37 Seconds

This is a tough watch, but if you don't mind human (and humane) stories, this will float your boat (and/or rock it). This really is about struggles and what life can be about. A girl between family and her dreams/goals. And others who may or may not be taken advantage of her situation.

This is real or at least it feels as real as it can. Which makes it either appealing or appaling to viewers. If you want fancy, you won't get this here. If a bit of exciting themes, but fighting ones demons (and other demons metaphorically speaking) is the main issue here.

I could feel everything Yuma was going through. It wasn't spelled out for the audience like most movies. This is a testament to the acting, directing and writing. It's ironic that Mei Kayama, the star of the movie, gets third billing in the cast, much like her disabled character.

By watching just the trailer, I knew right away that this was a must-see.

The story was well told and delivered. The beginning might feel slow but you really felt like you were in the protagonist's shoes. The actors and the story made you feel like you were truly this little vulnerable and day-dreaming, yet curious and adventurous girl. (No spoilers?) Especially when it came to the climax, we all can relate to this kind of 37-second situations in our life. (No spoilers?)

If you like to follow a person's journey through their beautiful life story, this is one you shouldn't miss.

The film touches on a lot of issues concerning disability, but does very little with each of them before jumping to the next one. And then, towards the second half, the movie changes direction to focus on Yuma's complicated family history rather than her personal struggles; it feels as a contrived pretext to not really answer the questions of the first half about love and sex, but just say "she reconciled with her mom, so everything is fine".

Annoyingly, most of the conflict in the film is resolved by the fact that Yuma is a very talented artist, kind of wealthy, pretty, kind, and well-adjusted to be independent. So the moment she makes some good friends, it seems like all her troubles disappear. It's one of those cases where the story looks as if it's centered around social issues, but in reality it's more about the character dealing with mental barriers, and once those are overcome the film forgets about all the systemic problems which are still there.

And then, the friends she gets sort of fall out of the sky, and immediately decide to take care of her for no apparent reason; they are the nicest, most supportive, and least judgemental people in the world. So again, the film takes the easy way out and avoids dealing with any of the problems people with disabilities encounter in more realistic, flawed friendships.

I'm not sure if any movie can be a perfect 10 but for what this film is, it's pretty close!!

The best thing to do is just watch this uniquely sad and happy film! Some of u may dislike it while others will love it!!

This movie was fantastic to me, based on how well the amateur actors performed, the overall story, and the subtle roller coaster ride of emotions it displays!!