This movie is unique and innovative. It is somewhat of fairytale like Cinderella and reminds me of Big Fish (2003),but is also very dark and depressive like say Requiem for a Dream (2000). It follows the hardship-laden life of Matsuko through the gradual discoveries of her nephew and the people he encounters.
It is extreme in content and in appearance, but touches very true and deep feelings & fears within all of us. It explores the meaning of life and asks very interesting questions. It does so while treating life's inevitable tragedies with humour and gaiety. The visual style and music are important elements of the movie as they share a positive-looking outlook of life even in the dimmest of circumstances.
The drama is centered around the dysfunctional family Matsuko was both the product of and the most disruptive element in its spiral towards destruction. Friendship, love and professional lives are also well explored, although as you can imagine, none of them in an ideal, truly rewarding way. The bleakness of the story and the brightness of the storytelling makes for a very interesting contrast. There are many beautiful shots (even if a bit CGI-heavy) and the inherent beauty of life is revealed through the crust of old, piled up garbage.
The storytelling is very fresh and even though it sags at some points as the film never seems to end, it does get its point across in a artsy and non-threatening way. I was so involved with the demanding story that I was literally shocked as I exited the dark theater to see other people lined up for the next movie at the FantAsia festival. After a viewing experience like this, I found myself surprised that there could be more movies after that or, possibly, that there may be anything after that! This is how profoundly I was affected. "Memories" is not a movie you just eat up and leave, you really need to settle and digest before you can truly understand and internalize.
A tough journey, a good message and possibly a lot of positive ramifications in art & life. Recommended.
Plot summary
Shou's father Norio finds his son in a rather meaningless existence in Tokyo dominated by alcohol and porn videos. Having left home two years earlier to pursue life as a musician, Shou has left his band and his girlfriend has left him. His father asks a favor, that Shou clean out the apartment of his aunt Matsuko, who he says led a meaningless life until her murder at the age of 53. The apartment is filled with garbage bags and is even more unkempt than his apartment has become, and he becomes intrigued with his aunt as details of her life are supplied by a tattooed neighbor and others. Her feelings of neglect by her father Tsunehiro, who favored her chronically ill younger sister, Kumi, translated into becoming a dutiful junior high school teacher devoted to her students until being forced to resign after being blamed for the theft of some money by one of them. Leaving her family due to the disgrace, she had a series of affairs with lovers who physically abused her and did a stint as a massage parlor girl due to her beauty. After her pimp lover dumped her and gave her share of earnings to his new lover, they argued and after killing him she left by train and contemplated suicide. Dissuaded by a lonely barber, she happily set out to build a quiet life with him until the police came to charge her with murder. Upon her release from prison she silently slipped away after finding that the barber had started a new family. Becoming a "Yakusa Girl" she rationalized that it was better to be on the run with a mobster than be alone. However, her mobster lover rejected her after being released from a term in prison and she became an eccentric recluse. Shou concludes that his aunt fulfilled his ex-girlfriend's parting comment about it being better to give to others rather than expecting to receive.
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Sad and surreal
Sometimes comic, sometimes tragic, always delightful.
I hadn't heard of this film till it appeared on television as part of a short season of Asian films. I'm glad that I decided to watch it though as it was a delightful film which made me laugh and cry.
Shou is living alone doing nothing with his life till one day his father comes by and asks him to clear up the house of his aunt Matsuko who had been murdered. Up until then Shou had no knowledge of his aunt but as he sorts through her belongings and meets people who knew her he learns what an extraordinary life she had, some happy but much sad. It is especially sad at the end when we learn how she died after surviving many hardships.
The film has a surreal appearance that reminded me of a cross between Amalie and the TV series Pushing Daisies due to the artificially vivid colours. If you want to see something different I'd certainly recommend this charming film.
Profoundly sad musical about a life is one of the best films I've seen this year
Profoundly sad, deeply moving (upbeat) musical about a 20 year old young man named Sho with no direction. His father shows up one day and asks him to clean out the apartment of the aunt he never knew, the titled Matsuko. It seems Matsuko had been found beaten to death four days earlier and the father had come to Tokyo to have her cremated. As Sho goes through his aunt's belonging and talks to the people who knew her the course of her life is revealed in song.
Unique one of a kind film rightly won tons of awards around the world but has yet to get any sort of release in the US. I'm not surprised. The profoundly sad story is in contrast to the upbeat musical numbers. How do you sell this to a western audience that wants things to be a certain way? You can't which is a profoundly sad thing since this is in its way a truly great film. Personally I don't like the darkness of its tale but at the same time this film had me sobbing on more than one occasion. This is also a film of such technical skill that it puts most Hollywood musicals (dare I say films period?) to shame Personally I would love to write a fuller review up but I just can't do it. Its just a place I can't go to.
What is the measure of a life? by what we receive or what we give? One of the best films I've seen this year