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9 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
nice warm and a funny film, 30 November 2001
9/10
Author: mattwakeman (mattwakeman@hotmail.com) from cardiff uni

Although this is a film about a subject which has been covered before (gay couple and then along comes a woman who decides that she would like to have a child by one of them and the fall-outs and tensions that are created by this) it is a really nice and i found genuinely affecting film.

The film also strays into the territory of the changing social circumstances of modern Japan as well as the, nicely handled, scenes where you are shown more about the family relationships that exist in the present day.

Nice performances and a nice soothing sound track (with just a little Japanese twist). Maybe the best recommendation that i can give this film is that i nearly broke my ankle playing football before i went to see it and i had to walk back home in the pouring rain...and i did so with a big smile on my face thanks to this film.

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8 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
It's always the quiet ones..., 27 April 2002
Author: sibisi73 from United Kingdom

If you like your movies subtle and sweet, then this should be just the ticket. Although the subject matter isn't too out there in the West, it's interesting to see it broached in the Japanese context, where tradition and respect for family are still held in high esteem. The film deals with familial relationships now, and as such presents a refreshing and forward thinking outlook on the nature of the family unit in the 21st century. Hashiguchi lets us watch these intimate relationships as they build up and, in some cases, break down, without feeling intrusive. There are some wonderful scenes of extended dialogue, the sort of meandering conversations that go nowhere, but that are incredibly involving nonetheless. All the performances are spot on, and there's just the right balance between the humour and the heartache. It's a slow, talky film, but still highly rewarding.

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8 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Liked it a lot, 27 September 2001
10/10
Author: richsung from Toronto, Canada

I saw Grains of Sand a number of years ago, so I decided to see this one at the Toronto International Film Fest this year. For me, it was the best movie I saw this year. The characters were great - all of them felt real to me. The humour in this movie is great. Not much more to say except go see it!

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5 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
A great insight into the Japanese culture...Gay and straight, 17 December 2004
8/10
Author: enui from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I lived in Japan for a number of years and have never seen a film that truly captures gay life in Japan. What is most amazing to Westerners is how similar we are rather than how different. With exception of the language, the movie could easily take place in the U.S. The plot is fairly simple: Two men, one out, one closeted, have a relationship that could possibly be wrecked by a woman who wants to have a child with the closeted man. Their families cause a lot of confusion. Sort of like a relationship in the U.S. The characters are really true to life, and anyone, gay or straight, will instantly recognize the similarities rather than the differences in us all. Well worth you time. A great comedy/drama. Regardless of language. See it....Please

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5 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Nice and warm, 19 May 2002
10/10
Author: kyyuen

If a movie reflects good human nature and characteristics, why do we need to refuse it and not accept it even it involves gay relationship.

The director really depicts each character as a real person - you trust their existence.

And you will bring a warm smile when going out of the theater.

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Loving Caring Relationships -- even in Japan, 19 December 2010
9/10
Author: Paul Donovan (paul@donovan.sh) from Vancouver, BC Canada

I've watched this movie several times but last night I watched it again and I just have to say something about it. This is not your normal gay movie with a lot of gratuitous sex scenes, nor is this a gay movie about AIDS, nor does the plot have anything to do with someone being sick. This is a story about how two fine looking young Japanese men meet up, have a relationship and start a life together. The families of these two men are screwed up, like too many are in life, but these two keep on going. Then just to make it even more interesting, two women come into the middle of these two men's lives. One becomes like a third partner (she wants a baby from them) and the other has a typical young girl infatuation. What really caught my attention was how both these guys do things together at home and outside the home. They care about each other, know each other, and do spontaneous things together. I think we could all learn about relationships from watching these two guys interact together. Love the story.

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1 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
For Japanese commonplace spectators, 12 August 2007
9/10
Author: msagawa-1 from Japan

This is one of my favorite films, even not the best. Each time I see this film, I cannot but wonder why this film, in spite of its central theme, homosexuality, gives me the impression that it's quite an ordinary film, and that homosexuality is just one of everyday matters. In other words, this film is not a special extraordinary work under cover. This is why it is full of humors, which let both straight and gay viewers smile, maybe, in a same way. This film is just the third work of the director, Ryosuke Hashiguchi, who continues to shoot marvelous films, which, certainly, have something to do with homosexuality quite casually, and most importantly, quite naturally. I am looking forward to his next film, whose theme is homosexuality or heterosexuality.

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1 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Fails as entertaining cinema, 13 January 2005
6/10
Author: raymond-15 from Australia

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This comedy drama is about a Japanese girl who meets a couple of gay lovers at a restaurant and they lend her their umbrella to shelter her from the pouring rain. Harmless enough you might say, but then she becomes obsessed with a strange idea. She is not interested in love or romance or marriage or a one night stand. No way. All she wants is a sample of semen from one of the gay guys so that she can make a baby. A baby is her one desire in life and believe it or not her desire is so strong she unashamedly puts her request to them. Just a sample with absolutely no strings attached.

It would seem that we have here an interesting story line that has elements of sex and humour and more than a touch of originality. How wrong we are. After the initial request for what we would consider a very private and personal matter, the film bogs down in sheer boredom. I'm not blaming the actors. They play their roles well. It's just that nothing really happens. There are no dramatic climaxes. Admittedly the characters have some big decisions to make but they seem to get nowhere as the film drifts on.

I think the problem is that the film is too even and becomes too monotonous.

On the whole I find this film rather disappointing. The actors are worthy of better material and perhaps the director could infuse some more excitement into the bland scenes especially for people like me who tend to fall asleep if the interest wanes.

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4 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Sweet, sensitive, warm, lilting, and looooooong!, 7 September 2003
6/10
Author: George Parker from Orange County, CA USA

"Hush" is a dramedy out of Japan which swirls around a handful of young adults including a couple of gay men and a female who wants to have a baby by one of them. This skillfully crafted flick has warmth and charm and poignancy and heart and humor and....but, damn, it sure is long and bland. About as interesting as tofu, this character-driven film dawdles interminably as the characters pour over their relationships, including families and friends, in minute detail while we non-Japanese English speakers are reading subtitles and trying to keep the male characters straight as they are very similar in appearance. My eyes were bouncing up and down between faces and subtitles like paddle-balls for 2.25 hours. Recommended only for Japanese films buffs into people pictures. (B-)

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3 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Huh!, 23 July 2004
5/10
Author: Charles Herold (cherold) from United States

There's something off about this movie. I kept wondering if perhaps it was just badly translated. It wasn't that I didn't know what was going on from one moment to the next, but there seemed to be many strange sudden transitions and characters would suddenly seem to be familiar with one another when I'd had the impression they'd never met before. It gave the narrative a jerky, confused feel.

I only made it through about a third of this before I got bored and gave up. It wasn't awful, but it was never absorbing, I wasn't feeling remotely connected to the characters and there just didn't seem to really be much going on, although at the time it stopped it looked like the movie was just deciding it might need to have some sort of plot after all. But that was too little too late.

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