I had "My Broken Mariko" laying about since 2022 and never got around to watching it before now in 2023. I was putting it off as I thought it was just another run-of-the-mill sappy story with a suicide theme.
But I have to admit that it was a mistake on my behalf of not sitting down to watch director Yuki Tanada's 2022 movie "Mai Burôkun Mariko" (aka "My Broken Mariko") earlier. This movie was rather compelling, entertaining and really a beautifully told story.
Writers Waka Hirako, Kôsuke Mukai and Yuki Tanada put together a very touching storyline that proved to be entertaining, while at the same time being a very beautiful story as well. I had dreaded that the writers would put on a sappy story here, but I was genuinely surprised with how beautifully told the narrative was. It was a story with a suicide theme, yes, but "Mai Burôkun Mariko" was so much more, because it was also a story of friendship, compassion, soul searching, unbreakable bonds and how you deal with the loss of someone.
The character gallery in the movie, while it was a rather small one, definitely was a memorable one. The characters in the movie were very nicely detailed and fleshed out, adding a lot of layers to the narrative.
"Mai Burôkun Mariko" would not have been as impactful if it wasn't for a stellar cast putting on very memorable performances. Especially leading actress Mei Nagano (playing Tomoyo Shiino) stood out in the movie, with her powerhouse of a performance throughout the course of the 85 minutes that the movie ran for.
Regardless of you having a preference for Japanese movies or not, then a movie like "Mai Burôkun Mariko" is one that deserves to be seen. It is a movie that will sink in and stick with you for a long, long time.
My rating of "Mai Burôkun Mariko" lands on a well-deserved eight out of ten stars.
