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Maborosi Director: Hirokazu Koreeda Number of Items: 1 Format: Color, Widescreen Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Running Time: 110 minutes Studio: New Yorker Films Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2000-11-21 Buy from Amazon

Customer Reviews: Total numer of reviews: 29 Average rating: 4.0 "vermeer wanders along the japanese seashore" this is an amazing film haiku simple images framed long and slow like the esteemed dutch painter contemplating something darker than his typical subject few movies consider grief in such a profoundly and mysteriously moving way thankyou Hiokazu Kore-eda "Thoughtful and beautiful" A sad, quiet film about a young woman whose experience of death, such as the mysterious suicide of her husband, has left her with a deep, frightening stillness in her soul. She seems imbued with a sense that human lives are transient things and that there is something within us that draws us toward our own destruction like moths to a flame. She is unable to form warm human connections or escape the pull of the past. This film is beautifully composed. Director Hirokazu Kore-eda's camera often lingers on inanimate objects or views the characters from a distance, as if to contrast the impermanence of human existence with the hard, eternal presence of the universe. Many viewers will be put off by the slow pace. "Beautiful but confusing" I picked up Maborosi thinking it was another Japanese film I'd seen mentioned, so had no idea what to expect. And, with no buzz to prepare me, I still had little idea what was going on until near the very end. Since there is little dialog, one is left to interpret a series of lengthy set shots. Many go on so long one expects they have Significance-with-a-capital-S to those imbued with Japanese culture, but I was left screaming "what does 5 minutes of washing stairs Mean?" This is compounded by the director's conscious choice to film primarily with the characters at extreme distance or in heavy shadow. At the front row of a regular theatre this may fly, but on a home screen, even watching closely, I was often at a loss to figure out which character I was watching, much less detect subtle nuances of expression or action. Even watching it 2 or 3 times, I was still not sure what happened at the end of the stair scrubbing scene. Given that the director's background is in television, this is surprising, or perhaps he just went overboard with the freedom of a new medium. The film is visually beautiful, even in the scenes where the characters are almost hidden, and the snapshots of traditional/rural Japanese life and material culture are fascinating. But the almost total lack of moving shots seems like a little too cute of a restriction of vocabulary. As one reviewer said, like a slide show rather than cinema. I also felt a lack of context, much of it I'm sure because I'm not Japanese nor deeply familiar with the culture. But part of a director's work must surely be to create context. For instance, from the commentary on the DVD, I gather that the setting was shortly post-WWII, but though subtle cues of dress or automobile or song may have shown this, or simply the lack of high tech city life, it was not at all clear to this viewer until watching that commentary after the film. And this seems to have been an important point in the director's mind. I do, however, plan to view the DVD again before returning it, now that I know what it's supposed to be about :-). "Very good movie" This is an honest movie. To me, it's about dealing with tragedies in our lives. The story it tells is about trying to understand why things happen that are full of sadness. It shows it is difficult, if not impossible to "get over" terrible events in our lives. This may not be a good movie for those who have not endured loss of a loved one. It may require some experience with tragedy to appreciate the movie. How else can one be sensitive to another's suffering unless they have experienced the same or very similar pain and sorrow? Maybe this film is trying to do that, to invite everyone to "feel" what it is like to be really confused, lost, and frustrated about some events in our lives. I may be wrong, but the writer of this movie must know the characters very well, know what they're feeling, and have a sense of confusion about why we do certain things that are hard to explain. I appreciate this movie. It helps me to think about my own confusion and why I do the things I do in my life. "(mostly) Great movie, Bad Bad Bad transfer" This movie is an all-time favorite of mine. I've seen it in the cinema close to ten times. The visual composition is extraordinary. Simple scenes like a bus coming into frame and around a corner--no plot, no action--are stunning and enthralling. The writing and acting are understated and powerful, finding the maximum expression with the minimum gesture. That said, the second half is too long. Even I get tired and have trouble keeping focus and this is supposed to be one of my favorites. References to Japanese culture may be slightly opaque, but actually it's really not hard to have some appreciation even without prior familiarity. For instance, a kettle on a flame in a household is a recurrent image. There may be some specific reference or message there, but I think it's sufficient to appreciate it as a sign of the warm interior of the household and the tea ready to serve to family or guests. Now, the reason for 3 stars only: The transfer is horrendous, abysmal, outrageous--this travesty demands retribution on whoever is responsible. Many reviewers refer to dark, indistinct images where characters can't even be recognized. The screen image is snowy throughout. Let me assure you that this never occurs in a decent print of the film, and to issue this transfer is a crime.