🎥
At Dashwood, me and my boss and co-workers (David Strettell, Yeon Cho, and Martha Naranjo Sandoval) like to talk about the films we watch over the weekend. I saw this movie at IFC over the summer. The plot is simple and there is not a huge budget, but it does not matter: money is not what makes films moving, it is emotion. This is a brutal movie that does not sugar-coat the experience of youth. There is one scene in particular that is very raw and does not hold back, it features violence against a young woman and depicts a young student’s hidden desires. It is poignant. No wonder it gained such international acclaim!
Jan 25, 2024
Related Recs
Feb 7, 2024
he’s a Japanese director who makes some of the most life-affirming movies i’ve ever seen. he loves working with child actors and centering the lives of people who are stigmatized in society. if you’re new to his work, Shoplifters is probably his most well-known film internationally (and one of my favorite movies). Monster is his latest masterpiece with a uniquely structured screenplay lovingly crafted by Yuji Sakamoto.
I’ve also seen After the Storm, Broker, and Still Walking. Haven’t seen After Life yet but I’m sure lucius can tell you all about it if he hasn’t rec’d it already. Oh, and I still need to check out his cozy Netflix miniseries, The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House.
“Thank you for being born.” - Broker
Jun 28, 2024
What a lovely little shadowbox of a film.
The plot concerns a quiet man, Hirayama, who works as a public toilet cleaner in Tokyo's Shibuya ward. And his highly structured, routinized way of living both on the job as well as his leisure time pursuits (his passion for music, played mostly on vintage cassettes in his van throughout the movie; nature photography done the old-fashioned analog way; and reading the works of authors such as Faulkner and Aya Koda). There are some scenes that are highly reminiscent of the way that Sofia Coppola depicted Tokyo in "Lost in Translation" - dreamy, impressionistic, focused on images of beauty and human emotion vs. script that "moves the plot along."
Tokyo is one of my favorite places in the world and it's reminding me I need to get back there soon.
PS: Uncle Lou Reed would have been very proud of this film had he lived to see it.
PPS: Boy is Koji Yakusho amazing in the lead role. No wonder he won best actor at Cannes last year for this performance.
Apr 11, 2024
Top Recs from @miwa
🧴
In Japan skincare is important and women spend so much time in front of the mirror, I am no exception. Skincare is important for me and I know that I should be using fancy anti-aging creams, I have tried but always breakout. My skin can only really handle cetaphil!
Jan 25, 2024
🧘
I enjoy stretching my body in the morning. When I wake up my brain feels full of thoughts and I need to slow them down. I like to do yoga in the morning and only after I feel like my soul and body are in sync. I love Momo’s slow yoga routines and her calming voice. I am actually sensitive about the way people talk and she has the perfect voice tone and cadence: you can tell from that that she is empathetic and a deep thinker. She and I also have a lot in common. I have been living in New York City since I was 23, she also has been living outside of Japan for most of her life. We both me still feel a strong connection to Japan even after all these years. She is fluent in English and German but her youtube channel is in Japanese for Japanese people. I consider myself an ambassador for Asian, and particularly Japanese, photographers here in the West. I feel a strong kinship with her, in that way.
Jan 25, 2024
📖
I used to be into fiction when I was young, but as I get older I feel like fiction books are not satisfying. I feel more attracted to philosophy or criticism books. My co-worker, Edan Wingfield, suggested I would like Cusk’s book, so I gave it a try. I surprised myself with how sophisticated her writing style is, and I found it was deep and fundamental as any good philosophy book.
Jan 25, 2024