Kiraware Matsuko no isshô

It is a real tragicomedy! This film is about cruel facts, but under a musical comedy appearance. It is a movie that made me cry, as if I still were 15 years old. And I cried because what is told in the film can happen... And unfortunately it actually happens everywhere and everyday. It is a film that has made me believe again in the Japanese cinema. In this movie I have seen a Kenji Mizoguchi's spirit revival, because of the way it describes the life of a woman who is mistreated by everybody and whose life is irremediably ruined. Doesn't this story remember Mizoguchi's "Oyu-sama"? I also saw some Akira Kurosawa's influences, like the colorful shanty dwelling Matsuko lives in during the last years of her sad existence: aren't they close to the ones Kurosawa showed in "Dodeskaden"? According to my point of view, this is the best Japanese film of this still young 21st century.

Who is Matsuko and what memories are these? Mitsuko was a born optimist, a fervent believer in human goodness. The memories, therefore, are inevitably sad as she discovers the journey along the yellow brick road can be tough haul. We discover Matsuko through her brother's quest when he hears of her death (she left home some fifteen years ago). Porn star, convict, hairdresser - these are all part of a less than glittering cv. This could easily have been an unremitting 2 hours of grimness and probably would have been were this film British. But director Tetsuya Nakashima throws everything into this including the kitchen sink, just as he did with his similarly surreal Kamikaze Girls. The result leaves you reeling as you run the gamut of emotions as the heroine's fate unravels.

This film will just blow you away! While I would say it was fairly sad at times, and you'll shake your head at the life choices the lead character made, the film will stay with you. It definitely has tearjerker moments, major ones. The acting is uniformly superb. I originally knew about the film through this site, because I am very impressed with the acting of Asuka Kurosawa ("A Snake Of June") and wanted to see her in a film in which you actually see her in her beauty (She boldly works in horror films, sometimes with distorted features, like "Kirie" and "Dead Waves"). She looks gorgeous in this film, but so does the title character. Like many films with a female name in them (think Leslie Caron, Audrey Hepburn), you'll fall in love, commiserate, get angry with and, ultimately, forgive her flaws. Is it perfect? No, it isn't. The rating of 10 stars has to do with the effect it had on me. It'll just stay with you. Thank goodness this wasn't an American film, it would have been sanitized and "fairy taled" to the point of manifesting ad nauseum. Its sad, you might cry, but you'll love it.

This movie is unique and innovative. It is somewhat of fairytale like Cinderella and reminds me of Big Fish (2003), but is also very dark and depressive like say Requiem for a Dream (2000). It follows the hardship-laden life of Matsuko through the gradual discoveries of her nephew and the people he encounters.

It is extreme in content and in appearance, but touches very true and deep feelings & fears within all of us. It explores the meaning of life and asks very interesting questions. It does so while treating life's inevitable tragedies with humour and gaiety. The visual style and music are important elements of the movie as they share a positive-looking outlook of life even in the dimmest of circumstances.

The drama is centered around the dysfunctional family Matsuko was both the product of and the most disruptive element in its spiral towards destruction. Friendship, love and professional lives are also well explored, although as you can imagine, none of them in an ideal, truly rewarding way. The bleakness of the story and the brightness of the storytelling makes for a very interesting contrast. There are many beautiful shots (even if a bit CGI-heavy) and the inherent beauty of life is revealed through the crust of old, piled up garbage.

The storytelling is very fresh and even though it sags at some points as the film never seems to end, it does get its point across in a artsy and non-threatening way. I was so involved with the demanding story that I was literally shocked as I exited the dark theater to see other people lined up for the next movie at the FantAsia festival. After a viewing experience like this, I found myself surprised that there could be more movies after that or, possibly, that there may be anything after that! This is how profoundly I was affected. "Memories" is not a movie you just eat up and leave, you really need to settle and digest before you can truly understand and internalize.

A tough journey, a good message and possibly a lot of positive ramifications in art & life. Recommended.

As a matter of fact, the only film I can remember crying over is the brilliant "Babette's Feast".

"Matsuko" has a quality not unlike "Amelie", but mixed with a "Moulin Rouge" sensibility. It's part "Roger Rabbit" and part "Casablanca" -- never before have I seen stylistic pastiche used with such forethought and precision.

Some will find "Matsuko" sentimental and predictable -- but I think that doesn't matter: It's the storytelling that's important in this film and not, necessarily, the story.

"Matsuko" may not be a "great" film but, like "Babette" and "Amelie," I will want to see it again. I have a feeling that many people will react to the film in a similar fashion.