[jmovie] Hana yori mo naho
Feb. 6th, 2007 11:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
scottishlassHana yori mo naho
summary:
It is 1792 - the time of the Ako rising of the 47 ronin samurai about to revenge their dead lord. Hana yori mo naho tells the tale of a young samurai Aoki Soza-emon (Okada Jun'ichi) who comes to the city of Edo to revenge the death of his father. His father's family and clan run a kendo school in the country and they are supporting Soza with money to find the murderer of his father, Kanazawa Jubei (Asano Tadanobu).
Living in a dilapidated quarter of Edo, the young samurai comes across a number of his poor neighbours and the young man comes to accept and respect these characters, even though in the class system he still ranks highly above them. The blossoming love with widow Osae (Miyazawa Rie) also changes the samurai who tentatively opens a private school for Osae's young son, Shinnosuke, as well as his friends and some adults.
But his family relentlessly wants to have his father revenged (at that time revenge meant monetary fortune for Soza's family) and when Soza finds the murderer he discovers that it is the step father of Shinnosuke's best friend. With him discovering that in the dying age of samurai ways, leading a meaningful life and raising a family is much better than that of giving one's life as a samurai's duty, he gives up on the revenge. But what about his family who expects him to fulfill his duty? Revenge or no revenge, that is the question. Can he fulfill his clan's claims and by doing so destroying a small, happy family and the trust of Osae's son in him? Or can Soza and his friends come up with a plot of a lifetime?
acting:
Okada Jun'ichi plays Soza and I really liked his subtle play. He portrayed the young, inexperienced, clumsy samurai who never in his life killed anyone very well. It was the third time I saw him in a drama or movie and I think here he gave his best performance yet.
Miyazawa Rie is wonderful as the widow Osae. And she looks so fragile and yet strong. I have to admit I didn't like her much in Concerto but since then I have seen her in Twilight Samurai and now in Hana and I have to admit, she is good.
review:
When I first saw the trailer I fell in love with the movie. The characters all were unique and even though the setting is pretty much the backwaters of Edo's poor districts it has a very colourful and happy air to it. Even though it shows the dirt and garbage these ppl live in, there is an air of warmth and cameraderie, a sense of deeply caring for one another. The music also helps which is a blend of traditional Japanese music and a Scottish jig.
This is not your typical taiga movie as it questions almost everything about the samurai's way of living. In the beginning Soza very much follows the way of the samurai, fighting and dying for one's lord is all he can think of. But as he lives with the poor and becomes friends with them, a lot of his ideals are questioned in a day and age where fighting is rare and war not happening. What is a samurai to do? He cannot earn a living with sword fighting so he starts teaching reading and writing. He also becomes friends with Osae - he talks to her, something that is forbidden to a samurai if that woman is not from his own clan and family. He becomes aware that however laudable the old ways of bushido were, he and his fellow samurai have to change otherwise the samurai will die out and become meaningless. Witnessing a fellow samurai's attempted suicide (it is his third as he becomes depressed every spring time), shakes Soza up badly, esp. as it is shortly after his attempt to kill his enemy.
The movie has so many quiet and yet hilarious scenes, one especially had me laughing out loud when Soza's uncle comes to fetch him for his father's anniversary. First he totally misunderstoods the relationship between Soza and Osae, even inquiring if shy Soza has improved the skills with his pen and Osae not getting the sexual connotation quite happily informs him that Soza is very skilled and that even her 8 year old son improved (his writing). Soza's face of quiet doom is so funny as he gives up on trying to explain and afterwards the uncle tells everyone who wants to listen that Soza has quite a sweet set-up with an already 8 year old son in Edo. Soza is mortified, even though he has feelings for Osae and her small son, he doesn't want anyone looking down on their relationship.
Another really hilarious sub-plot are the 47 Ako ronin, THE Samurai story in all of Japan. After having watched Chuushingura which portrayed the Ako ronin as a bunch of honourable samurai, here they are more of a comic relief. What a hilarious bunch they are. They even bust the play the poor are doing and chasing after Soza who they think is a villain. It is just too funny.
Over the space of two hours Kore-eda shows what it means to be a honourable man, the ways of the samurai are questioned and even though the movie is in itself a period piece it very much is a very modern movie. In today's society with its wars in the Far and Near East, bloodlust is almost every where in any part of society, but here this bloodlust is shown to be negative and also pointless. Even though I loved Kore-eda's other work very much, here he is at his best, it might be too commercial but he brought out the best in his actors and tells a story that is colourfull, full of interesting characters and has a moral that isn't shoved down one's throat and yet is warm, heart-warming, human and laugh-out-funny at the same time.
summary:
It is 1792 - the time of the Ako rising of the 47 ronin samurai about to revenge their dead lord. Hana yori mo naho tells the tale of a young samurai Aoki Soza-emon (Okada Jun'ichi) who comes to the city of Edo to revenge the death of his father. His father's family and clan run a kendo school in the country and they are supporting Soza with money to find the murderer of his father, Kanazawa Jubei (Asano Tadanobu).
Living in a dilapidated quarter of Edo, the young samurai comes across a number of his poor neighbours and the young man comes to accept and respect these characters, even though in the class system he still ranks highly above them. The blossoming love with widow Osae (Miyazawa Rie) also changes the samurai who tentatively opens a private school for Osae's young son, Shinnosuke, as well as his friends and some adults. But his family relentlessly wants to have his father revenged (at that time revenge meant monetary fortune for Soza's family) and when Soza finds the murderer he discovers that it is the step father of Shinnosuke's best friend. With him discovering that in the dying age of samurai ways, leading a meaningful life and raising a family is much better than that of giving one's life as a samurai's duty, he gives up on the revenge. But what about his family who expects him to fulfill his duty? Revenge or no revenge, that is the question. Can he fulfill his clan's claims and by doing so destroying a small, happy family and the trust of Osae's son in him? Or can Soza and his friends come up with a plot of a lifetime?
acting:
Okada Jun'ichi plays Soza and I really liked his subtle play. He portrayed the young, inexperienced, clumsy samurai who never in his life killed anyone very well. It was the third time I saw him in a drama or movie and I think here he gave his best performance yet.
Miyazawa Rie is wonderful as the widow Osae. And she looks so fragile and yet strong. I have to admit I didn't like her much in Concerto but since then I have seen her in Twilight Samurai and now in Hana and I have to admit, she is good.
review:
When I first saw the trailer I fell in love with the movie. The characters all were unique and even though the setting is pretty much the backwaters of Edo's poor districts it has a very colourful and happy air to it. Even though it shows the dirt and garbage these ppl live in, there is an air of warmth and cameraderie, a sense of deeply caring for one another. The music also helps which is a blend of traditional Japanese music and a Scottish jig. This is not your typical taiga movie as it questions almost everything about the samurai's way of living. In the beginning Soza very much follows the way of the samurai, fighting and dying for one's lord is all he can think of. But as he lives with the poor and becomes friends with them, a lot of his ideals are questioned in a day and age where fighting is rare and war not happening. What is a samurai to do? He cannot earn a living with sword fighting so he starts teaching reading and writing. He also becomes friends with Osae - he talks to her, something that is forbidden to a samurai if that woman is not from his own clan and family. He becomes aware that however laudable the old ways of bushido were, he and his fellow samurai have to change otherwise the samurai will die out and become meaningless. Witnessing a fellow samurai's attempted suicide (it is his third as he becomes depressed every spring time), shakes Soza up badly, esp. as it is shortly after his attempt to kill his enemy.
The movie has so many quiet and yet hilarious scenes, one especially had me laughing out loud when Soza's uncle comes to fetch him for his father's anniversary. First he totally misunderstoods the relationship between Soza and Osae, even inquiring if shy Soza has improved the skills with his pen and Osae not getting the sexual connotation quite happily informs him that Soza is very skilled and that even her 8 year old son improved (his writing). Soza's face of quiet doom is so funny as he gives up on trying to explain and afterwards the uncle tells everyone who wants to listen that Soza has quite a sweet set-up with an already 8 year old son in Edo. Soza is mortified, even though he has feelings for Osae and her small son, he doesn't want anyone looking down on their relationship.
Another really hilarious sub-plot are the 47 Ako ronin, THE Samurai story in all of Japan. After having watched Chuushingura which portrayed the Ako ronin as a bunch of honourable samurai, here they are more of a comic relief. What a hilarious bunch they are. They even bust the play the poor are doing and chasing after Soza who they think is a villain. It is just too funny.
Over the space of two hours Kore-eda shows what it means to be a honourable man, the ways of the samurai are questioned and even though the movie is in itself a period piece it very much is a very modern movie. In today's society with its wars in the Far and Near East, bloodlust is almost every where in any part of society, but here this bloodlust is shown to be negative and also pointless. Even though I loved Kore-eda's other work very much, here he is at his best, it might be too commercial but he brought out the best in his actors and tells a story that is colourfull, full of interesting characters and has a moral that isn't shoved down one's throat and yet is warm, heart-warming, human and laugh-out-funny at the same time.
