Stereo Future

This film was pretty popular when it came out in Japan, combining stunning visuals, a hip score and popular actors and comedians.

Primarily a romance, Stereo Future also injects environmental commentary and comedy into the storyline to make this a hyperkinetic, eclectic film.

Some of the comedic lines are poorly translated, and so come across fairly flat. At other times, the film features spoofs of Japanese pop culture and film, as well as cameos from popular actors, musicians, etc. It may be difficult for someone who does not understand Japan well to appreciate this film to the fullest, but all in all a beautiful and funny story.

I watched this one only yesterday and enjoyed it thoroughly.

Where some others may claim this film to be a case of "style over substance", I whole-heartedly disagree.

Eri is suffering a trauma after splitting with her ex which causes her to become mute. Meanwhile, the said ex is pursuing his ambition to become an actor, which we find out as the film progresses, was the chief cause for them breaking up.

With a powerful message conveyed underneath the story of how each copes following the break-up, this film oozes style and beauty - and given the underlying theme, it's obvious why it was shot in such a way.

True, it's not hilarious all the way through, but there are some very funny moments during this drama/romance/comedy which actually made me laugh out loud.

I would recommend this film to anybody who is looking for something a little different... just try to stomach the really annoying American and you'll be okay.

Finding hidden gems in generally rich Japanese cinema is becoming more and more rewarding each time, it seems. Not that there aren't enough crafty, internationally successful releases to indulge myself in, it just never gets tiring to find certain films that for some reason didn't quite cross over to a broader audience.

From the reviews and pictures I had a pretty good idea of what type of film this would be. It starts out with pleasant scenery and reoccurring soothing music, reminiscent of All About Lily Chou-Chou, and surprisingly mixes that with more edgy tunes to suit the moments. The way it circulates bunch of characters who are connected to each other reminded me of Survive Stye 5+. Ultimately when you are presented with such a character cycle, you will either enjoy the entire experience or crave more from a specific situation. Unfortunately for the most part I fell under the spell of the latter.

First half of the film provides a typical strain of scenes that seem to be floating on thin air with good music and visuals, but still promising a gradual aim toward a climatic resolution. normally with such films, expectancy of overly cohesive actions and consequences should be kept at a reasonable level, since it's rather difficult for some story tellers to create highly emotional situations while at the same time maintaining hyperactive surrealism. But just when you think the film will fully embody melancholy, it comes out with wacky comedy and action sequences. With stylish camera work they are performed smoothly, proving good entertainment and enjoyable diversity. Perhaps I was mesmerized by Akiko Monou's beauty and equally strong subtlety, little disappointed by the harmlessness of Masatoshi Nagase's con friends, that in the end I wished for the story to have dealt more with romance and how the two leading characters handled the separation and ultimately the revival of their unique relationship.

Even though the outcome of the film didn't get to me the way it intended to, I found the little subplots and situations quite entertaining and worthwhile. However, there are other films that have tackled same style of artistry and storytelling by delivering more thrilling characters and stronger premises with lasting effects. Still, don't let this serve as a discouragement, because in the end, Stereo Future has more going for it than most of the mainstream throwaway films with predictable and unimaginative content.

While a time reduction of 15 minutes or so might have benefited this film, I greatly appreciated the overall naturalist flow, the diversity of characters - an arty but near real-life experience - with fine polish and beautiful cinematography. It's a bit like Renoir's "Une Partie de Campagne", but enlarged to a greater layering of subjects, characters and love-relationships ("ren-ai monogatari").

Actor Masatoshi Nagase has had the sublime fortune to lead in some creative, delightful, fun films. Here again, as in the Maiku Hama trilogy, he suffers some all-too-human hard moments - arguably in a Chaplinesque spirit - but like in Modern Times, in this one he ends up with a girl (though I won't tell you which one), though no richer financially. I just wish more like this were available in the U.S.

This film seems to be a kind of love affair with certain aspects of Japanese culture, with a prominent environmental theme thrown in. There are also recurring vignettes about the shooting of a samurai film, an American guy meeting the stunning Eri (Akiko Monou) who is dumb (cannot speak). Some of this film is lush and beautiful, some parts are just stunningly photographed. While the characters are strangely interwoven, its still an interesting though non-mainstream film. There are the obligatory scenes with trains and a little bit of madness, which turned out to be funny. One of the things I liked about this film was its central message, about being part of the world. Not for mainstream viewers, be a little adventurous and watch it. I liked it.