Movies
Masahiro Kobayashi's final film is a fine goodbye to cinema, though a little too theatrical in nature to be a true personal favorite. In that way, it's a bit like Drive My Car, only Lear on the Shore never really made it outside of Japan. Fans of Hamaguchi (and Kobayashi of course) should do well to seek it out. The dialogues are quite construed and the drama is a little overdone in places, but the performances are strong and the cinematography & setting are surprisingly captivating. With a little extra tweaking, this could've been a film I truly loved, but Kobayashi did well here. A fine film to end a career on.Read all
A solid and heartwarming Kobayashi. It's been a while since I watched one of his films, expectations were relatively low, but it turned out much better than I'd hoped. Which, if I'd been paying more attention, isn't really all that surprising, because I've liked almost all of Kobayashi's films so far. The two main characters are truly golden. A grumpy grandfather (Tadao) and a submissive granddaughter (Haru) go on an improvised trip after Haru tells him she wants to go her own way in life. Finding a place for Tadao to stay proves harder than expected though, as the bonds with his direct family have soured over the years. While the drama is quite overt and on the nose, the strong performances, subtle direction and delicate pacing make sure the film always feels genuine and pure. It's a bit long maybe and it might've benefited from some visual polish here and there, but overall this is another great film from Kobayashi. Well recommended for fans of Japanese drama.Read all
An intriguing film from Masahiro Kobayashi. What looks like a police procedural gets stripped down to the bones to reveal a thrilling, oppressive and mysterious drama. The slow pacing and excessive length are deliberate and functional, even so I think cutting 15-20 minutes could've made this into a personal favorite. The performances are superb, with a career defining role for Teruyuki Kagawa. Stylistically the film is pretty unique, sporting a very minimalistic take on Takashi Zeze's gritty crime and drama vibe. It is quite slow and rather long though, so make sure you're in the right headspace if you want to take on this film. Very good, stops just short of being great.Read all
No false advertising here. There are many scenes where Ken Ogata is doing just what the title promises: walking around a snowy, rural village. The drama built around it is quite small too, but there are little moments of greatness here, small poignant details that give the film some necessary depth. The performances are good, with a very solid role for Ogata. The setting is nice too, the drama is pleasant and Kobayashi keeps things breezy by adding a lighter (and rather atypical) score. It's a perfectly nice film, but it does lack something that makes it truly memorable. If you like Hokkaido though, be sure to give this one a go.Read all
A somewhat barren Kobayashi. He isn't the loudest or most expressive of Japanese drama directors, but he has a knack for elevating dry visuals into a more stylized package. A skill not fully on display in The Rebirth, I was sad to find out. There's still enough dramatic intrigue to keep things interesting, but I expected a little more. The performances are good and the premise is pretty interesting. I also liked the minimalistic approach but would've loved a tad more attention to the styling. There's an almost documentary-like feel to the film that was just a little too bare-bones for my taste. Not a bad film, but far from Kobayashi's best.Read all
Kobayashi's first is a little too on the nose. With all the direct references to classic directors, this is clearly the work of a budding arthouse director who hasn't really found his own voice yet. The rhythm of Closing Time isn't too bad and there are some interesting characters that pop up, but overall it's a little too shallow to be worthwhile.