IMDb RATING
7.8/10
9.2K
YOUR RATING
When Matsuko is murdered, her nephew, Sho, gets to progressively unveil the many details of her mysterious past, discovering she wasn't just a forgotten outcast and had led an intriguing yet... Read allWhen Matsuko is murdered, her nephew, Sho, gets to progressively unveil the many details of her mysterious past, discovering she wasn't just a forgotten outcast and had led an intriguing yet bizarre life.When Matsuko is murdered, her nephew, Sho, gets to progressively unveil the many details of her mysterious past, discovering she wasn't just a forgotten outcast and had led an intriguing yet bizarre life.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Awards
- 10 wins & 10 nominations total
Eita Nagayama
- Shô Kawajiri
- (as Eita)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
A really beautiful film to watch. It's funny, tragic, silly and thought-provoking all at the same time. I actually started watching this film at 1am and thought I'd probably fall asleep halfway through but my eyes were wide open the whole time. Fascinating following the life of Matsuko and all the different stages she goes through and the people she meets along the way.
The problem with a lot of artsy kind of films is that whilst they're visually excellent, the story's lacking. Or whilst the story's interesting, they're just not that great to watch. Memories of Matsuko however is visually stunning and also really interesting. Can't understand how it didn't make a splash on the world scene.
The only reason I gave it 9 and not 10 was that it was a bit long and felt it dragged towards the end.
Memories of Matsuko is probably one of the best films I've seen. I borrowed it from a friend but will be buying my own copy.
The problem with a lot of artsy kind of films is that whilst they're visually excellent, the story's lacking. Or whilst the story's interesting, they're just not that great to watch. Memories of Matsuko however is visually stunning and also really interesting. Can't understand how it didn't make a splash on the world scene.
The only reason I gave it 9 and not 10 was that it was a bit long and felt it dragged towards the end.
Memories of Matsuko is probably one of the best films I've seen. I borrowed it from a friend but will be buying my own copy.
10maurazos
It is a real tragicomedy! This film is about cruel facts, but under a musical comedy appearance. It is a movie that made me cry, as if I still were 15 years old. And I cried because what is told in the film can happen... And unfortunately it actually happens everywhere and everyday. It is a film that has made me believe again in the Japanese cinema. In this movie I have seen a Kenji Mizoguchi's spirit revival, because of the way it describes the life of a woman who is mistreated by everybody and whose life is irremediably ruined. Doesn't this story remember Mizoguchi's "Oyu-sama"? I also saw some Akira Kurosawa's influences, like the colorful shanty dwelling Matsuko lives in during the last years of her sad existence: aren't they close to the ones Kurosawa showed in "Dodeskaden"? According to my point of view, this is the best Japanese film of this still young 21st century.
Who is Matsuko and what memories are these? Mitsuko was a born optimist, a fervent believer in human goodness. The memories, therefore, are inevitably sad as she discovers the journey along the yellow brick road can be tough haul. We discover Matsuko through her brother's quest when he hears of her death (she left home some fifteen years ago). Porn star, convict, hairdresser - these are all part of a less than glittering cv. This could easily have been an unremitting 2 hours of grimness and probably would have been were this film British. But director Tetsuya Nakashima throws everything into this including the kitchen sink, just as he did with his similarly surreal Kamikaze Girls. The result leaves you reeling as you run the gamut of emotions as the heroine's fate unravels.
This film will just blow you away! While I would say it was fairly sad at times, and you'll shake your head at the life choices the lead character made, the film will stay with you. It definitely has tearjerker moments, major ones. The acting is uniformly superb. I originally knew about the film through this site, because I am very impressed with the acting of Asuka Kurosawa ("A Snake Of June") and wanted to see her in a film in which you actually see her in her beauty (She boldly works in horror films, sometimes with distorted features, like "Kirie" and "Dead Waves"). She looks gorgeous in this film, but so does the title character. Like many films with a female name in them (think Leslie Caron, Audrey Hepburn), you'll fall in love, commiserate, get angry with and, ultimately, forgive her flaws. Is it perfect? No, it isn't. The rating of 10 stars has to do with the effect it had on me. It'll just stay with you. Thank goodness this wasn't an American film, it would have been sanitized and "fairy taled" to the point of manifesting ad nauseum. Its sad, you might cry, but you'll love it.
The movie is really wonderful and joyful. The package is really wonderful. As the female lives from 50's up to now, director of this film manage to dissolve a lot of pop culture stuffs, like MTV, TV etc into a fancy comical world. I am sure there would be only Japanese who can create such world.
But what i admire most is he do not forget the story he want to tell. The story actually is a adaption from a original novel which depict a tragic life of a woman. The film, though have a comedy outlook, it is a typical tragic story. The director manages to find a new way to retell the story in a sense which youngster would feel related.
And the story itself is great because it tells us what is so called life. ie ridiculous, unpredictable, etc. and how a woman face her life with constant hope of simply getting better.
The story is a typical tragedy in a Greek kind of style. Though it may contain some preaching scene, but u are free to take it or leave, as the life of the woman is open to judge.
But what i admire most is he do not forget the story he want to tell. The story actually is a adaption from a original novel which depict a tragic life of a woman. The film, though have a comedy outlook, it is a typical tragic story. The director manages to find a new way to retell the story in a sense which youngster would feel related.
And the story itself is great because it tells us what is so called life. ie ridiculous, unpredictable, etc. and how a woman face her life with constant hope of simply getting better.
The story is a typical tragedy in a Greek kind of style. Though it may contain some preaching scene, but u are free to take it or leave, as the life of the woman is open to judge.
Did you know
- TriviaIn the protagonist T-shirt is written "Eu respeito o meio ambiente", this means "I respect the enviroment" in portuguese.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Aquella que Va Sobre Zancos (2013)
- SoundtracksTrill Trill Recur
Written by Kaela Kimura & Shigekazu Aida
Performed by Kaela Kimura
Courtesy of Columbia Music Entertainment, Inc.
- How long is Memories of Matsuko?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $9,578,449
- Runtime2 hours 10 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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