★ 7 / 10
It's no secret that I am not a
R T
It's no secret that I am not a fan of contemporary Japanese cinema. Too often, these films are sappy love stories involving high schoolers who are being played…
It's no secret that I am not a fan of contemporary Japanese cinema. Too often, these films are sappy love stories involving high schoolers who are being played by puppy-faced, 30-year-old actors and actresses. Yes, I know this genre is very popular with Asia's young women and their obsequious boyfriends, but it's definitely not my thing. (Read my review of IF CATS DISAPPEARED FROM THE WORLD and you'll understand my disdain.)
Fortunately (for me, I guess), NAGASAKI: MEMORIES OF MY SON is not your typical Japanese sappy love story. Set in Nagasaki three years after the atomic bomb was dropped there, the film tells the story of Nobuko Fukuhara (played by Japan's most celebrated post-war actress, Sayuri Yoshinaga/?????), a lonely midwife whose son, Koji (boyband idol and actor, Kazunari Ninomiya/????), was incinerated in the blast. Although Koji was the light of her life, the frail Fukuhara has resolved to accept her circumstance as best she can, as has everyone else in her hillside neighbourhood. Fairing less well is Koji's fiancée, Machiko (2014 Silver Bear winner, Haru Kuroki/???), who just can't seem to move on with her life. She's extremely devoted to the woman who was supposed to be her mother-in-law had the bomb not taken her love away. Fukuhara doesn't mind the attention she gets from the young woman so the two of them maintain a co-dependent relationship. That all changes, though, when the ghost of Koji comes back to visit his mother. Fukuhara knows Koji is not real but that doesn't matter to her. She's happy to have his company and to reminisce with him about happier times. Together they find closure and can move forward.
If you think this story sounds a bit like the American film, GHOST, you're not alone, but it works probably due to gravity of how Koji died (he was just a happy-go-lucky medical student, not an investment banker), and to the earnestness of the performances all around. Yes, the story is melodramatic but when it goes for the heartstrings the way GHOST does, it quickly lightens up (thanks to Ninomiya's chipper performance).
Most of the action takes place in Fukuhara's very modest, three-room house. It is staged like it was originally a play that had been adapted to the screen but that's not the case. (Given the film's success at the box office, it wouldn't surprise me if it would be adapted for the stage now.) Interestingly, Fukuhara is a Christian, and a devout one at that. Perhaps 85-year-old writer-director Yoji Yamada (????), who is perhaps best known for his series of "Tora-san" films, wanted to show Western, and particularly American, audiences that the people they saw as their enemy were just like them. They prayed to the same higher being, they loved the same music, and they had the same hopes and aspirations. Such a message is all the more poignant right now when political leaders around the world are demonizing outsiders.
Though NAGASAKI: MEMORIES OF MY SON is somewhat old-fashioned in both tone and structure, it is well done. The music, by Ryuichi Sakamoto (????), is wonderfully poetic and emotive too. The film has been selected as the Japanese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards. I doubt it will win but that doesn't mean you shouldn't see it.
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★ 8 / 10
Nagasaki could have been sentimental melodrama, but instead
R T
Nagasaki could have been sentimental melodrama, but instead, it is a beautiful portrait of a grieving mother. The actress is wonderful, giving a measured and…
Nagasaki could have been sentimental melodrama, but instead, it is a beautiful portrait of a grieving mother. The actress is wonderful, giving a measured and subtle performance that plays off the more exuberant one from the actor who plays her son. Nagasaki manages to expertly have it both ways. It condemns the tragedy, and sympathizes with the mother who lost everything, but it also gets to make light and celebrate the lives of those lost. It is a truly remarkable and beautiful film.
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The journey to acceptance and resolution
Gordon-11
This film tells the story of a midwife in a Japanese village, who lost her son in the Nagasaki nuclear bombing in 1945. After three years, she finally comes to…
This film tells the story of a midwife in a Japanese village, who lost her son in the Nagasaki nuclear bombing in 1945. After three years, she finally comes to terms with her son's death. Right after that, her son's spirit appears and chats with her about their past, present and future.The film shows the simple life in a Japanese village after the war. Resources are scarce, and food is rationed. People still help each other out in the village, and the sense of community remains strong.Much of the film occurs in the house, and shots are rather static. It may seem boring to the modern day cinema goer who is used to fast pacing, but in here it augments the mood of austerity, emptiness and loss. They talk at length about their past, present and future. The supporting characters, namely Machiko and Shanghai uncle are captivating characters too.I find it interesting that the inability to accept the reality shifts from the mother, the girlfriend and then the son. As time goes by, they all reach resolutions respectively. It is a good story.A striking thing for me is that the characters in the film are Christians. It may be the filmmaker's way to show that there are more similarities between different nationalities, and there is really only one humanity. People should support each other and seek happiness, just like the characters in the film do.
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71%
AUDIENCE
6.4/10
541
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English Subtitles please thank you!