Himizu (2011)

Such a frustrating disappointment

From my favorite movies..

Excellent, a Must See

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

I was stunned. This film by Shion Sono stuns me. It is by no means a perfect film, nor it tries to be so, but it is one of the best manifestos of the Japanese psyche, which is revealed with honesty and sincerity. On the surface, I like everything Japan. Deep down, I find Japan and the Japanese to be so hopelessly trapped in its and their own social and economic creation, which is modern Japan. This film chronicles a few lives, and still it tells a universal story of what feels like to be a Japanese today. Japan is a world's notable story of rags-to-riches, and it is even more notable, and revealing, as it seems to reverse the fortune at the stagnation of self development today. It is still too soon to name Japan's story of the riches-back-to-rags nature. But the emergence of China and South Korea and Taiwan and the once third-world Asia puts Japan at a paranoid of getting a lot closer and faster to the rank of rags. I find the boy Sumida in several Japanese friends of mine. Their unspeakable pains and sorrows are much more understood now. Japan has created itself, especially after the second world war, into a society depending on other people's perception and judgment. The Japanese then are left to struggle with the realities of their own, sometimes most degrading and inhuman, and continuing to protect the great image of worldly success and of loyal conformity to the society at large. This great contrast proves too much for a human being. There go suicides, vicious killings, and other unnamed psychopathic episodes as a tragic result. This film makes us wonder which will win: hopelessness or hopefulness. It ends with one winning just an inch over the other. I believe this sad film wants to convey the desperation of Japan and the Japanese at this time. It does well. I recommend this Shion Sono film for everyone who cares more than just about yourself, and I wish Japan well in every way. Dear Japan, you have killed your own father, the old and traditional Japan, and been trying to live with the leftover, being the modernised Japan. Tall order it indeed is, but you are not as short as before. There is a future.

Senseless violence, histrionic personages, forced situations repeated once and again, a pointless script plot and story, unjustified brutality, incoherent and unconnected scenes just piled up together... A bunch of personages seem to have lost any leitmotiv in their lives along with all their possessions after the Tsunami that swept away their belongings. The protagonist is the one in the neighborhood who lost less and still keeps a house and a small boat renting business, yet he is the one with a more bleak attitude towards life and his own future, something that is comprehensible on the basis that he is an adolescent with a fully broken family and a father coming home just to insult and beat him up. Basically, during the first half of the film we witness a series of violent, close to sadistic acts exerted on the protagonist, and in the second part it is time for the protagonist to exert the same violence on whoever he considers deserving of it... ¿what conclusion can we draw from all this?... none really, unless someone wants to find some overall sense to the film in the last (pathetic and ridiculous!) scene. Besides, there is not a coherent story line anywhere, we hardly ever get to know the why of particular actions in the different personages, actions that systematically stem from or lead to a completely senseless violence.The female protagonist, a classmate of the guy, is the total reverse of him; she loves him, and tries by every means to draw his attention (despite his hostile, dismissing and abusing attitude towards her), making for him things that go far beyond what can be considered reasonable. Yet some funny scenes with this female character as protagonist are the only ones in the film that can be watchable (and the only reason why I give it 2 stars instead of 1).Some pieces of classical music used pointlessly with tiresome insistence in every part of the film complete this terrible more-than-two hours movie theater experience. Please skip it.

After Love Exposure, I want to give this director's other movies a go. What a mistake, this movie stinks. How could a director who is capable of making something exciting to watching like LOVE EXPOSURE makes something horrible as HIMIZU is beyond me.I like movies that are different. This movie is different. But also very dull and boring. No one could relate to any of the characters depicted.This movies has a lot of uninteresting WTF moments that make no sense at all. I fell asleep twice watching this movie. The protagonist is depicted as mind-numbingly dull fellow. The girl is retarded. Actually all of the characters are retarded. I wonder if the radiation has something with it.I highly don't recommend this movie. What a waste of time.

Okay so this is another Japanese movie based on a Japanese manga. But this movie adds it's own flare to it, instead of trying to be exactly like the manga. Now this might disappoint some hardcore fans of the manga. But personally I liked the direction this movie took, it just went with the more emotional style instead of constant awkward Japanese humor that is in the manga. Not saying this movie is better than the manga or visa versa. It just has a different tone and style going for it. Sure the characters in this are very awkward and does things that doesn't make much sense. But those elements actually work for this movie, sometimes in Japanese movies the awkwardness can go all over the place without being consistent. This movie is actually consistent for the most part. Plus just about all the actors in this did a great job while also bringing out good amount of emotion. And just about all the character are likable for the most part even if what they do doesn't make much sense sometimes. Even some of the effects doesn't make much sense like the music for instance that constantly play classical music, especially from Mozart. But these effects that doesn't make much sense comes together in a consistent package overall. This movie shows that sometimes you can't judge people just by your perception alone but need to be in their shoes to understand since we all come from different background. It also has other messages but that one stood out the most. This is a fine manga adaptation that shows that not everything has to be word for word or frame by frame.7.5/10