Saules Aveugles, Femme Endormie
2022 / 108m - France
Drama, Fantasy - Animation
3.0*/5.0*
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman poster

Plot: In the wake of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, several people are still shaken by the disaster that hit the city. Three people join forces to save Tokyo from further harm, guided by a talking frog, a lost cat, and a mysterious black box. Their enemy: a giant worm that lives underneath the city.

Watches

September 11, 2023

3.0*/5.0*

A European co-production that tackles 6 short stories by Haruki Murakami and blends them into a semi-coherent narrative. I'm not sure if this was the best way to adapt Murakami, the fantasy elements in his books (the ones I've read anyway) always felt richer to me, but it's not a bad attempt.

The art style is a tad depressing, while the animation is rather lifeless, but it's hard to deny the film has a certain visual appeal. The French dub is quite distracting (I wish they'd just gone with Japanese voice actors) and some of the references (the ones by the frog in particular) are a bit too direct, but I liked the magic realism and the film did keep me on my toes, even though my attention slipped from time to time. Not bad.