The tale is told in contemplative wide-angle shots; the absence of any spurious, unearned intimacy with the characters makes the climactic scenes profoundly moving.
Comment
06/24/06
Maborosi (1995)
100 %
Reviews Counted: 16 Fresh: 16 Rotten:0 Average Rating: 8.1/10
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Synopsis: The sights and sounds of a remote Japanese village by the sea convey the isolation of a newly remarried widow trying to move forward after her first husband's inexplicable suicide. A carefully composed array of visuals carries the simple, poignant plot. Director Kore-eda's elegiac debut... [More]
Genre: Foreign Films
Starring: Makiko Esumi, Takashi Naitô
Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Producer: Naoe Gozu
Screenwriter: Yoshihisa Ogita
Composer: Chen Ming-Chang
Story: Teru Miyamoto
Producer: Naoe Gozu
Screenwriter: Yoshihisa Ogita
Composer: Chen Ming-Chang
Story: Teru Miyamoto
Reviews
1 - 18 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Top Critic
[Hirokazu's] also one of the most empathetic filmmakers, softly guiding viewers through his meditations on life and death.
07/16/05
Widow tries to find out why her husband killed himself. Slow-paced but moving Japanese drama.
07/07/05
The film uses natural lighting exclusively, eschewing staged settings as often as possible and keeping some nighttime scenes entirely in the dark, an eerie mirror to Yumiko’s wounded heart.
07/25/04
The film, which was made with only natural light, draws the viewer into its spiritual mood with one breathtaking shot after another, as the camera draws back to contemplate Yumiko from afar.
05/20/03
Top Critic
Though the audience always remains at a distance, both physical and emotional, from Yumiko, her sense of loss and her inner journey are made vivid by purely filmic means.
06/05/02
This is a powerful and profound Japanese film about one woman's long and arduous journey through grief's labyrinth.
03/01/02
Click to read the article
02/14/01
Top Critic
Maborosi is by no means perfect -- it drags a little and leaves a few more unanswered questions than it really needs -- but it contains some very perfect moments.
01/01/00
Maborosi is a worthwhile movie experience not because it ventures into virgin territory, but because its presentation is so precise and unique.
01/01/00
Maborosi is one of those valuable films where you have to actively place yourself in the character's mind. There are times when we do not know what she is thinking, but we are inspired with an active sympathy.
01/01/00
Top CriticClick to read the article
01/01/00
Measured and meditative, the Japanese film Maborosi draws the viewer, without emotional bludgeoning or manipulation, into the experience of a woman who has suffered a devastating personal loss.
01/01/00
1 - 18 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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