In Japan, going to the movies is notoriously expensive, but on Wednesdays, women receive a discount. At the movie theater in my city, the price is reduced from 1800 yen to 1000 yen, so I tend to go to the movies on Wednesday.
Today, I watched Otouto (“Younger Brother”) directed by the great Yamada Yoji. The main reason I chose to watch this movie over my other choice, Sayonara Itsuka, was the fact that my favorite Japanese actress, Aoi Yu, appears in Ototo, as the niece of the title character. The movie is about that crazy uncle that most everyone has and his relationship with his older sister. Otouto is Yamada’s first film in 10 years, and I really liked it. It made me think of my own family and although there are definitely parts of the movie that will make you cry (I was bawling my eyes out!) it is also quite funny at points. See the spot-on Japan Times review (http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ff20100129a1.html/)
I wouldn’t be surprised if this movie becomes Japan’s entry for the Oscar’s foreign language film category. Trailer below:
Seeing Aoi Yu’s great performance opposite Kase Ryo made me remember another performance of hers with him in my favorite Japanese movie of all time, Honey and Clover. Based on a best-selling manga series, this 2006 film is the story of the lives of 5 art university students. As a university student myself (studying art history incidentally), this movie really left an impression with me. It’s a glittering portrayal of young student life. My favorite line comes from the scene near the very end of the trailer where they take a picture at the ocean. While setting the timer of the camera, one character says, “Perfect. A photo of youth to look back on in old age.”
The soundtrack is great too! (Minus the obligatory Arashi track—-because Arashi’s Sakurai Sho plays the main character of Takemoto). Most of the trailer’s music is Spitz’s Mahou no Kotoba.
After the movie, I went to one of my favorite cafes in Kyoto, Café Indépendants, located in the basement of the 1928 Building at the intersection of Sanjo and Gokoumachi streets. With lots of exposed brick. and a record store in the back corner (selling actual vinyl!), Café Indépendants is a cafe that transforms into a livehouse at night. I love the lovingly worn wooden benches, as well as the peeling posters and live event adverts that paper the walls. There’s always something interesting happening at Café Indépendants, be it an exhibit or performance. Check it out if you’re ever in Kyoto! (It doesn’t hurt that pretty much all the men who work there are exactly my type—cute, bohemian, the type that wears large, black, thick-framed glasses! ^.^) Here is their website: http://www.cafe-independants.com/
