Himizu

Okay so this is another Japanese movie based on a Japanese manga. But this movie adds it's own flare to it, instead of trying to be exactly like the manga. Now this might disappoint some hardcore fans of the manga. But personally I liked the direction this movie took, it just went with the more emotional style instead of constant awkward Japanese humor that is in the manga. Not saying this movie is better than the manga or visa versa. It just has a different tone and style going for it. Sure the characters in this are very awkward and does things that doesn't make much sense. But those elements actually work for this movie, sometimes in Japanese movies the awkwardness can go all over the place without being consistent. This movie is actually consistent for the most part. Plus just about all the actors in this did a great job while also bringing out good amount of emotion. And just about all the character are likable for the most part even if what they do doesn't make much sense sometimes. Even some of the effects doesn't make much sense like the music for instance that constantly play classical music, especially from Mozart. But these effects that doesn't make much sense comes together in a consistent package overall. This movie shows that sometimes you can't judge people just by your perception alone but need to be in their shoes to understand since we all come from different background. It also has other messages but that one stood out the most. This is a fine manga adaptation that shows that not everything has to be word for word or frame by frame.

7.5/10

This one - like The Land of Hope, for example - is a difficult one. Why? Because if it was from the hands of some famous Chinese, Japanese and mainly Korean directors, it would be praised as a masterpiece, but as it comes from Sono, it's different from what people expect and divide opinions.

It's a fantastic film, a great exercise of growing up with all the adversities against you, showing us how dysfunctional families can affect our future, even if we have dreams and want to fight for your dreams - this affects both of the main characters, but we also see how each of them react differently to different circumstances, just like in real life.

I expected that, by now, most people should have already know that there isn't a single Sion Sono. I am lucky to love all of them. To love the crazy Sono (who reminds sometimes Miike, but funnier and more consistent) and love the introspective Sono (sharing a lot with the Korean new wave, or even with some Chinese and Japanese dramas from the 80s/90s). But if you just love the crazy Sono, you should know that this other Sono is not for you. You can't be expecting the same on this type of movies.

I will mention again The Land of Hope to explore how Sono, one more time, can show us not only the family drama, but also, at the same time, criticise some aspects of the Japanese society, as, per example, how the society treats the people who lost everything (there is a great subplot about this with a fantastic interpretation by the veteran Tetsu Watanabe) or how schools can be cruel to a lot of young people.

Overall, I am one of the few who, in fact, prefers The Land of Hope - the balance between the elderly couple, the land, and the young couples was perfect, for me - but I think that Himizu should be much more praised than it is.

This movie had an impact on me like no other film had before. Two 14 year olds coming from abusive homes are forced to look at their lives and see where they plan on taking them. The main character, Yuichi Sumida, claims early in the film that he just wants to be ordinary. Keiko Shazawa happily agrees with him since she is infatuated with him.

Neither of the teen's parents could care less about them. The girl's parents go as far to create a noose from which they want their daughter to commit suicide, since she is only a disappointment in their eyes. Yuichi and his mom run a boat shop which he runs on his own after she abandons him. His father shows up only to ask for money and abuse his son. The bad parenting in this film may be an exaggerated representation of Japenese culture, in how much pressure children are put under in order to succeed. The teens in this film have obviously given up on any dreams of success they may have once had.

The Yakuza comes to collect the debt that Yuichi's father owes them and this pushes his mind to a point where he becomes confused and violent. After this point, the film takes a turn. The first third is filled with comedy - the scenes with Yuichi and Keiko fighting, I found the most amusing - but the second two thirds are dealing with dark subject matter. Things become more shocking and also more intriguing. Anger and that has been built up in Yuichi is let out in unhealthy, though sometimes helpful ways. He commits an act that he feels guilty about and isn't sure what to do, leading him to try to find himself in scenes that I found very powerful. The sorrow, frustration and hopelessness I saw on screen resonated with me in ways incomparable with any other works of fiction.

To put it bluntly, Himizu is a coming-of-age story for angsty teens that aren't sure where their life is headed. By the way this isn't an insult, given how much I could relate.

For those who have watched Ki-Duk Kim's Address Unknown, wild animals, bad guy or others, this Himizu could fit in that series of films. Personally, as I just mentioned, I find this movie highly influenced by Ki-Duk Kim's style in the first hour and then by Fyodor Dostoyevsky's classic novel: Crime and Punishment in the second hour, with the girl encouraging the boy to turn himself in. This mixture between the korean director and the classic Russian novel makes a superb drama that can please both sono & Kim's fans. I also find Sono away from his classic films such as Suicide Club, Noriko's Dinner Table, Coldfish, Strange Circus, etc. In Himizu there's the tendency to a drama more than a bizarre film like the classic ones of this director, yet a superb one.

So many times, as a westerner, viewing Japanese films, the cry of 'Only in Japan' comes to mind. This is in part because that country remains amazingly insular and proud of its culture and unchanging ways despite the presence of the Americans and all the world's external influence upon it. Here in this passionate offering from Sion Sono are all the usual tropes, mistreated and misunderstood youth, dispassionate parents, loan sharks and the yakuza, life, death and honour plus an almost whimsical belief in 'tomorrow' are all on display. Shortly after the film was conceived came the Fukushima disaster with its earthquake and tsunami crippling the nuclear plant and the director amended his script to include this further element of doom and disaster. It is well done, if a little overlong, with the actors partly improvising but it is disconcertingly 'in your face' and if the suicidal intentions seem a little drastic, the dreams of a sunny tomorrow also seem rather optimistic. The final plea to youngsters to be more positive and ride out all the pessimism seems a little naive seen from afar but may well resonate within that beautiful but mixed up country. It certainly surprised me that Sono would end the film in such an evangelical way but then I may have missed some of the film's finer points and cannot fully appreciate what it must be like to live under the perpetual threat of annihilation, never mind the constant reminders like that of Fukushima.