Randorî

The main character is a 20-year-old who works in his grandmother's coin laundry, ostensibly to keep people from stealing clothes but probably really to give him something to do. We learn that he wears a knit cap to cover the scar of a childhood wound that rendered him mentally very slow. He meets a beautiful young woman who has problems of her own.

The film actually covers a fair amount of ground beyond what I have described, including some unexpected twists, but it does so at a very deliberate pace that might be a problem for some people. The acting seems quite good, especially by the two leads, and the story is, in a word, sweet. Seen at Cinequest (the San Jose, CA film festival) on 2/25/2002.

A young man, who's mentally handicapped, meets a young woman, with a great deal of baggage, at the laundry where he works and they fall in love. This is a very quirky love story that was exactly what I wasn't in the mood for when I watched it. Still I stayed with it, so I laughed and cried a bit with these very quirky characters.

I'm of two minds about this movie. I want to say that this isn't a bad movie, which I know sounds like a backhanded compliment. But its the truth, its not a bad movie, so I feel rather bad having anything less than sterling about it. My problem is that the film is almost too quirky (A term I hate but unfortunately is the only thing that comes to mind when I think about this movie). Everyone is a "character" with quirky (forgive me) traits. This isn't bad, its just that I felt that my cup runneth over, especially when the film runs just over two hours.

At the same time you have to love a movie that treats its characters as individuals. I loved the fact that even though Teru, our hero, is handicapped he doesn't twitch or convulse or speak in a funny voice. He's just this guy, which is something that can be said about all of the characters, they just are. I also loved that the course of events seemed natural to the place that the story happens in, we don't have any weird twists at the end to make it more sad or more happy, its just what it is and it somehow makes sense.

I liked this but I wanted to love it. Certainly you should take a chance and see it if you come across it since it is quite good, though if you watch it like me, at one thirty in the morning, it may not hold your attention the way it should.

(Comments subject to change pending second viewing)

I've seen many Asian movies and of course I agree that a European audience might need some 'training' to full enjoy cinematography from the far east. But this movie is different, though the time-line is typically Japanese, the storyline is simple and linear and the flow of the events doesn't contain real surprises, this movie succeeds in creating a strong affection among the audience and the characters: at the end of this movie, you'll miss them because you'll feel like you know them. Even though very intense and romantic, this movie includes very funny scenes and characters that let you relax and laugh a little. This is my favorite movie and I hope it will make you feel the way I feel every time a watch it.

I really enjoyed watching this movie. I really felt for the characters, especially Teru, played by Yosuke Kubozuka. The character is not overdone, and it seems real. Koyuki, who plays Mizue, did an excellent job as well. There's a definite sort of sadness and loneliness in both of their characters which I believe makes the them interact so well together.

But as a warning, this is definitely a slow paced movie, so if you don't have patience you might want to not watch this. I believe that this movie was good because of it's simplicity and the slow pace. Altogether an enjoyable experience!

A slowly paced, but heartwarming love story. Like the reviewer said before me about the slow pace...it is intentional and actually gives the film a true to life feeling. The writing is great and the cinematography simple and beautiful.

As far as I know the DVD is only in a Region 3. I got it from ebay and can only watch it on my computer. The language on the box is all in Chinese, and from what I remember the language in the menu is all Chinese. I would love to see a Region 1 version come out because this is a great story that many others should see.

If you have an opportunity to see this I whole-heartedly recommend it!