Metro ni notte (2006)

Director:

Tetsuo Shinohara

Writer:

Jiro Asada (novel)

Release Date:

21 October 2006 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Shin'ichi Tsutsumi	...	Shinji Hasebe
Takao Ôsawa	...	Sakichi Konuma
Aya Okamoto	...	Michiko Karube
Takako Tokiwa	...	Otoki
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Takahiro Hojo	...	Shoichi Hasebe
Kengo Kora
Hiromi Sakimoto	...	Shinji Konuma
Takashi Sasano
Min Tanaka
Kazuko Yoshiyuki

Runtime:

Japan:121 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Company:

GAGA Humax

Very weird film...Bad script...Not worth the time.

Time Travel is always an interesting subject, as people are always fascinated by it, and the possibilities are endless. However, at the same time, the concept had been explored many, many times and a lot of films are made based on this concept, such as 12 Monkeys, The Butterfly Effect, The Jacket, 13 Going on 30, Big, the Time Machine, Back to the Future Trilogy, etc. Thus, one has to be careful when one decides to explore Time Travel. If executed incorrectly by either the director or the screenwriter or both, it can feel tiring, unoriginal and trivial, and the audience would not accept such a impossible idea. This film, sadly, falls into the latter category, where both the screenwriter and the director misused the idea, and as a result, it became a messy piece of trash.

The basic format is good, as a son estranged from his father, through some strange miracle, was able to travel back in time via the metro system, learn more about himself, his father and his family, become able to forgive his father, and in turn, become a better man. There is potential for it to be a heartwarming story that the audience will love and take something away from it. However, because of its execution and a couple of glaring mistakes, it became messy and the film jumped all over the place.

First of all, it was never explained why the main character was able to time travel. It seemed all of a sudden, he traveled back in time. He did not have a goal, and because of that, the film did not have a goal and became very unorganized.

Secondly, the time travel was very inconsistent. Sometimes it felt as the world he entered into knew of his existence, while other times the world did not see or even remember him. Thus, this inconsistency contributed to the messiness of the film.

The third and final problem happens in the subplot, as the woman the main character is having an affair with turns out to be his half-sister, and she kills herself when she grabs her pregnant mom, in a time travel experience, and plunges down a flight of stairs. Although an interesting concept, the revelation came a little too late for the audience to become relevant. Instead, it is seen to be a ruse to get the audience interested by the use of a taboo subject.

Furthermore, it is not clearly shown if she knew the truth or not. If it becomes clear that she knew, then it is understandable why she decides to kill herself. However, because of the ambiguity, the subplot seems irrelevant.

In the end, due to the poor script and even worst directing, a once promising film becomes a junk piece of work. It is not worth the time.

3/10