Tony Takitani

Jun Ichikawa's Tony Takitani (2004) is essentially a character study of the title character. He (and his wife, too) has to deal with grief and existential crisis as he begins to realise how shallow and wasted his life has been for a long time. The film's extremely dense narrative relies a lot on a narrator. The screenplay becomes a bit metafictional when the characters sometimes fill in for the narrative by speaking a few words (or even complete sentences) the narrator would say. Using a narrator is an easy (and heavy-handed) way to make the film focus on pretty much anything - however, the narrator is used so well that it does not become a problem at any point.

The alienation caused by the metafiction is increased by the distant form. Most of the time the characters are observed from a distance. A lot of shots from the first half of the film end up behind an obstacle (or alternatively, begin by coming from behind an obstacle) which makes it feel as if the viewer was peaking from around a corner to follow the life of the protagonist. The film's charming lighting and sentimental musical score are pleasant as well although they could have been a tad better.

Tony Takitani is a film in which everything works well, but it doesn't reach the masterpiece status because it doesn't manage to dig deep enough during its short running time (75 minutes). I recommend wathcing it even if only for Issei Ogata's magnificent performance (better known as Yi yi's Mr. Ota).

Score: 8 out of 10

Maborosi

(the snapshot is not mine, it's from dvdbeaver.com)

Hirokazu Koreeda's Maborosi (1995) is a tale of grief. Yumiko (Makiko Esumi) is happily married to Ikuo (the always-fabulous Tadanobu Asano) and they have a baby. Then Ikuo abruptly commits suicide without any apparent reason. Yumiko's life falls apart as she faces terrible grief when she comes to terms with what has happened, but eventually she marries a single father (Takashi Naitô) who lives on a remote island. The heavy burden caused by her grief hasn't left her alone yet and she wanders in a labyrinth of sorrow throughout the film.

Koreeda's masterful minimalism is already evident in his first major feature. His compositions are precise and captivating; the cinematography is restrained yet beautiful; the film's deliberately calm pacing makes the entire film feel meditative - and that's exactly what the screenplay requires.

In overall, the film is an aching and magnificent study of grief and resurrection. At first I thought it had not affected me as much as I would have liked, but after a while it had lingered long enough in my mind to guarantee itself a place among my favorites.

Score: 10 out of 10