Rajio no jikan

Being a fan of Juzo Itami, I went to see "Welcome Back Mr. McDonald" (English title) expecting a dark comedy. I was pleasantly surprised. Though Mitani's film is much lighter than Itami's "Marusa no Onna" for example, I still was laughing out loud along with everyone else in the theatre over scenes like the Gameboy(tm)-playing security guard teaching frantic techies how to create the sound of a dam breaking over a mountain village with rice and a styrofoam cup. This is a cleverly filmed, intelligently written, and well-acted movie. I just wish recent films from Japan like "Rajio no Jikan", "Mononoke Hime" and "After Life" were given the credit they deserve in the United States.

Despite cliche slapstick scenes (which are little and tolerable), "Radio No Jikan" is a refreshing comedy for someone who is tired of mainstream cinema blockbusters. It had my sister and I in tears during the second half of the movie when things really turn chaotic. Unforgettable characters were the tiresome Bucky and the charismatic Mr. Horinouchi. I give it an 8 out of 10 !

Imagine being a desperate house-wife in Japan falling in love with a man who doesn't have a clue that you are in love with him. So how do you transmit your feelings as a women in modern day suppressed Japan? Your solution: writing a radioplay mentioning your feelings and love for him. You are in luck because a radio-station is willing to broadcast your play. Mission accomplished? During the course of the broadcast of your play, one of the radio-actors has the bright idea that he has to improvise on his role. Outcome: the whole story has to be rewritten at will by the actors, director, producers, sponsors of the show...because of the continuity. Are you going to defend your script at all costs? I had a great night at the radiostation. The actors are wonderful and hilarious. The direction is first class. A must see movie for everyone who loves world cinema and is looking for a different kind of movie than normal US fare.

A brilliant comedy from Japan about a radio station going live with an original drama written by Miyako, a housewife, who entered a contest the station gave. She is played superbly by the plainly dressed but pretty Kyoko Suzuki. From the beginning, the madness starts. Her screenplay keeps getting tweaked to the point where it is unrecognizable and the last second script changes keep the tension up. Throughout, the characters are so rich: The temperamental actress Nokko (Keiko Toda), the too appeasing producer, the opinionated engineer, the suffering manager of Nokko, Miyako's husband who thinks the screenplay is about him, and so on. Its screwball comedy at its best, frantic, unrelenting and, at times, hilarious. I would not usually give a 10 to a movie such as this, but this one not only keeps your interest, it gets better and better. Even Ken Wattanabe is here, playing a trucker who, while driving his big rig, tunes into the melodrama and is moved by it all. Writer/Director Koki Mitani does a superb job of keeping the pacing perfect in this film. You have to see it, it is really terrific.

If it were possible I'd give this film a higher score.

When I visited Japan in 1997 I saw a TV program that previewed this movie. I had always remembered what the film was about, but I had long forgotten the title of the film and I had never seen it in the United States as the big city I live in isn't big enough for films like this.

Fast forward to late 2009 when my wife and I decided to go to our local library to borrow films to watch. We were looking for Japanese films that we hadn't seen, and this was one of them. I couldn't believe I had finally found the film I was searching for.

This is a great film and is laugh out loud from start to finish. I had to look at some scenes a second and third time to catch the action I had missed from laughing. Of course, for the week I had it I watched it several more times!

The fact that this is a screwball comedy means that action takes place in the background as well as directly in front of the camera. Therefore, it is necessary to look fast and catch all the action, or rewind and watch it again and again and again.

If you like to laugh this film fills the bill very nicely. Not many people can pull off the high quality of this type of film. This film is my new all time favorite movie.

I wish I hadn't had to wait so long to find it. In my opinion, on a scale of 1 to 100 I proudly give this film 1,000,000! (I'm not paid to say this.)

Happy viewing, and don't eat or drink anything while watching this film...you'll choke.