Aruitemo, Aruitemo

Aruitemo, Aruitemo a.k.a Still Walking a.k.a Even if you walk and walk [2008]

Director:Hirokazu Koreeda (AKA Hirokazu Kore-eda)
Writers:Hirokazu Koreeda (AKA Hirokazu Kore-eda)
Country: Japan
Year: 2008
Runtime: 108 min.
Genre: Drama more

Imdb review:
"Still Walking" aka "Aruitemo Aruitemo" Yet another superb delivery from Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Koreeda who gave us "Nobody Knows" in 2004. It's like we're eavesdropping on a private family reunion event. Central to the story is from the viewpoint of the second son, Ryota at age 40, going home to his parents' house via public transport with his new wife, a widow, and her 10 year old son from previous marriage. Yes, he doesn't own a car like his sister and brother in law. He's actually wary about hiding the fact that he doesn't have a substantial job and asks his wife not to breathe a word at the family occasion. His parents will be disappointed, especially his father who has counted on the second son to take on the family medical clinic business and be a doctor rather than any other trade - since the eldest died 15 years ago. Ryota has 'imprisoned' himself by these expectations which he is unable to, and frankly does not want to, fulfill. Underneath the pleasant bantering with his mother, we can tell he is struggling to find himself, make peace with himself and go on with his life.

20th century boys 1: Beginning of the End

• Running time: 2CD 1h 13' x 2
• Vintage: 2008-08-30
• Director: Yukihiko Tsutsumi
• Total size: 2CD 698MB x 2
• Casting:
Airi Taira as Endo Kanna
Etsushi Toyokawa as Occho
Toshiaki Karasawa as Endo Kenji
• Sub: Eng-sub
Imdb review:
Could 20th Century Boys be the Japanese Watchmen? Like in the case of Alan Moore's masterpiece, Urasawa's sprawling story covers the cultural myths and obsessions of the past century: from the nuclear catastrophe following the war to the western cultural influences, conformism and totalitarian tendencies, the demilitarized, defenseless Japan, the economic boom of the sixties . Even a touch of mecha and the pervasiveness of media in society.

Judging the movie, however, can be more difficult: its competently shot and acted, but like most transpositions, it makes its manga origin very clear, which can be appalling for the manga-illiterate in the audience, which at the projections I was sighed, left early or giggled in all the wrong places. Sound editing was awful, but it might be a result of the copy I saw.

Where the film could use some help is in the editing. Fans will appreciate the attempt to be faithful to the original source, but movies simply work in a different way: act II is too long, and the final climax and resolution is reduced to a few choppy scenes. It might definitely look better when parts 2 and 3 are released.