The Love Hotel Girl

Thought for a while about this one, about how to review it I mean, and it all came down to, "yeah, but not quite......."

Setting is good, a good level of moody without being too dark. Daddario is very good but you don't get to fully understand her character.

If we could give half points would've gone 6.5, it's not a 7. Quite intriguing though.

I didn't really have any expectations other than shots of beautiful Japaneese aestethics which I got to some extent, even though I think that it felt a bit "touristy" and repeating at times.

As for the plot and acting I did not expect much. And except for the very first scene which I didn't like at all because it felt a bit cheesy and unnecessary seeing as you would understand what kind of girl Margaret was rather quickly by just watching the movie anyways... I hoped for more focus on the lost girl and less (but some) love hotels. One thing I liked about the many "love scenes" were that they were short and rather silent unlike some movies where there's awkward moaning for 10 minutes straight.

If you are looking for something as good as "Lost In Translation" or some block buster with explotions every other second you shouldn't watch this one. But if you want to look at some pretty cinematography with an okay story you should go for it! Especially if you like movies set in Japan. I can confidently say that I wouldn't have watched it if the movie had taken place anywhere else, but I'm glad that I did.

A bleak and rather depressing film for the majority of the screen time, but the movie suffers from the lack of substance and convenient encounters to drive the story forward.

The problem I have for these type of films is it often do succeed in showing how low the human condition can reach, but there's no major theme or message after the fact. We see a woman spiraling down mentally and physically but other than showing it, the movie never goes deeper.

I guess it's kind of a cautionary tale. It's letting you know the obvious: humans are driven by goals, meaning, and a sense of belonging. If you have none of those, you might find yourself in the protagonist's shoes; desperately trying to find a connection and meaning, but mixing with the wrong crowd and habits.

Unfortunately, the conclusion leaves a lot to be desired and the movie as a whole feels like a missed opportunity.

"Lost Girls & Love Hotels" isn't as bad as its ratings suggest. I really liked the beginning-the cinematography, music, and atmospheric feel were captivating. There's an intriguing quality to the narrative that draws you in. However, as the story progresses, you start to wonder what you're actually watching. That's when I checked the ratings and read some reviews. I started to agree with some of the reviews on how depressing it was and all that. Since there were only 10-15 minutes of the movie left, I decided to finish it anyway. Surprisingly, the movie ended on a decent note. It's a different kind of film that may find its audience.

Right down to the main character being a teacher.

Writers with new ideas are obviously rare