The Cowards Who Looked to the Sky

Interesting drama that starts off pretty well, but begins to wander the moment it tries to juggle too many characters and plot lines. There's a lot of drama that needs to be covered, a lot of characters that are dealing with issues of their own, and I feel a tighter focus might've done the film some good.

Tanada's direction is frank and to the point, but not as refined as I'd hoped. A little extra attention to the camera work and soundtrack could've helped to create a bigger dramatic impact. While the film doesn't look cheap or uninviting, the styling is pretty functional and by the numbers.

Performances are great though and there is definitely some interesting drama to dig through, I just had a little trouble with the shifting focus of the narrative, that often abandons characters for long stretches of time. A solid film that is sure to please fans of Japanese drama, but a little too uneven to be truly great.