Alicia I love this movie so much

Steinesongo Too many fans seem to be blown away

Kidskycom It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

sjk-r Not a film for the easily bored or sub-title phobic (hence dropping 1 star to 9/10), this film is a strictly dialogue based story between a comedic writer and his draconian censor set in pre-war Japan, where humanity is pitted against authoritarianism. As flat as that may sound, the dialogue that ensues between the protagonists is both incredibly comedic and emotional, and moreover brutally insightful into a dark period of imperialistic Japanese history that a Western audience has dwindling knowledge of. I cannot recommend this film enough, perhaps even best watchful alone, which helps the viewer empathise more personally with the embattled comedic writer pitted against the brick wall of the state. This film will remain with you.

Melvyn Foo This film is impressive for how much meaning it manages to capture in it's small scope – two main sets and two main actors, with hardly any special effects. Set within the narrative frame of a censure review process, the drama unfolds from Day 1 to Day 7 as a playwright's (Goro Inagaki) script is rejected time and time again by the censor (Koji Yakusho). As the censor demands more changes each day, he finds himself caught up in the creative process.Herein lies the film's starkest satirical point. On an individual level, a censor aids, rather than stifles the creative process. While he begins as an inhuman personification of the institution and/or the state, he is humanized by his developing friendship with the playwright. This 'humanization' is depicted through scenes of his daily activities (eating at a sushi bar, traveling, outside his uniform etc) towards the end of the film. On a structural level, the narrative frame – the censure review process – is contrasted against the end result of that process: the playwright produces a brilliant comedy, and we too, enjoy a brilliant comedy.The film culminates in the playwright confessing his true intentions, which meets the censor's own philosophy head on. What was previously ignored or forgotten because of their growing friendship can no longer be, and the censor is forced to issue an ultimatum. The buildup in poignancy was not overdone, though it could have been more subtle. Nevertheless, this development threatens to derail the entire buildup in plot, for it rendered all other changes to the playwright's script nugatory. But the risk paid off, and the result is, instead of being left with an unsatisfying cop-out of a friendly agreement to disagree, we get to watch a true transformation of character.

sawii29 Sakisaka, working as an inspector of comedy script, hardly laughs. One day, he meets a scriptwriter named Tsubaki Hajime. Tsubaki comes to him to get the script checked, then it can be on at his theater. However, Sakisaka doesn't say "ok", he asks him to rewrite and bring it the next day. Tsumaki follows his advice and the two come to make the script more interesting together. But it doesn't last so long. One day, Tsubaki brings a sad news with a great comedy script and then,,,I laughed a lot seeing this movie. Koji Yakusho, acted Sakisaka, is one of the greatest actors in Japan. I'm a big fan of him. Sakisaka is a serious person. He doesn't laugh and dislike comedy, but gradually changes. Yakusho expressed the small change faithfully in the film. And I'm also a fan of Koji Mitani. His movies are always funny and interesting.This movie must make you laugh and give you bravery to keep going what you like to do.

Gigo_Satana This is one of the few films which prior to its viewing I knew extremely little about, due to the lack of buzz and reviews it had acquired on the net, but knowing Koji Yakusho through various Kiyoshi Kurosawa films and such I gave it a try.The film is set in 1940, at a time when humor was greatly overshadowed with tragedy all over the world, but still piercing through the hardship and censorship to give people a chance and a reason to laugh. Right from the start we hear grandiosely orchestrated big band music that immediately assists the film in creating an atmosphere of that particular era and even creates a pleasant sound of classic comedy satires that now rarely see the light of day.Yakusho convincingly plays Sakisaka, a gloomy reviser who has been able to live through life without much comedy and Inagaki plays Hajime Tsubaki, a scrawny writer who's in dire need of getting his script approved by any means possibly, which includes not only in removal of certain context but also daily convincing Sakisaka of its intent, logic and essentially its power of being humorous or not. In the midst of all the quarreling and brainstorming, it gives a new life to the repressionist of joy and pushes another visionary to the limits of perfection.At one point it did came close to overdoing Sakisaka'a final transformation, but never to the point of frustration or redundancy. I also thought that the comical subplot of the film could have been a little more humorous. Nonetheless it was an interesting little film that for the most part hit the right spots and moved me along the way with its simplistic approaches and solitary scenery that included some touching moments and harmless jests.