Maborosi
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Movie Reviews of Maborosi
Movie Review: Thoughtful and beautiful
Summary: 4 Stars
A sad, quiet film about a young woman whose experience of death, such as the mysterious suicide of her husband, has left her with a deep, frightening stillness in her soul. She seems imbued with a sense that human lives are transient things and that there is something within us that draws us toward our own destruction like moths to a flame. She is unable to form warm human connections or escape the pull of the past.This film is beautifully composed. Director Hirokazu Kore-eda's camera often lingers on inanimate objects or views the characters from a distance, as if to contrast the impermanence of human existence with the hard, eternal presence of the universe. Many viewers will be put off by the slow pace.
Movie Review: Feeling painful loss is in this movie.
Summary: 4 Stars
A maborosi is a beckoning light that the sea lulls sailors to their doom with. Yumiko's husband was lulled, not at sea but on the train tracks...
There is nothing American about this movie. The rythm is very, very slow, the culture different. Makiko Esumi is mesmerizing as the bereaved young wife Yumiko.
The slowness of the action puts the sense of loss at the painfull centre of everything, like something you just can't avoid. In time, the pain lifts, and Yumiko lives again. How very much like real life.
Movie Review: A picture story
Summary: 4 Stars
Beautiful, beautiful pictures.
A tale told, almost without words, about the tragic power of irrevocable loss and the redemptive power of everyday life.
Movie Review: Above Average Film: Dealing With Death And Grief
Summary: 3 Stars
This film received many awards and praise when it was released 10 years ago. And at one time, I did not find "Maborosi," to be as great a film as I do today. "Maborosi," moves at a very slow pace, and patience is required. It is not a film for everyone, but if you give it a chance and allow the film to take you into the grieving process of a woman whose husband has just died, then this film will reward you. The film itself gives the viewer a very subtle and nuanced view of the life of a woman, who prior to losing her husband, shares moments with him. The director clearly wants to take the viewer into the life of these two happy couples before tragedy occurs. And he does not do this by throwing it at our face.
We all face grief at one time in our lives--and especially when death occurs. How each of us deal with this grief is different. There is a simplicity to the film that never throws itself at the viewer. Almost as if one is watching a real life drama unfold on camera. We see that both of these couples are happy with each other. We see the husband (Tadanobu Asano) at work, while the wife comes to take a peek at her beloved husband. But tragedy is about to take hold of this woman. When her husband dies, Yumiko (Makiko Esumi) grieves at the loss of her husband, and we the viewer understand the grief that she is going through. We have seen the love she has for him, and now she feels emptiness. How many of us have not felt the same at least one time in our lives? We sympathize, and empathize with what she is going through. But this is her grief, and we are distant observers.
She loved her husband, and her way of expressing her sadness is deeply moving. For her, there must be a mistake in the death of her husband, when the police tell her how he died. They were too much in love for him to commit suicide. It must be something else? An accident perhaps? But this is a film about life, and it is the unexpectedness of life that makes the film so profound. It is the films own subtlety that breathes life into the film. Moreover, we viewers are also given a glimpse in the beginning of the film at the early childhood of Yumiko, as she watches her grandmother leave Osaka, and depart for Shikoku to die.
The film is a recommended viewing for those who like films dealing with life. This is good dramatic film, in regards to the grief that Yumiko (Makiko Esumi) is going through. Plus, we see how Yumiko adjusts to a new chapter in her life with her newfound happiness with another man. This allows us to see that life does indeed go on. But we still carry our past with us: and we are still allowed to grieve. Furthermore, sometimes, and many times, there is no such thing as closure. Sometimes we allow the door to stay slightly ajar. For who can say when or where we should stop grieving? Once again, the film does take patience to view, which is fine with me. I like films that explore the human condition, and grief is definitely a major one we all go through in life. I bought this film years ago, and did not particularly think it was great at the time. I do now.
Director Kore-eda Hirokazu did a great job portraying the human condition in this film: for we must all face death, dying, loss, and grief at some point in our lives. And these were common themes in his films. Furthermore, the film has some splendid cinematography of Japan. There are some parts where the film is dark and could be cleaned up a bit, but on a whole, this is minor compared to the film itself. I recommend that you view the film. However, I recommend that you rent it first, as it may not be a film you might enjoy. It took me a few viewings to really like this film, plus, factor in my age since I last saw it, and I have found this film much greater than what I initially thought it was. Age has a way of doing that. Hopefully you will find something in this film that you can take away with you. Recommended. [Stars: 3.5]
Movie Review: Beautiful but confusing
Summary: 3 Stars
I picked up Maborosi thinking it was another Japanese film I'd seen mentioned, so had no idea what to expect. And, with no buzz to prepare me, I still had little idea what was going on until near the very end. Since there is little dialog, one is left to interpret a series of lengthy set shots. Many go on so long one expects they have Significance-with-a-capital-S to those imbued with Japanese culture, but I was left screaming "what does 5 minutes of washing stairs Mean?"
This is compounded by the director's conscious choice to film primarily with the characters at extreme distance or in heavy shadow. At the front row of a regular theatre this may fly, but on a home screen, even watching closely, I was often at a loss to figure out which character I was watching, much less detect subtle nuances of expression or action. Even watching it 2 or 3 times, I was still not sure what happened at the end of the stair scrubbing scene. Given that the director's background is in television, this is surprising, or perhaps he just went overboard with the freedom of a new medium.
The film is visually beautiful, even in the scenes where the characters are almost hidden, and the snapshots of traditional/rural Japanese life and material culture are fascinating. But the almost total lack of moving shots seems like a little too cute of a restriction of vocabulary. As one reviewer said, like a slide show rather than cinema.
I also felt a lack of context, much of it I'm sure because I'm not Japanese nor deeply familiar with the culture. But part of a director's work must surely be to create context. For instance, from the commentary on the DVD, I gather that the setting was shortly post-WWII, but though subtle cues of dress or automobile or song may have shown this, or simply the lack of high tech city life, it was not at all clear to this viewer until watching that commentary after the film. And this seems to have been an important point in the director's mind.
I do, however, plan to view the DVD again before returning it, now that I know what it's supposed to be about :-).