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Reviews
Invention of Love (2010)
Beautiful love story
This is such a beautiful animated film. The animation is like shadowgraph, so it is not possible to see the facial expressions of the characters. But it makes this film polished, and the movements of shadows show emotions of the characters enough. With regard to the animation, a shade of gray color and gradation is used effectively. Mechanical parts of objects are written clearly with high contrast between black and white and it makes points in the pictures. The music is also nice. The melody expresses painful feelings of characters or a fantastic atmosphere of the film. In this world, almost all creations are mechanical. One day, an engineer meets a girl and they fall in love. They leave their homes and start to live together, but their happy life doesn't last long... Life is short, and therefore beautiful. The mechanical girl will never heal the mind of the man.
The Crush (2010)
A brave boy
A primary schoolboy, Ardal, falls in love with his teacher and he gives her a toy ring to show his affection. But when Ardal walks in the street with his mother, he meets his teacher and her boyfriend having just bought a real engagement ring. Ardal challenges his teacher's fiancé to a duel to the death. I don't know if Ardal's behavior was good or not, but I was surprised that such a young boy acts courageously in accordance with love. Pretty much every boy experiences a crush, but many of them can't tell their partner of unrequited love their feeling. Ardel took action and destroyed the relationship between his teacher and her ill-assorted boyfriend. From beginning to the end, the natural acting of actors really attracted me.
The Lunch Date (1989)
Nice
This story is very simple but funny and heart-warming. I think this film includes a slight amount of satire on racial discrimination or a bias against blacks. A well-dressed woman misses a train and goes into a small café. She misunderstands that a man takes her salad when for a short time she is not looking. She complains but the man says nothing. She starts to eat the salad with the man. After they leave the café, she goes back to pick up things left behind and then notices her misunderstanding. She may have thought that the man took her salad because he is poor and has no education, but in fact, he never gets angry with her: on the contrary, he bought her a cup of coffee. I think the expressions of the café owner are nice. He was just watching them though he knows the fact.
Gasman (1997)
The tale of Christmas
A little girl Lynne and her brother are taken to a Christmas party by their father. On the way to the party, a girl and boy join them. Lynne makes friends with the girl, but during the party, she sees the girl sitting down on the father's knee. It makes her displeased. After the party, the girl goes back home with her mother and Lynne stands with her eyes riveted on their back figures. In this film, the detailed circumstances are not explained. So I'm not sure whether I understand the story correctly, but the children may have blood relation.
The camera work in this movie is interesting. At the beginning of the film, we can see only backs or foots of characters. At the party scene, the screen sways uncertainly and it makes me feel as if I'm going to participate in the party.
Lifted (2006)
So funny
One evening, mysterious light comes in through the window and lights up the face of a sleeping man on the bed. The man's body floats through the air toward the window, but his head bumps into the wall softly. He never wakes up. Inside the UFO, a trainee operator tries to carry off the man, watched by an examiner. He is an alien with no skill in operating a UFO and fails in snatching the man after all. The man is not kidnapped, but in the morning, his screams can be heard all around. I sympathize from the bottom of my heart for the man. It is Pixar's superior technique of CG animation that makes one of the attractions of this film, the expressions of characters or three-dimensional lights, possible. This funny and daring end is also something you only get from Pixar.
Three Days in Kamakura (2012)
Beautiful
This film makes me think of familial ties. David and Keiko have some little problems in their lives. One day, Jay, a student of David, is waiting for his mother to come pick him up, but she never comes. The half-Japanese, half-Western boy comes to their house and spends time with them. David thinks to keep Jay as a son of Keiko and him, but Keiko says Jay should live with his family and David is all the family she needs. I felt a little bit sad at the end because Jay lost his mother and Mrs. Yamada probably lost her husband. Jay's mother and Mrs. Yamada may be not very good people, but they are also someone's family and have someone they love.
I like the scene in which David walks carrying Jay on his back and some people do hand-held fireworks on the beach. It is an unobtrusive scene, but pretty fire, the sound of sparking fireworks and David's smile is impressive for me.
Otousan no tabako (2007)
Soft and quiet
This short film shows the deep affection of a daughter and parent toward each other. A primary schoolgirl Sara buys cigarettes on her way home. Even though her mother scolds and tells Sara to stop buying, she doesn't obey her mother. These cigarettes are all for her father who is sick in bed. She knows a cigarette is bad for her father, but she can't refuse a request for a cigarette because she loves her father. The young girl tries to get some but finally she couldn't. In the last scene, I could see the mother's love for her husband and daughter. In this film, characters' expressions were memorable. I think they talk about their feelings with little word. An atmosphere of the whole film is soft and quiet, and it improves the appearance of their expressions and acting.
Knick Knack (1989)
So funny
This film is very short and full of humor. Colorful animations and cheerful music make the film funny. A snowman in a snow globe is attracted to a pretty doll on the table. He tries many ways to get out from the glass, but it doesn't work at all. The snowman fails many times and his face falls to pieces each time, but he never gives up. Finally he succeeds to get out and meet the doll once, but
The last scene is really funny. Each character's lovely motions and expressions are also a fascination of this film. Their charming action attracted me. This story may shows that a man cannot escape from his destiny but still, I felt the life is beautiful and interesting. If you try to change, something will change and there is something a little more interesting in front of you!
Fish Out of Water (2005)
Instructive
The appeal of this film is the story that reminds me of some old tales. I felt the title of this film "Fish out of water" means the protagonist, a man, sails across a lake. One day he accepts a request from a woman wearing a suit to let her go across the lake with him. She asks the man next day too, and her request becomes harder day by day. Finally, he gets freedom by leaving his boat. The man looks nice with fins after swimming across the lake. One funny point is behavior of people who get on the man's boat. The woman wearing a suit shows a straight face on the boat, but at the last, roars with anger or disappointment. People who rely on others too much won't stay the height of happiness. There are no words in this film, so I can imagine the story in my mind.
Paperman (2012)
Fantastic
Paperman is a black-and-white animation film. The red color of rouge is an eye-catching accent. This story is an unusual love story. One day, a man meet a woman at a platform and is attracted to her. He found her over the window of the building next to the building he works in, and he tries to contact her frantically. My favorite scene is the scene that papers fly up and guide the man to the woman. The papers jump as if they are alive. A paper may get life thanks to the man's passion. At this moment, an utterly ordinary street of office building turns into a fantastic world. Another attractiveness of this film is characters' wonderful expressions. High technique of CG animation makes this film more fascination. Though humans are deformed in this film, the reality of the move of face and body is like a live-action movie.
Whacked (1998)
Satiric
Whacked! is a black-and-white film taking place in a large city. Suddenly, a pedestrian fell down flat on the ground among crowded people. People around him have no idea what happened. An ambulance sped away with sirens wailing. The culprit is a man who works for a golf links. He can't play golf where he works every day, but it is his pastime that he goes up to the rooftop of a large office building and hit golf balls. I felt something unhappy to see him smiling radiantly without knowing his ball damages an uninvolved third party. There is no dialogue, although the sound is used effectively. An ambulance siren and the sound of a golf club hitting a ball gave me a strong impression.
Father and Daughter (2000)
Impressing
Father and Daughter is a pretty animated cartoon. On the whole the animation is very simple, but the pictures drawn with a soft touch create an atmosphere.
A young girl cycles to a shoreline with her father and he goes away leaving the girl alone. She returns to the place and looks out over the sea where her father rowed away many many times though he never comes back.
She says nothing in this film but the sounds of wind and waves express her feelings. A little bit vibrating animation matches with her feeling of loneliness and conveyed a quiet and strong impression.