Poppoya

A particularly Japanese take on duty and responsibility, Ken Takakura is a trainman at a rural train station. Sad, poignant, but ultimately redeeming of the choices he has had to make in order to fulfill his chosen occupation, if you are looking for action of any sort go elsewhere. This is a character drama and an excellent one. If all you know of Takekura is 'Mr. Baseball' and 'Black Rain' then you ought to see him in a role which allows him to demonstrate his strengths as an actor, delivering an amazing performance with very little overt emoting.

We made the mistake of not having any tissues next to us while watching this. This movie does a brilliant job of portraying the life of a railroad worker who is so dedicated to his job, that the greatest joys of his life pass him by and he only realizes it when it is too late.

It helps if the viewer has an appreciation of Japanese culture and the importance of dedication to one's company (especially among the older generation) to really feel the impact of this movie. If you do not view this film from that perspective, then you will have difficulty empathizing with the main character and therefore miss the beauty contained therein.

Brilliant, beautiful, and poignant. 10/10

It is common to come across stories about the lives of ordinary people taking certain courses through life. Sometimes we can see things so simple that they catch our hearts and make us smile a little. This movie is a little bit of that, but it presents us with a tragedy that demonstrates the strength and loyalty of a railworker, who with such an attitude and indomitable loyalty always remains steadfast to his job. We come to wonder if he loves his job more than his life itself. This tragedy evolves around multiple flashbacks that gradually build an overall structure that makes us appreciate every moment.

Accompanied by an excellent direction that knows how to make use of transitions as well as small but meaningful scenes that give weight to the main story, Poppoya is a beautiful film that shows us how a lonely and simple life can bring more than we think into our hands. The cinematography presents us with an isolated and cold scene of loneliness and abandonment, but it is also in this kind of images where the small flames warm our hands and we can admire the true culture behind this work. With a fantastic plot twist that wraps our hearts around it, Poppoya is a great work full of emotions that works as an excellent mirror to a world of work, passion and family.

For many people this will be an emotional movie. I was one of them. It is a story of duty taking precedence over family. Unfortunately I know the situation intimately due to conflicts between military service and family. Like the station master I chose duty at the expense of family. The story of what his daughter would have been like is told over several episodes. First as a grade schooler, then a teenager and finally as a young adult. I found myself thinking the same thing - how would my child have developed. It was profoundly moving. You also see the respect that others had for the station master. It came from young railway men and fellow towns people old alike. The concluding scenes were as moving as any of the others in the film.

For train buffs, the steam engines are excellent and even the 1 car diesels are good. In my part of Japan the diesels are quite common.

Hokkaido is a place where towns are dying and railways are disappearing as the movie alludes to. I am writing this in a hotel lobby in Sapporo, Hokkaido, in weather similar to the movie. It has an added touch of reality.

I recommend this film to all who have an interest in Japan and life in the far north.

I selected this movie on a recent flight to Narita from London in November 2008 because it seemed to have everything I wanted in it. Steam trains, snow, pathos and emotion as well as a reasonable story line. I work in Tokyo and have been involved in Japanese culture for many years, and have many Japanese friends, and the only difference watching THIS movie was that I was crying by myself, rather than in good company.

The winter scenery was, as ever in Hokkaido, simply sublime and the characters carefully drawn and wholly believable. The plot was, for me, simple, but then I am a simple man, and even though I saw it all coming, the ending was a satisfactory confirmation rather than any great surprise.

To say that it made an impression on me does not do this movie justice - it was a confirmation in my mind of most of the things I love about Japan and its people.

You will not find violence, or, indeed, much in the way of loud voices, and the musical score is not only pretty quiet, but wholly suited to the plot-line. The key to enjoying this movie relies on your knowledge of how the Japanese people see themselves.

Even were I never to see it again, I would never forget it, and probably, neither would you.