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Memories of Matsuko More at IMDbPro »Kiraware Matsuko no isshô (original title)
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| Index | 26 reviews in total |
28 out of 30 people found the following review useful:
Devastating, 4 August 2007
Author:
crossbow0106 from United States
This film will just blow you away! While I would say it was fairly sad at times, and you'll shake your head at the life choices the lead character made, the film will stay with you. It definitely has tearjerker moments, major ones. The acting is uniformly superb. I originally knew about the film through this site, because I am very impressed with the acting of Asuka Kurosawa ("A Snake Of June") and wanted to see her in a film in which you actually see her in her beauty (She boldly works in horror films, sometimes with distorted features, like "Kirie" and "Dead Waves"). She looks gorgeous in this film, but so does the title character. Like many films with a female name in them (think Leslie Caron, Audrey Hepburn), you'll fall in love, commiserate, get angry with and, ultimately, forgive her flaws. Is it perfect? No, it isn't. The rating of 10 stars has to do with the effect it had on me. It'll just stay with you. Thank goodness this wasn't an American film, it would have been sanitized and "fairy taled" to the point of manifesting ad nauseum. Its sad, you might cry, but you'll love it.
30 out of 37 people found the following review useful:
Impressive tragicomedy, 28 February 2007
Author:
maurazos from Varna, Bulgaria
It is a real tragicomedy! This film is about cruel facts, but under a musical comedy appearance. It is a movie that made me cry, as if I still were 15 years old. And I cried because what is told in the film can happen... And unfortunately it actually happens everywhere and everyday. It is a film that has made me believe again in the Japanese cinema. In this movie I have seen a Kenji Mizoguchi's spirit revival, because of the way it describes the life of a woman who is mistreated by everybody and whose life is irremediably ruined. Doesn't this story remember Mizoguchi's "Oyu-sama"? I also saw some Akira Kurosawa's influences, like the colorful shanty dwelling Matsuko lives in during the last years of her sad existence: aren't they close to the ones Kurosawa showed in "Dodeskaden"? According to my point of view, this is the best Japanese film of this still young 21st century.
28 out of 36 people found the following review useful:
A great tragedy with a charming comical outlook, 9 October 2006
Author:
kityujonatha from Hong Kong
The movie is really wonderful and joyful. The package is really
wonderful. As the female lives from 50's up to now, director of this
film manage to dissolve a lot of pop culture stuffs, like MTV, TV etc
into a fancy comical world. I am sure there would be only Japanese who
can create such world.
But what i admire most is he do not forget the story he want to tell.
The story actually is a adaption from a original novel which depict a
tragic life of a woman. The film, though have a comedy outlook, it is a
typical tragic story. The director manages to find a new way to retell
the story in a sense which youngster would feel related.
And the story itself is great because it tells us what is so called
life. ie ridiculous, unpredictable, etc. and how a woman face her life
with constant hope of simply getting better.
The story is a typical tragedy in a Greek kind of style. Though it may
contain some preaching scene, but u are free to take it or leave, as
the life of the woman is open to judge.
15 out of 16 people found the following review useful:
not a comedy!!!, 9 July 2008
Author:
frederic9866 from Paris, France
I have been really moved by this film, with such a level of perfection in narration, photography and musical technique... This movie is not a comedy, and Amelie Poulain seems under-classed by it. This movie is about changes in Japanese society, and the fate of those who think nothing has changed. Matsuko is craving the the role of the perfect Japanese girl (in charge of the mood of her estranged father), the perfect teacher (devoted to her student), perfect wife, perfect bar hostess, perfect prostitute, perfect Yakuza wife (ready to commit suicide) perfect groupie, perfect inmate etc... But she failed it all, not because she is not doing enough to be perfect, but because the recipients of her devotion are not following the rule anymore. This is a new era, the Japanese society has mutated and her wishes fall into madness. Technically perfect, with an extreme precision in the musical part of the film, this movie serves its topic totally. A CHEF D'OEUVRE...
16 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
Funny, Sad and Beautiful, 17 July 2006
Author:
Alex Martin from San Francisco
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
I'm giving this one a spoiler alert because if you don't know the story
line and can't speak Japanese, you may be very surprised by this movie,
particularly if you've seen the director's previous work "Shimotsuma
Monogatari". So don't read too much further if you'd rather be
surprised.
I went to see this movie in Tokyo (Roppongi Hills Cinema) with a
Japanese friend on my birthday. I had seen Shimotsuma Monogatari both
in Japanese and with English subtitles and enjoyed it immensely. I
didn't know anything at all about Kiraware Matsuko no Issho except that
it was by the same director but agreed to go see it based on my
expectation that it would be similarly colorful, charming and full of
fun unexpected bits. In this I was not disappointed.
The movie tells the story of Matsuko, the mysterious and recently
deceased occupant of a rather shabby apartment which is to be cleaned
by a young man, through whose eyes we see the movie. This young man is
tasked by his father to clean an apartment and as he begins to discover
the personal effects of the now dead occupant, he becomes entangled in
an effort to piece together the details of her complex and sordid life.
If you've seen the movie Amelie, you might recognize some influences
from it in this movie. The director favors saturated colors,
time-shifting and the occasional surreal mixing of the literal world
with the metaphorical or symbolic. I personally enjoyed these
storytelling devices as well as the pacing and almost "Memento" like
revelation of the character of Matsuko and her relationships with the
other characters in the movie.
The reason I checked the spoiler box on this comment was because I went
to the movie expecting something light and fun with an uplifting ending
like Shimotsuma Monogatari but was shocked to discover how incredibly
sad and depressing this movie turned out to be. While the visual
language and storytelling devices were very colorful and fun, the
actual story of Matsuko's life is a tragedy of epic proportions, a
modern day tribulation both frightening in its graphic portrayal and
disturbing in its plausibility.
It's a story of the excesses of achieving success, the futility of
searching for stability and the emptiness of hoping for happiness.
Matsuko is not so much a character as a symbolic punching bag
representing the state of modern Japanese femininity. Watching this
movie broke my heart and I (a 38 year old man) cried for two days
following it.
If you're going to see this movie (and I recommend you do), be prepared
to be moved by it. You won't need to understand Japanese to get what's
happening (though you might miss a few of the jokes here and there) so
don't let the language prevent you from experiencing the most
depressing comedy you're likely to ever see.
13 out of 16 people found the following review useful:
Sad and surreal, 22 July 2007
Author:
Christian (christian94@hotmail.com) from Montreal, Canada
This movie is unique and innovative. It is somewhat of fairytale like
Cinderella and reminds me of Big Fish (2003), but is also very dark and
depressive like say Requiem for a Dream (2000). It follows the
hardship-laden life of Matsuko through the gradual discoveries of her
nephew and the people he encounters.
It is extreme in content and in appearance, but touches very true and
deep feelings & fears within all of us. It explores the meaning of life
and asks very interesting questions. It does so while treating life's
inevitable tragedies with humour and gaiety. The visual style and music
are important elements of the movie as they share a positive-looking
outlook of life even in the dimmest of circumstances.
The drama is centered around the dysfunctional family Matsuko was both
the product of and the most disruptive element in its spiral towards
destruction. Friendship, love and professional lives are also well
explored, although as you can imagine, none of them in an ideal, truly
rewarding way. The bleakness of the story and the brightness of the
storytelling makes for a very interesting contrast. There are many
beautiful shots (even if a bit CGI-heavy) and the inherent beauty of
life is revealed through the crust of old, piled up garbage.
The storytelling is very fresh and even though it sags at some points
as the film never seems to end, it does get its point across in a artsy
and non-threatening way. I was so involved with the demanding story
that I was literally shocked as I exited the dark theater to see other
people lined up for the next movie at the FantAsia festival. After a
viewing experience like this, I found myself surprised that there could
be more movies after that or, possibly, that there may be anything
after that! This is how profoundly I was affected. "Memories" is not a
movie you just eat up and leave, you really need to settle and digest
before you can truly understand and internalize.
A tough journey, a good message and possibly a lot of positive
ramifications in art & life. Recommended.
8 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Thoroughly sad, but incredibly funny (very light spoilers), 12 October 2006
Author:
PorkyMcPork from Germany
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
I saw the movie on a flight back from Japan and didn't have any
specific expectations. It simply blew me away, however. It is
magnificently crafted, every scene showing a unique beauty in both
camera and composition. it sometimes crosses borders to anime and music
video clip, making it a very special experience to watch.
short summary: A young man in his late teens/early twenties, who dreams
of becoming a pop star musician and who therefore has left his hometown
for Tokyo, is lost somewhere between the vast city and his porn movies
compensating his loneliness. He is unexpectedly addressed by his
father, whom he hasn't seen or heard from in years, who tells him that
his aunt Matsuko has recently been murdered. He consecutively tells his
son to deal with Matsuko's "aftermath", including an unbelievably messy
and run-down apartment and, more important, the disturbing story of her
sad life.
"Kiraware Matsuko no issho"/"Memories of Matsuko" is the most gripping
movie experience i've had in the last few years, outmatching even
"Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" from Park Chan-Wook. The movie's content
is so heartbreakingly sad but still you keep on laughing while actually
trying not to cry. It communicates the fatal tragedy with a touching
lightness. Nakajima has an incredible eye for aesthetics and details.
Where "Mr. Vengeance" is mercilessly straight forward, "Matsuko" is so
subtle and discrete, thus emphasizing the mental brutality of the
ongoing action even more. It came to me, that this film is actually
depicting many aspects of contemporary life in Japan such as loneliness
in cold and alienating urban areas, fanatic "fanboy/girl"-ism or
violence against social outcasts.
This gem of a movie is clearly a must-see if one is into sophisticated
off-mainstream films and especially into the the art of Japanese/Asian
film-making.
5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Life in Technicolor, 5 July 2009
Author:
badidosh from Philippines
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Like an amalgam of "Amelie," "Big Fish" and pretty much every
depressing movie there is, "Memories of Matsuko" is simultaneously a
charming and heartbreaking lampoon to the disgraced roles of women in
Japanese cinema set amidst the world of Japanese kitsch, AV idols, and
Yakuza gang members. Tetsuya Nakamura's genuinely heartfelt saga,
charting her tragic heroine's life before she is found murdered in a
grassy area not far from her slipshod apartment, at the very least
superficially recalls Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire" in as much as
that both films' leads, mere victims of bad choices and circumstances,
struggle to find the true meaning of joy in their godforsaken lives, as
it is that the narratives are mostly told in flashbacks and driven by a
fractured timeline.
In the present day, a gruffly obese Matsuko Kawajiri (Miki Nakatani) is
found murdered and Shou Kawajiri (Eita), her nephew by her estranged
brother (Teruyuki Kagawa), is tasked by his father to clean her
apartment after her cremation. He never saw her before but there,
meeting Matsuko's raucous punk neighbor (Gori) and the chief suspect
for her aunt's slaying (Yusuke Iseya) who provide clues to her aunt's
identity, he gradually pieces the unbelievably hard-knock adventures of
her departed aunt. As the film explores Matsuko's constantly
frustrating search for happiness with the right man, it becomes a
surprisingly bittersweet love story interspersed with musical numbers
running the gamut from Christian hymns to cheeky J-pop tunes.
Following his brazen though a bit hollow "Kamikaze Girls,"
writer-director Nakamura, a veteran of TV commercials, conveys the
vaudeville-style film with gloriously saturated colors, highly diffused
lighting, and a blistering cacophony of Nipponese pop culture to define
Matsuko's epitonic past that sometimes, it feels as though the
audacious employment of visual smorgasbord threaten to derail the
emphasis from its characters. Still, Nakamura's direction is blissful,
preoccupied by the premise that the constant pursuit for love and
affection eventually pays dividends -- though sometimes in less
expected ways -- as established early in the film's opening credit
sequence that recalls classic musicals and in Nakitani's happy pap-pap
trot in La La Land. It's Utopian thinking but its groundwork on the
chronic impediment of the feminine role in a male-dominated culture and
the ability of selfless pursuit to decimate that stigma is authentic
and beautiful.
7 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Facing Adversity with A "Funny Face" and Undying Hope..., 21 October 2006
Author:
jmaruyama from Honolulu, HI
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Visually stunning and touchingly poignant, Nakashima Tetsuya's
"Kiraware Matsuko No Issho" (The Life of Hateful Matsuko AKA Memories
of Matsuko) follows the crazy and often times sadly tragic life of
Kawajiri Matsuko, a woman whose unshakable will to survive, even in the
face of unbearable adversity and tragedy is truly inspiring. This is
Nakashima's sophomore film following his sleeper hit "Shimotsuma
Monogatari" (AKA Kamikaze Girls) and he doesn't disappoint.
While comparisons to Robert Zemeckis's "Forrest Gump" are unavoidable,
I think "Memories of Matsuko" is more like a darker version of the
famed NHK drama series "Oshin" (1983) which told a similar story about
the life and tragedies of a young woman who escaped poverty to become a
wealthy store owner. Matsuko's emotional journey is not as happy one as
she continually falls into abusive relationships and tragic love
affairs spanning three decades yet, as in "Oshin", even when it seems
that Matsuko has lost everything, she still manages to hold on to her
dreams using humor, the gift of music and an undying sense of hope.
Nakatani Miki ("Ring", "Rasen", "Densha Otoko") truly shines as Matsuko
and her chameleon-like ability to change her look throughout the
various decades (60s, 70s and the 80s) is amazing to watch as is her
effortless ability to switch from drama to comedy. She is supported by
a great cast including Ichikawa Mikako ("Cutie Honey"), Kurosawa Asuka
("Kirei"), Eita ("Azumi", "Densha Otoko"), Iseya Yusuke ("Casshern")
and Gori ("Nin x 3 Hattori Kun").
The film is framed almost like a dark "fairy tale" but Nakashima still
manages to infuse his unique sense of visual wonder and comedy into the
mix. There are brilliant moments where the film takes on an almost
surreal feel--incorporating 2-D Disney-like animation, CGI and
elaborate musical numbers which are reminiscent of the film "Moulin
Rouge".
The musical soundtrack is wonderful and successfully captures the
themes of lost innocence and heartbreak. It's amazing how Nakashima is
able to work in Japan's diverse musical history, from childhood
lullabies to disco to Enka and Hip Hop into the soundtrack.
While the film is very Japanese in style, the overall message of the
film (perseverance in the face of adversity) are very much universal. I
was also surprised by some of the Christian themes (the message of hope
and salvation) that was also in the film.
Despite the ironic Japanese title, there is nothing hateful about
"Matsuko" at all. I'm really fond of this movie and recommend it
highly. It's a bitter-sweet drama/comedy that will make you cry but
will also touch your heart in a way few movies do.
3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
What would seem like a magical fairy tale..., 8 November 2010
Author:
from United Kingdom
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
The film tells the story of a woman named Matsuko, who is recently
deceased, as her nephew Sho uncovers her story piece by piece by
talking to people she knew.
Matsuko's life is tragic. She seems to go from hard times to hard
times. But despite this despair her heart is always open. Her younger
sister is very ill and as a result, her father is often to preoccupied
with her to show young Matsuko the love that she craves from him. As a
result Matsuko is desperate to be loved, and cannot help but become
head over heels in love with every man that she has relations with.
Unfortunately this leads to her being abused by many of these men and
getting into lots of trouble along the way.
She sees her life as a fairy tale, which the director illustrates by
modelling the movie on a classic musical romance. The film's style is
bright and magical which means that, like Matsuko herself, you feel as
if this tale can only have a happy ending. Unfortunately for Matsuko
her tale is actually very real and tragic and ends with her falling
through the cracks of society and dying alone and dirty in a mess of an
apartment.
The first time I saw this film I cried quite epically and carried on
doing so for about half an hour after the film was finished. Which is
very unusual, because I had never cried over a film up until that
moment. I could not stop thinking about the film for a few days
afterwards and even now I'll think of it from time to time and some of
those emotions come back. There's just something about this film which
seems to deeply penetrate your emotional centre in a way that you would
not expect a film to do.
I would definitely recommend seeing this film, as it is a cinematic
masterpiece.
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