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That is a hot cyborg though.

Arigatō!
Oh, she's certainly cute enough



The Birth of Saké directed by Erik Shirai

A contemplative documentary tracking through the six hard months it takes to make sake the traditional way at the Tedorigawa brewery. The brewery is nearly 150 years old and is owned by the sixth generation of the Yoshida family. Young Yachan is being coached in the skills by brewmaster Yamamoto who is in his 54th year of sake making. The comradeship of the small band of men who spend the six months living together on site working long hours shows that this sake is crafted with love and tender care. It's a hard market to operate in so Yachan has to spend the other half of the year marketing their product, it's a heavy burden for young shoulders. The stories of some of the men are also briefly told, mostly old men as it's a difficult business to keep staff when they're required for only six months out of twelve.



I'm a fan of documentaries or tv programmes that show how things are made. There's one on the BBC at the mo called Inside The Factory - each hour long programme takes you through the whole process of a commodity from the entry of the raw goods into the factory. We've seen how KitKats are made, also baked beans, fish fingers, crisps, bicycles, toilet rolls and more, I'm just fascinated by it. Even in those factories tho, where you think everything is mechanised and people will be just pushing buttons, there are workers who just love what they do and have been working there for years.

The Birth of Sake is one of those thoughtful lifecycle films, reminding me of Jiro Dreams of Sushi, another Japanese film I'd like to recommend. I reviewed that here almost exactly 5 years ago - where does time go?
https://www.movieforums.com/communit...249#post870249



Sounds interesting christine, I know absolutely nothing about the making of saké and who knows .... maybe I might find an opportunity to send the wife over there for half of every year now

Thank you so much for joining in and letting me know I'm not alone in this cold, wintery month



Omohide poro poro
[Only Yesterday]

Isao Takahata
1991

Animated drama and romance split across dual timelines (1966 & 1982) that requires a little perseverance but eventually coalesces into a reasonably worthwhile tale.

I can't say that this was the easiest of watches, nor that the split timelines worked particularly well for me to begin with, but much like the central character of Taeko Okajima there's more to it than initially meets the eye and as both character and tale progressed I gradually found myself more drawn to both.

Whilst there may have been little to initially interest me I do have to give it kudos for daring to touch subjects that are all too often avoided, such as menstruation and how pineapple is completely rank. That my feelings on the film were able to be somewhat turned around by the close of play is testament to some nice writing and presentation in the latter stages and I've no doubt I may well appreciate it a little more on a rewatch.

Technically the artwork is decent though for me the animation was a little 'rustic' but overall it's a well enough presented piece even if the tale is somewhat drawn out here and there.

Only Yesterday may have taken time to 'click' with me and it's certainly not up there with the best that Ghibli has offered imo but it's still worthy of a



You'll know everything about Sake if you watched that film, but ...pineapple is rank? What?
Is my dislike for pineapple starting to show through? I thought I had it hid quite well



There's more than one type

*oh the horror - just shoot me now



The Birth Of Saké

Erik Shirai
2015

No frills documentary that follows the traditional process of making saké by hand in the Tedorigawa Brewery owned by the Yoshida family, from taking in the raw product through various painstaking processes to the end product.

Involving long and arduous days we get to witness the various stages from the addition of koji mould through shubo (yeasting). moromi (mashing) to jo-só (pressing of the fermented product) but as the near seven-month long process involves both working and living together (with only two days off each month) this is more than just a documentary about the process as we are also privy to the camaraderie of the close-knit community of workers too.

There are also occasional snippets of life outside the workplace via the family of the Toji (brewmaster) Yamamoto, his childhood friend Chi-Chan and heir-apparent Yachan (who is not only being groomed as the next brewmaster but also single-handedly spends the months outside of production marketing the finished product around the world).

The work itself is labour intensive with a scientific edge but whilst the various processes are detailed to the viewer fairly well time is also taken to show the workforce at leisure, such as watching two aged Japanese men squirt good-naturedly over each other in a bath and the entire workforce sampling the finished product. Life is not all roses though, as shown by the sudden and unexpected death of one of the workers toward the end of production and the round-up at the end noting that two of the workforce opted to find employment elsewhere after the season is over.

The one real negative for me is the score, which thankfully is quite sparingly employed but is typical of the modern malaise of using sonorous notes irrespective of whether they are particularly suited to the visuals or not.

All in all The Birth Of Saké is a nice, easily watchable documentary that not only gives an insight into it's chosen industry but also imparts a real feel of the sacrifices workers in the saké industry have to make and I'm more than happy to give it a
+



Thanks to @christine for bringing that documentary to my attention, it being on Netflix I would never have noticed it myself.



Thanks to @christine for bringing that documentary to my attention, it being on Netflix I would never have noticed it myself.
Glad you liked it. Fascinating stuff. I don’t like sake tho do you?



Glad you liked it. Fascinating stuff. I don’t like sake tho do you?
100% sure I've never tried it - can't be worse then poitín though



Oh I dunno they’re both horrible. I don’t like Chinese rice wine either. We were plied with that by the daughter-in-law’s family when we went there, and they were buying us like stuff that was very expensive, just a sip and you couldn’t get rid of the taste for hours but still out of politeness had to drink sips to at least keep pretending it was lovely!



"""" Hulk Smashhhh."""
Plus Rep for your reviews Chyp. I haven't seen any of these movies, because their not really my cup of tea. But Plus Rep for the effort, and the thread idea. I'll keep checking inn.
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Plus Rep for your reviews Chyp. I haven't seen any of these movies, because their not really my cup of tea. But Plus Rep for the effort, and the thread idea. I'll keep checking inn.
Appreciate you taking the time to drop in Optimus, hopefully I'll watch a few over the year that are of more interest to you.



Hana-bi
[Fireworks]

Takeshi Kitano
1997

Mainly understated mix of drama and crime in which the narrative may occasionally not flow perfectly smoothly but never confuses and generally remains nicely centred.

The tale may be a relatively simple one and at times a little unrealistic (for instance the Yakuza would surely never be so tolerant in reality) but the way in which it is told is quite magnetic, with some deft writing, acting and direction enhanced by a quite beautiful score.

For me though, the heart of its success is the way in which Nishi's emotions (his love for his wife, his regrets over the fate of his former colleagues) are portrayed, imo they are quite palpable but never, ever overplayed. In my view this is a film which very much proves less can quite easily result in more when done well, as evidenced at times by the paucity of dialogue. The relationship between Nishi and his wife that comes to the fore in the second half is such a wonderfully heartfelt and relatable piece of cinema.

Hana-bi is a quietly contemplative film at it's core that uses sporadic bursts of violence and moments of playfulness to keep it from becoming too dark or bleak and I'm quite happy awarding it a
+



Love Hana Bi, it's one of my favorite films

The Garden of Words directed by Makoto Shinkai

Wistful drama about a mature in outlook 15 year old lad who longs to be a shoemaker and designer. He doesn't have much of a home life, and is not enamoured much by school, preferring to concentrate on drawing his designs in his notebook. He bunks off school on rainy mornings to sit in a park shelter where he meets an older woman who is also avoiding something. The film unfolds with their blossoming friendship.
I liked the animation in this film. Parts were quite generic, but there were so many beautifully rendered, almost photo realistic parts, but they were bits, like the edge of a bench, a door lock, leaves, and a gorgeous reflective pond which is just so eyecatchingly lovely.
I also liked the melancholy tone of the film, it had a certain crescendo of passion near the end but it didn't get overwrought and in the end was pleasingly low key.

(Watched this 45 minute animated film on Netflix)



Bless ya for joining in again Christine - another one I've not even heard of but sounds like a decent watch so I'll see if I can sneak in a squint at it at some point when her Ladyship is afternoon-napping or out spending the 'munk' fortune on yet more handbags or shoes



I tried these theme related stuff, but the charm wears off pretty quickly. The good part of streaming and.... cough... cough... sources, are that you have the whole plethora of options. My last expedition ended in four days.



Plus squeezing movies in in between football is a tough. Champions League, Europa League, Premier league, La Liga,Seria A etc etc. So much stuff, so little time.
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Yeah, I certainly wouldn't be doing it if this were a football forum Cheers for looking in