Reviews

Sam Rockwell does well enough playing the pivotal role which allows Duncan the wherewithal to grow but some of the situations that foment that growth are rather forced and not only is Rockwell's character's own need for growth rather clich and yawnsome it also makes his mentoring young Duncan less b...

In terms of pace it is generally a slow-moving affair but imo that is effective for the character growth within the story whilst also allowing a level of gravitas that much of what is being depicted deserves.

Whilst fairly well acted and for the most part nicely enough directed imo the tale would have benefitted from being fleshed out a little more - although the story is hardly complex there is precious little time given to building any rapport and empathy for the sister Chikako, and for me that sadly d...

Drama concerning a romance constrained by social mores that moves along at a decent enough pace but is a sober, downbeat tale that feels almost oppressively dour at times, making it a watch where one needs to be in the right frame of mind to appreciate it imo.

Sadly for me the tone is not quite always on point, especially so in the first act where a little light-heartedness is sprinkled and proceedings feel somewhat slight at times, and it does get a little overly mawkish in the closing stages for my taste.

Even though much of the animation/artwork is fairly standard, and even a little weak occasionally, the high-points of the movie are the occasional glimpses of absolutely stunning realism such as various views of the lake and trees, gloriously worked puddles (as seen above) or a rain-soaked bridge wh...

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.

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

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 d...

The main problem for me with the film though is the final third, which attempts to make the story more rounded and give closure but just feels somewhat unnecessary, a little convoluted and for the most part unwanted.