Mabel Munoz Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Mehdi Hoffman There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Phillida Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

faridandroid5 This review is not about the film but the crude American taste.Whenever my cinema-savvy friends criticised Hollywood, I'd jokingly dismiss their arguments, saying I enjoy action-packed, fun films for afternoons and that Hollywood has great production. I stand corrected.This film has been given a 5 by metacritic. Check out the reviews. They say silent moments are awkward.. or that stares are long... I had an epiphany that Americans and their layman critics have actually no appreciation for an actual good work when they see one. Everybody likes a big Mac but in no way it means you can slam a 5-michelin star cuisine.I always acknowledged Hollywood films try to appeal to the lowest common denominator. It makes them fun to a point. But I realised today it's not just their audience that is unnaturally confused with junk, but apparently American select critics are actually the lowest common denominator.P.S. IMDb will not be a universal source until it goes beyond Hollywood standards.

amalfonso8 The Blue Lagoon meets Descendants. It's a beautifully filmed feature, about life, death, love, and the natural beauty of the island. It is also about loss, resilience, sacrifice, and preservation in the face of change. It is also a coming of age drama just as much as a romance. A little slow in some area, made up for by the lingering shots on the island. Restrained acting of parents such as Makiko Watanabe, Tetta Sugimoto, and Miyuki Matsuda in the film make your heart break. Reminds viewers there is more to Japan than Tokyo. Would have liked to learn more about the Island life, for example, is it based on tourism with tensions between tourists who come in for a few days and leave? Would have fleshed out the parent characters a little more. Spoiler Alert: there is an ending scene that should have been cut or totally omit in my opinion since it does not convey the intended message. Still worth a nine out of ten stars.

jlrousse04 No, the last film of Naomi Kawase, internationally known as "Still the water", is not a film reserved to "intellectual people", as I heard recently. If we refer to "Last year at Marienbad" (Resnais-1961) as a film for"intellectual people", we find no common point, except slowness of the rhythm. The spectator should only follow the example of the female heroin, Kyoko, who, in one scene at the beginning, dives into the sea with all her clothes (except her shoes), and enjoy this bath, meeting joyfully with the old-fellow fisherman, "PapyTortoise".Following her example, we, spectators, should dive into the film, and enjoy the play of sunlight across the branches of the old banyan, just in front of the terrace of Kyoko's house; enjoy the meals lovely prepared by Kyoko's father (so much different from the meals eaten in a restaurant at Tokyo by Kaito, Kyoko's lover, and his father; and completely opposed to the food left by Kaito's mother in the refrigerator); enjoy even the soft departure of Isa, Kyoko's mother, after a long illness, among songs and dances.I love so much this warm celebration of la joie de vivre, typically a Japanese one, as, after each disaster, typhoon, earthquake or tsunami, we see Japanese people build again, with a strong faith in life, all that has been destroyed.

leo-lester-leo Death, love, commitment...the movie treats those question in a very human rhythm, and surprises you in its deepness. I was moved to tears.It's set in a paradisaical coast of a Japanase island, full of light and sea. The actors are impressively true and beautiful.Japanase music being played and sang was a real plus too. The few scenes happening in Tokyo were a really good reflection to appreciate better the lifestyle in that countryside.the last third of the movie was maybe a little bit slow to reveal itself, but it saved some great scenes and was matching the rest of it.It's also socially and culturally very enriching and interesting. Leaves you with true surprises about the way these kids behave towards losing someone, towards relationships, etc.