SunnyHello Nice effects though.

Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Twilightfa Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

politic1983 Asian cinema, good Asian cinema, can typically be hard to come by in the UK, with increasing difficulty, despite the increasing nature of media communications and online shopping and streaming. I like my Japanese cinema (well, not mine personally) and I find myself often frustrated with the lack of access to some of the better films on offer. But, locating a Korean, Region 3 DVD copy of Katsuhito Ishii's 'The Taste of Tea'; and sourcing a Japanese (thank God for Region 2!) copy of Kore-eda Hirokazu's 'Maborosi' - both featuring English subtitles - I set about watching two films considered towards the better end of Japanese cinema over the last two decades.One thing that interests me about both of these films is that their Japanese titles both feature the hiragana の('no'): 'Cha no aji' ('The Taste of Tea')and 'Maboroshi no hikari' ('Illusionary Light'). Both incorporating the Japanese possession particle, I thought that good enough a reason for comparison. The Japanese have noh theatre, so here's a bit of 'no' cinema...Both also star TadaNObu AsaNO. Starting with 'The Taste of Tea', as I watched that second, we see a film that can be described by unimaginative minds as 'quirky.' Looking at the lives of the HaruNO family, each has their own little story within the film and a mini-battle they want to overcome: the young daughter keeps seeing giant versions of herself; the son struggles with the fairer sex, hoping his go skills can woo; the uncle wonders aimlessly on his visit from Tokyo; the mother tries to re-ignite her animation career; the grandpa with his unusual habits. The most ordinary member of the family is the father, regularly away at work, but acting as the straight man to keep the extraordinary bunch together. And so is the situation in the lives of this Tochigi family, going about their strange ways each day in their sleepy town. But as the film develops, each family member unwittingly looks to another for support in overcoming their personal strife: the uncle helps the daughter with a 'crap' story from his childhood; the son practices go with his father; the grandpa poses for the mother's animation design; as well as helping out with the studio recording of the estranged brother's strange musical ambitions. 'The Taste of Tea' is a typical film about nothing, with no real plot to speak of, but more a series of scenes between the main characters. With a long running time, it could perhaps bore many, though the film has enough humour to keep entertained, with various sub-plots switching the attention so as not to make any one character become tired. But the real story here is one of family and how they all keep each other going, however unconventional the methods may appear. The bizarre grandpa proves to be the head of the family, watching over them all in his own idiosyncratic way. The characters are strange, the special effects are strange, yet it is somewhat of a familiar portrait of family life. Kore-eda Hirokazu is a director that is known for his films about stranger aspects of modern family life, with abandoned children, separated siblings and half siblings and switches at birth. However, whereas Ishii's is more a view of the strength of family ties, Hirokazu looks more at the strain the unusual scenarios can put on families in the modern world. One of his earlier films, 'Maborosi' looks at another unusual family scenario: Yumiko has a seemingly idyllic life in Osaka with her young husband - they are able to laugh and joke and look forward to the birth of their unborn child. However, unexplained and suddenly, Ikuo, her husband, commits suicide on local train tracks, leaving Yumiko's life in twilight. Re-marrying a steady widower, she moves to his small fishing hometown to live with his father and daughter. However, Yumiko's life lacks colour, seemingly in a daydream, struggling to come to terms with the loss of her first husband and the mystery around his death. 'Maborosi', therefore, is somewhat of a bleak film, creating a feeling of numbness. With the situation unresolved for Yumiko, Hirokazu chooses to shoot the entire film in twilight. The translation of the Japanese title, 'Imaginary Light', fits the film's tone perfectly. Similar to 'After Life', the colours of the screen are incredibly vivid and memorable, with a unique and haunting quality. In that sense, 'Maborosi' is a visual masterpiece of cinema, using colour perfectly to reflect the story. One of the best reviews I've read of 'Maborosi' described it as a if having 'read a haiku.' This is perhaps the best way to summarise this film: it paints a perfect picture of a woman's torment at her husband's death, yet maybe lacks any sense of journey; it paints the picture of an emotion, rather than telling a story. The film's revelation at the end comes as fast and as sudden as Ikuo's death, though maybe feels somewhat cheap and easy. This is a masterclass in the use of colour in a film, though perhaps the story and characters could be painted with a little more of that colour as well. 'The Taste of Tea' and 'Maborosi' are two films about unconventional families, though that is perhaps where the similarity ends. Both are slow films with little in the way of plot, but their outlook and style couldn't be more polemic. The joy of family life in 'The Taste of Tea's' is counteracted by the brooding mourning of 'Maborosi'. Colour is a word important to both: 'The Taste of Tea' brilliantly creates colourful characters and anecdotes to entertain; whereas 'Maborosi' uses colour to further the tone and mood of the film. While for different reasons, both are examples of brilliant film- making in their own right...It might just depend what mood you're in, no?!

pontram I first liked the silence in this movie, but later I decided that it tells us about speechlessness, especially connected with the occurrence of sudden death. As an European, or simply feeling with Yumiko, I often said to her by myself "lets go and cry the hell out", but she didn't or it wasn't shown and I interpret this as Japanese behavior. She seems to be very smart and holds her feelings back. She adapts to the situation and won't allow any grief to take her over. But sometimes - I personally think - you should let you been overpowered by grief and sadness, so that the inner pressure can find a valve. Otherwise you could be damaged. When Yumiko visits her mother after a time, she looks like she came over. But she didn't. The barkeeper in the little coffee/tea shop tells her that he had seen her husband just before the incident, and he says that he looked and behaved as usual. This brings back the whole thing to Yumiko, and I felt a big power in this scene. I feared she would go back to their common apartment unprepared, and so she does, and so she is punished by the unmanaged remnants of her lost past.I liked the look of the movie, but I could not adore some painting-like stills or wonderful shots. Therefore I have seen too many movies in such a style, especially from Japan or Korea. And I don't give much about the style when I see such a movie, because a deeper going movie doesn't need style to reach me. I liked that the pictures weren't so beautiful, as in other Japanese productions. More or less, I had a good impression to see real places and follow real people in real life. Real life is often dull, gray or sad, especially when you lose your beloved partner. The reason is not that important, because what lasts is the partner's absence.Thus the causing of Yumikos first husbands' suicide is not important, and it is clear from the beginning that she never will find out. It is a constructed event that should lead us away from every disturbing explanation. The try to explain it on the end with some mystical light is a crutch, formed from helplessness. Instead, her new husband - how he lost his former wife stays in the dark - should have had a serious talk with her, about hers and his feelings, about life and death, about their inner movings. Isn't it strange that she only wants to speak with him when he is very drunken and not able to answer ? I identify the lack of discussion, the lack of review (which is fascinating for many viewers of the movie) as the real sadness, and the movie wants to tell about what happens if everybody keeps calm as required in Japan - nothing spectacular, but probably nothing enjoyable.We are helpless against fate - more modern: statistics - and helpless against the fragile illusion of a stable life and continuity, but not with our inner worlds. Being together means also sharing thoughts, not only relatives or day-work.

Alli Antar I rarely watch the same movie more than once, but this one was so beautiful, I simply had to watch it again, paying full price to see it on the big screen each time. What I love the most about this film is the way that director Hirokazu Kore-Eda captures nature and humans as part of it, perhaps most eloquently portrayed by the scene in which rain drops on a window frame the face of the grief-stricken stoic-countenanced protagonist. The film begins with the story of a little girl's loss of her grandmother, and continues on with the story of the same little girl, now a young woman and the film's protagonist, whose life is again dramatically altered by the sudden death of her husband. Throughout the film, as a way of coping with the loss, she attempts to understand why he killed himself. My favorite scene in the film occurs near the end, when the protagonist watches a distant funeral procession by the sea. One has to wonder if it is Kore-eda's reflection of the woman's psyche - it is as if the funeral procession is a dream - and she is watching herself grieve from a distance? However, the organic nature of the scene seems to point to the fact that death, though often not explainable, is also a part of nature that humans must learn to accept. This film portrays the woman with exquisite sensitivity. I highly recommend this film.

benjymouse53 SPOILER I did like this movie... It was pretty, and sad. The original story was written by my mother's fav. writer Teru Miyamoto. His story is often dark, the director has paid excellent attention to the detail of Miyamoto's writing. Miyamoto's writing is almost exactlly the way movie was put... Story was strange, husband commiting suicide w/o reasons... If you like artsy movie, I think you should check it out.