Kore-Eda – The Film Ramble

I Wish (2011): Available on All4

April 5, 2020April 5, 2020Posted in Film, ReviewTagged Kore-Eda1 Comment

Hirokazu Kore-Eda is one of the most elegant voices in cinema. From Still Walking to Nobody Knows, his films all have one common theme: At the very centre of it, they are human. Each one provides a form of meditation. Whether we see a misfit family adopt an abandoned girl (Shoplifters) or three girls welcome their younger sister to their house (Our Little Sister), the slow pace and sporadically added “normal conversations which don’t move the story on” make each of his films quite meditative.

I Wish provides a new story where two brothers live far apart. The elder brother Koichi lives with his mother and Ryu, the younger brother lives with his father. They both live in different cities and Koichi wants for the family to be reunited more than anything. Ryu meanwhile is more indifferent, remembering how unhappy they all were together. His older brother considers this naive as Ryu uses his food he’s been planting as an excuse not to reunite his family and to cover his emotions.

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Lookback: January 2020

January 26, 2020February 4, 2020Posted in Film, Look BackTagged 1917, Atlantics, Breakfast Club, Brief Encounter, Brokeback Mountain, Coco, Fighting With My Family, Guys and Dolls, Jojo Rabbit, Kore-Eda, Our Little SIster, Paddington 2, Psycho, So Long My Son, Terminator, Tokyo Story, Uncut Gems, Waves, We The Animals, Weathering With You

As we conclude this month, civilisation is still just about standing. Britain has left the European Union, although the Corona Virus will make sure to keep news anchors busy over the coming weeks. In the meantime, all this Brexit fatigue has kept me busy trying to watch films. This month’s selection of twenty (Yep, that seems like way too many now) include cult classic films and modern masterpieces from the innocent adventures of a marmalade loving bear to a scene which made one look over their shoulder while showering since. There weren’t any rubbish films this month and be sure to read to the bottom to get my top 5 picks. (I have also given out star ratings for each one).

[N] – Netflix, [P] – Prime [B] – BBC IPlayer

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Review: Still Walking

June 1, 2019August 5, 2019Posted in Film, ReviewTagged Foreign Film, Japan, Kore-EdaLeave a comment

Ninties comedy Seinfeld was regularly described as “a show about nothing”, yet it had enduring appeal. “Still Walking” is similar in this regard. The film is not story driven, but is a very human representation of a family dealing with grief and relationships.

Year of Release	2008
Language	Japanese
Director	Hirozaku Kore-Eda
Age Rating	U (Universal)

A friend of mine was considering whether to come along to this film, but decided not to as his reading around the film was that it seemed downbeat. Upon my return home, he asked whether this film about grief was really sad. Much to his disappointment, I replied that it wasn’t and that it made me chuckle quite a bit and that is of full credit to the director and his script. I first heard of Kore-Eda earlier this year when I went to watch the maginificent Shoplifters (Summary here). The characters in that film are likeable and you learn more throughout this journey.

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