| Language: Japanese Director: Akiko Oku Running time: 113 min Release year: 2007 |
| Cast: Yui Aragaki, Ryuhei Matsuda, Rinko Kikuchi, Noriko Eguchi, Pierre Taki, Tomona Hirota |
Movie Review:
Gentle, sweet, thoughtful are basic words that describe “Tokyo Serendipity.” The movie’s helmed by newcomer Akiko Oku and features Yui Aragaki, one of the more popular young actresses in Japan today. This would be my first time watching Yui Aragaki in a movie and after the watching “Tokyo Serendipity,” I can better understand why she was chosen as the girl Japanese guys would most like to give a valentine gift to. |
|
|
|
|
| In “Tokyo Serendipity,” Yui Aoki (Yui Aragaki) is a young art student, suddenly facing the real world on her own. Her older sister abruptly announced that she would be getting married and moving out of their shared apartment. Yui must now move on and find a place of her own. Eventually, Yui does find such a place and, with the help of the “Hercules Moving Company,” moves into her new apartment. After she gets settled in, Yui goes door to door, introducing herself to her neighbors and giving them small gifts. There she meets Takashi, a quiet guy that lives directly above her apartment. There paths will cross again. Yui also goes back to her old apartment to retrieve an item she left behind. There she meets Junda Atsuko, the new tenant of her old apartment. Junda was a former art student herself, now working as an architect. Although Junda just moved into Yui’s old apartment, she’s planning to leave Japan in the coming weeks. The lives of Yui, Junda, and Takashi are then brought together, as Yui learns firsthand about love and heartbreak. What the movie does very well, is to give a breezy feel, the kind of feeling you get lounging about in a comfortable chair on a spring afternoon. Dynamics, like the film’s visuals, are muted, but the movie picks up the pace as it draws to its conclusion. A movie that you may recall when watching “Tokyo Serendipity” is Shunji Iwai’s “Hanna & Alice.” The basic elements of friendship, love, rivalry are all there, as well as Yui Aragaki’s performance, which recalls Yui Aoi’s performance in “Hana & Alice.” If anything, “Tokyo Serendipity” would make for a nice opening film, on a double bill night, with Iwai’s “Hana & Alice” reserved for the closing slot. There’s also Rinko Kikuchi, fresh off of her eye-opening performance in “Babel.” Even though she’s only 26, Rinko excelled as the older, wiser friend, who may not be as wise in other areas. Ryuhei Matsuda rounds out their triangle of sorts, by playing the same type of character that he always plays; a quiet, sullen fellow. Similar to Starbucks coffee, what Ryuhei Matsuda lacks in dynamics, he makes up for in consistency. Another positive with “Tokyo Serendipity” would be with the film’s ultimate message. Unlike most films of its genre, the movie doesn’t push trite illusions of first love lasting forever or anything of that ilk. Rather, the movie showcases tender moments that are dear to each of the characters, which will likely shape and mold their lives (like the chairs that they build), but those moments are just one of many more moments that are likely waiting for them in the future. Kind of like the message in that other film. |
|
|
|
|
| { Recommended Japanese Movies } |
|
|
|
|
|
Battle Royale (Batoru rowaiaru) |
|
Director: Kinji Fukasaku; Cast: Takeshi Kitano, Shin Kusaka, Ren Matsuzawa, Gouki Nishimura, Shigehiro Yamaguchi, Taro Yamamoto |
|
|
|
Princess Mononoke (Mononoke Hime): Animated feature film |
|
Director: Hayao Miyazaki; Cast: Yôji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida, Yûko Tanaka, Kaoru Kobayashi, Masahiko Nishimura |
|
|
|
Cafe Isobe (Jun kissa Isobe) |
|
Director: Keisuke Yoshida; Cast: Hiroyuki Miyasako, Riisa Naka, Kumiko Aso, Mari Hamada, Toshihiro Wada |
|
|
|
Love Exposure (Ai no mukidashi) |
|
Director: Sion Sono; Cast: Takahiro Nishijima, Hikari Mitsushima, Atsuro Watabe, Makiko Watanabe, Sakura Ando |
|
|
|
Memories of Matsuko (Kiraware Matsuko no issho) |
|
Director: Tetsuya Nakashima; Cast: Miki Nakatani, Eita, Yusuke Iseya, Teruyuki Kagawa, Mikako Ichikawa, Asuka Kurosawa |
|
|
|
Still Walking (Aruitemo aruitemo) |
|
Director: Keisuke Yoshida; Cast: Hiroshi Abe, Yui Natsukawa, You, Kazuya Takahashi, Shohei Tanaka, Kirin Kiki |
|
|
|
Tokyo Sonata |
|
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa; Cast: Teruyuki Kagawa, Kyoko Koizumi, Yu Koyanagi, Inowaki Kai, Haruka Igawa |
|
|
|
|
|
