Oct

1

2006

Sukida / Su-ki-da

Posted by luna6

sukida.jpg
Movie : Sukida / Su-ki-da
Release Date : February 25, 2005
Country : Japan
Director : Hiroshi Ishikawa
Starring : Aoi Miyazaki, Eita, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Hiromi Nagasaku
Runtime : 104 Minutes
Editor Rating : 7.0
Users Rating: 8.86 1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars6 Stars7 Stars8 Stars9 Stars10 Stars (29 votes)

Loading ... Loading …


Plot Synopsis : Two kids meet near a floodgate after school. Yu is a shy 17 year old girl who sits down next to Yosuke as he plays his guitar. Yosuke recently gave up playing sports and has devoted himself to playing the guitar. He only plays a few lines over and over, as he tries to make a song from what he feels. Their relationship progresses tentatively as they both have difficulty in expressing their feelings and thoughts. One day Yu takes the initiative and kisses Yosuke. Yosuke responds by picking up his guitar and going home. Years later Yu wonders, “Why did I cry? Why didn’t I stop crying? Why?”..while Yosuke wonders “Why did I run away from you that time?”

Fast forward seventeen years later. They haven’t seen each since their days in high school and now have moved on with their separate and empty lives. That is until one day they randomly meet during an audition. They agree to go out together after work for drinks. As the evening turns into the early morning, they are still awake sharing memories of their high school days. After 17 years Yosuke finally kisses Yu. Yu starts to cry again and they soon go to visit her older sister.

The next day Yosuke decides to call Yu and make good on a promise he made to her 17 years ago, that is he would play her his song when it is completed. Yu agrees to meet him again and Yosuke goes home to get his acoustic guitar. While on his way to meet Yu, fate deals a strange twist to their plans, perhaps this will be the moment where they can finally say “Sukida”.

sukidamain.jpg

Movie Review : Two things jump out in my mind when I think of the movie “Sukida.” The scenes of the 17 year old Yu and Yosuke sitting by the river with the guitar lines being plucked over the ambient sounds of their surroundings (wind, water, insects) was damn near sublime. I could have watched those scenes on repeat over and over again. The other aspect of Sukida that I recall the most was the very slow pacing of the film. This was more apparent in the second half of the movie when the movie shifted to Yu and Yosuke as adults.

For the first half of the film, the movie focused on Yu, played wonderfully by Aoi Miyazaki, along with her older sister and Yosuke. Yosuke knew of Yu’s older sister and may have had a crush on her at one point or maybe Yu just thought that, but whatever really existed, the tension & curiosity between the characters gave the film an added element of reality. The scenes by the floodgate, as stated before, were simply amazing and should be seen. A problem I did have with the camera work was during the moments when the camera zoomed in on one character and the other character would walk off screen, but would still be involved in that scene (the first kiss scene as an example). What was Yosuke doing when he stood in front of Yu?

The second half of the film turned darker as the focus of the movie shifted from Yu to Yosuke. As Yosuke’s adult feelings were revealed, you realize that he suffered through a lot more as child than what was revealed in the first half of the film. Yosuke would state that, “I can’t remember the last time I liked myself.” That is until he meets Yu again. Yu suffers from her own inner turmoils as well, primarily the guilt over her older sister and the rejection she felt from Yosuke 17 years ago. During the final sequence when Yosuke was on his way to meet Yu, life dealt another shocking and hard to understand “why?” occurence to Yosuke. As the movie ended I didn’t question it so much, because I was so enamored with the ending. “Sukida” indeed.

Sukida is a slow, quiet film with characters that are filled with sadness & depression. If you give the movie a chance to resolve the issues it brings up, a positive message of hope & happiness emerges which was an unexpected surprise. That guitar melody will now be stuck in my head for at least the next 7 days.

Buy Sukida from YesAsia

Cast:
Aoi Miyazaki - Yu (young)
Hidetoshi Nishijima - Yosuke
Hiromi Nagasaku - Yu
Eita - Yosuke (young)

Ryo Kase
Maho Nonami
Nao Omori
Sayuri Oyamada - Yu’s elder sister


[Slashdot] [Digg] [Reddit] [del.icio.us] [Facebook] [Technorati] [Google] [StumbleUpon]

2005 Movie Reviews, Japanese Movies, Movie Reviews, Movies |

Comments

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

Leave a response

6 Comments so far

  1. 6 Willby Says: August 16, 2008

    The best Japanese movie I have seen so far. Amazing performances …

  2. 5 RandolphCarter Says: August 15, 2008

    Great movie, I loved it.
    I’ve talked about it too on my blog, but unfortunately for you it’s in italian :D

    However, nice review and nice site, keep it up!

  3. 4 luna6 Says: February 3, 2007

    Wow - Spain, Japan, and Thailand….that is amazing.

    Cojung thank you for the insight about “I know how’s Yu feel uncomfortable and then she crys. May be she didn’t know what’s Yusuke thought like we can not see his reaction clearly.” I thought about that and it makes perfect sense on why the viewer could not see Yosuke in those scenes…just like Yu was not being able to “see” what Yusuke is feeling/thinking.

    I want to watch this movie again after reading these comments…..think I will play this movie right before I fall asleep. Thanks

    Also I love Pen-Ek Ratanaruang films…if there are other movies from Thailand like that please let me know

  4. 3 Cojung Says: February 2, 2007

    Oh. Your review ga suki desu.
    This film is very quiet so that the wind, water flow and insect is such a beautiful background.
    Love the moment first kiss. I know how’s Yu feel uncomfortable and then she crys. May be she didn’t know what’s Yusuke thought like we can not see his reaction clearly.
    I finally feel relieve when I see (heard) “SUKIDA” from Yosuke as much as Yu. I’ve wait for this word for almost 1 hr while 17 years in the film.
    Thanks foir sharing your view. I enjoy so much :-)
    Cojung from Thailand

  5. 2 Akiko Says: October 12, 2006

    I cant say how much this movie feels to me. It is something to see, just so real. Sorry for my english, I should have study more in school ^.^

    Hello from Japan

  6. 1 ragundo Says: October 4, 2006

    Great review.
    I’ve the movie pending to watch.

    Greetings from Spain