Movies
It relishes the beauty of boredom and shows a glimpse of true bliss, even to people who wouldn't normally want to be caught dead in main character's situation.
It's a truly pleasant experience from start to finish, but the lack of dramatic events is sure to leave some scratching their heads.
And while all of that might sound pretty serious and even heavy-handed, it's amazing how light and flirtatious Ogigami manages to keep her debut film.
The latest Ogigami isn't a true return to form, but at least she regained some of her former quirkiness. In a sense, it's a pretty typical Japanese family drama, only with more bite and a more dry comedy mixed in. That makes it a somewhat peculiar film that may not work for everybody (especially if you don't pick up on the comedy). Ogigami finds comedy in the little things, though her signature dryness is given an extra dimension by a darker edge that I don't remember from her other films. The drama is solid, the presentation clean and the performances are on point (with some of her regulars returning). It's not a stand-out in her oeuvre but a step up from her previous films.Read all
This was another fine Ogigami, but it's a little disappointing to see she that has abandoned her former taste for quirkiness in favor of pursuing more traditional drama. Japan has plenty of straightforward dramas already and Ogigami doesn't really do enough to stand out from the crowd. The performances are decent, Ogigami makes good use of the setting, the drama is light but poignant and the emotional beats don't miss their target. It's just that nothing really stands out too much, and knowing the films Ogigami made before, it feels like she's just not living up to her full potential. It's a good film, I just expect more from her.Read all
Ogigami's English-language debut takes a while to get going, but around the halfway point it finally picks up steam. The actors aren't all that, luckily Masako Motai is still around to pull everyone together. Not as good as Ogigami's other work, but still worth checking out.
I wouldn't be surprised if every traditional Japanese after school club got its own movie during the 00s. It became a pretty popular genre, driven by a rigid narrative structure that didn't seem to leave the directors much freedom to add something of their own. Ogigami struggles too, but overall she did a pretty solid job. The 5-7-5 refers to the haiku pattern, which is the main theme of the film. Some familiarity with the Japanese language and haiku dos and don'ts will definitely come in handy, no doubt some of the finer points went right by me, but by the end of the film I did begin to get a feel for the nuances and appeal. That's not to say I became the biggest haiku fan in the world, but at least I got a decent grasp of the directives. Ogigami's quirkiness is present, but not as much as in her better work. She's too restricted by the classic setup and the predictable direction of the story. The cinematography is decent and performances are nice, though nothing too exceptional. This is just a fun, breezy and pleasant little film, but a bit too by the numbers for my liking.Read all