only in a Region 3. I got it from ebay and can only watch it on my computer. The language on the box is all in Chinese, and from what I remember the language in the menu is all Chinese. I would love to see a Region 1 version come out because this is a great story that many others should see.If you have an opportunity to see this I whole-heartedly recommend it!