Metro ni notte

I found this movie to be intriguing enough to hang on for the ride. The production design alone--rendering perfectly various historical periods in Tokyo--was worth my time.

If you like your stories tied up neatly at the end, it's probably not the movie for you. Likewise, if you can't handle non-linear time structures, give this one a miss. However, if you like riddles that can't be solved, you will probably enjoy it. In that regard, it is similar to "(The Mystery of) Rampo" (1994) and "Jacob's Ladder." However, I don't think it was as honest as those films, because forgiveness seems too easily given. As difficult as the relationships are in this movie, and given the unsolvable riddle, I don't think it was necessary for the protagonist to forgive his antagonist as unequivocally as he does in this movie. That said, given the character through-lines the actors had to work with, everyone did a terrific job... perhaps with the exception of the stiff who was hired to portray a crooked U.S. occupation forces officer. How hard could it be to find an American to play an American, or at least someone with a credible imitation of an American accent? Thankfully, he's the only clunker and only in one scene, and maybe I'm being too hard on him because of his bad rendering of an American accent. Nothing else in his performance was terrible.

This is quite an unusual and stimulating portrayal of family relationships, using the time travel technique to add an even more complex perspective on the story.

My feeling about this film is that it is probably more suited to those who enjoy unusual film direction and particularly that of modern Japanese cinema. This kind of film can best be enjoyed if one leaves behind all preconceived notions of how stories should be presented through the medium of film, and also how other cultures may choose to do this. If the film is approached with such an open mind, it does provide a very powerful cinematic experience.

This film didn't win any Oscars, but we enjoyed it. The story was intriguing, there were some good visual effects and the acting was decent.

As mentioned in the other reviews, a time-travel tangled web of family and interpersonal relationships.

The movie will probably be more fun for people who have more personal experience with life in Tokyo, riding Tokyo subways, drinking in Tokyo, romance in Tokyo...being a history buff doesn't hurt either.

Viewers without that sort of personal relationship to the subject may find the movie less compelling.