Important Ryuichi Hiroki - Japan's Hidden Gem

[plsletitrain]

Uh-oh, there's the mortal sin of showing a scene where clumsy girl with unrequited love falls from the stairs and is catched by her prince. Strike 1.

 

[sitenoise]

Do you have an emoticon that has the I-really-can't-comprehend/ I-really-can't see-that/ You-have-weird-set-of-eyes look?

I'm not sure exactly what you mean ... like one of these?

 

[sitenoise]

Uh-oh, there's the mortal sin of showing a scene where clumsy girl with unrequited love falls from the stairs and is catched by her prince. Strike 1.

Haha, funny you mention that one. I remember reading reviews/comments about this movie, and many people mentioned that scene. It's in the manga, and movies like this are made and seen almost exclusively through the lens of "How good is it at presenting the manga in live action". There was also much anticipation if there would be a hug or a kiss at the end

 

[plsletitrain]

@sitenoise

Thank you! The last one really looks like me whenever I read your reviews along the lines of "The most exciting part of the movie was when they drank tea together". That will come in handy, I'll save it. Thank you!

Yeah, thankfully that mortal sin was redeemed by the scene that followed: a sunset view on a quiet beach. This is starting to get kilig now.

 

[plsletitrain]

Mortal scene no. 2: Poor clumsy girl with unrequited love cries outside while staring at her prince with his girlfriend. Prince then sees poor clumsy girl crying from outside the window and makes that look of confusion and guilt. Strike 2.

 

[plsletitrain]

This is a rollercoaster ride. Mortal scene-redemption-kilig-mortal scene again..............

 

[plsletitrain]

Phew, I made it through the finish line!

It was a cute movie overall. Very pancreas-like.

There were so many annoying scenes aside from the ones I previously mentioned....like guy rolling the sleeves of clumsy girl (because she has no hands and she really can’t do it by herself *rolls eyes*) Or it was raining and she really has no umbrella and no on can lend their umbrellas to her or someone who has an umbrella could offer a ride or she could not wait for the rain to pour and then just go home when its dry because she has to wet herself in the rain so that prince or bestfriend who has the umbrella will come to her rescue

I was thinking of reading the manga because I have so many questions (but I don’t have the motivation to read a manga about a struggling half-girl half-woman and her confused feelings and some guys with equally confused feelings). Why would he dump his gorgeous girlfriend for a clumsy girl that can’t walk straight that she has to fall down at least 3 times (from what I counted). And of all people, it has to be her prince who should catch her??? And I really don’t get those breaking friendships for love kind of thing. There’s a million girls out there but you only have one bestfriend, why dump him for her? Yeah, men…………

On the positive side.....
I cried in the end because her confession of feelings was so heartfelt I felt like melting.


I agree with you this film was beautifully photographed that even if all their outfits were just black and white. He knows how to present the scenes visually and colorfully. Very good presentment on the part of the director.

 

[plsletitrain]

And oh...I love how the movie started with her confessing and it also ended with her confessing.

 

[sitenoise]

In case you are interested in a compare and contrast--I don't know why you would be--Strobe Edge came from a manga written by Io Sakisaka who also wrote Blue Spring Ride. All the rage. If you look at the Asian Wiki pages, Strobe Edge got like 35 comments, Blue Spring Ride got about 135, which is a bunch. You can see how these flicks are all about how they match up to the manga (mostly)--at least for the crowd who frequent commenting on Asian Wiki (many people there make comments on actor/actress pages like "call me. I love you" as if the actors ... I dunno). Pretty silly. They don't give a whip about who directs the flicks. The Screenwriter, Tomoko Yoshida, who wrote the script for Blue Screen Ride movie also wrote the screenplay for the Pancreas movie. None of this is particularly interesting, I just stumbled upon it because I was curious why I liked Strobe Edge and hated Blue Spring Ride. I think it's the actresses. Strobe Edge girl was also the lead in Flying Colors, which I loved, and she was awesome in the Zombie flick I Am Hero. Blue Srping Ride girl was in Night’s Tightrope, a flick I loved the direction of: "I really like [the director's] visual style. She'll also do better when she gets better actors ... the film didn't work for me [because] the two main actresses are weak".

Down a rabbit hole

 

[plsletitrain]

I'll leave Strobe Edge as it is and I don't think I can venture on that other Manga, Blue Spring Ride. There comes a time when I like these highschool cutesy girls and their crushes and there are times when I get annoyed. I'm just glad that Strobe Edge didn't place Hiroki to join Wong Kar-Wai as my most favorite directors. I'm open to exploring him more. I'll just wait for your M and Vibrator.

In the meantime.....

 

[plsletitrain]

(many people there make comments on actor/actress pages like "call me. I love you" as if the actors ... I dunno).

Hahahaha that is so cute!!!!!!!!!!! (You didn't see my name on SSH page there with "I love you babe" right?) Hehehe.

 

[clayton-12]

I watched Tokyo Trash Baby last night – it’s one of those films that’s been on my radar for a decade or more, but I’ve never found the time to sit down and watch. Somewhere along the way I had formed the idea that it was gritty or extreme, but that impression proved to be false. What I found instead was a sweet and quirky story of infatuation and insecurity being overcome by self-awareness – a parable about a young girl finding that the key to empowerment lies within herself.

I really liked it and would recommend it, though I don’t think I would rate it quite as highly as either of the 2015 Hiroki films I saw. If had to articulate some criticisms, it would be that the whole is somewhat slight – even at 88 minutes it runs the risk of being accused of being padded, and that the expository dialogue of the final conversation stripped away a little of the magic of the scene that immediately preceded it (which was the divinely sublime highlight of the entire film).

 

[sitenoise]

the expository dialogue of the final conversation stripped away a little of the magic of the scene that immediately preceded it (which was the divinely sublime highlight of the entire film).

Interesting. Expository dialog does usually suck. I think I accepted that little bit as a "Life goes on" coda, don't remember being upset with it. BUT, yeah, had it ended on the barge, or whatever, I would have been way cool with that.

Endings are difficult

 

[clayton-12]

I think I accepted that little bit as a "Life goes on" coda, don't remember being upset with it. BUT, yeah, had it ended on the barge, or whatever, I would have been way cool with that.

There's a scene of her on the barge returning to shore, and I thought to myself

Spoiler

"Hey, she got rid of all the trash she had accumulated from the relationship, but there's this one little thing that she's decided to keep for herself. How cool!"

and it was perfect just the way it was, but then they had to go and explain that scene out loud. I don't think I'm usually as attuned to these things as you are, but this time it felt that the film went on two minutes too long.

 

[sitenoise]

it was perfect just the way it was, but then they had to go and explain that scene out loud.

I went back and had a look, and yeah, should've ended on the barge. That would have been sweet.

Speaking of sublime scenes, one I just loved, is when the Cafe Master was sewing a button on Miyuki's uniform for her, telling her he doesn't like girls over eighteen--but they are way in the background of the shot. Front and center was Kyoko sitting in a booth, her head fallen back, mouth open (probably drooling) sound asleep. Marvelous sleeping-acting. That was pure Hiroki.

 

[clayton-12]

The beauty of Hiroki is that he is a naturally gifted film maker who just makes movies. He never sets out to make a masterpiece.

I watched the first 45 minutes or so of Vibrator and had to put it down, but I feel that I want to take some time digest what I've just seen before I continue. So far, all I can say is that it is beautiful. Really, really, really beautiful.

What do you think of Hiroki and music? I don't recall noticing anything in the couple of later films I saw, but in Tokyo Trash Baby I thought the soundtrack played a big part, and with Vibrator I've been absolutely loving it.

 

[plsletitrain]

What do you think of Hiroki and music? I don't recall noticing anything in the couple of later films I saw, but in Tokyo Trash Baby I thought the soundtrack played a big part, and with Vibrator I've been absolutely loving it.

I'm also presently within the first hour of Vibrator (for some reason it loaded first than M so I watched Vibrator first) and the music is very captivating! I'm also liking it, despite being a very very sitenoise film. The lead characters are lovely.

 

[Daniel Larusso]

Interesting. I thought I knew all modern japanese directors, but I missed this one.
I've heard of some of his titles but I've only seen one - Yellow Elephant - because Aoi Mitazaki stars in it.
Gonna start watching more of his movies.

 

[sitenoise]

What do you think of Hiroki and music?

Music is vital to me and I think Hiroki gets it. Even when he picks tinkling piano for one of those "moments", he seems to get that right. And in almost all his 'lighter' films, if you will, the ones with cuter younger 'girls', he'll have at least one scene that is essentially a music video--no dialog, just a pop song or something to pass the time and color the characters and mood. And he usually nails that. I wouldn't label him a gem if he didn't get the music right (most of the time).

I'll mention a couple things again. because:

He often shoots characters from across the room in a diner or a block away standing by a fountain, but you can hear them talk like you were next to them. I mention it because you might not notice it, but when you do notice it you'll notice it more and more. I don't know what the "film school" way to talk about it is--perspective, distance, overview? Music plays a role in it.

His films are only as good as his lead actress. Vibrator is the film that put him on the map. Shinobu Terajima is a crazy good actress. It's Only Talk (2005) also stars her and is similar, but not as good, imo. And he always gives them a chance to shine, to show their stuff--usually in a long extended cut where the actress has to dig deep and explore their emotional menu. Sometimes it's quick, like at the end of Kabukichô Love Hotel where the girl realizes things got lost--the important thing he does is show us how the actor moves through their emotion. Two absolute standouts for this are the girl on the bus at the end of Love on Sunday - Last Words. Jesus. And Misako Renbutsu's beautiful face (on a bus) at the end of River. Jesus Jesus. ... Note to @plsletitrain - The girl in Love on Sunday gives a ten minute speech, Misako Renbutsu says less than ten words over nearly the same amount of time.

 

[sitenoise]

OMG - I just took a look at the ending of River again. Misako Renbutsu. Her face. Her tears. Her eyes. Meryl Streep look out. Less than 1% of actors working today could pull that off, and that's because less than 1% of directors know how to make it work. And then the music. What a beautiful song.

ps - she's on a boat, not a bus. But another Hiroki signature: people in moving vehicles.