There, I said it. I'll expand on it in a sec, just wanted to put it out there.
First of all, I went in with the correct expectations: indie film, slow-paced, romanticising daily life, cool music. And it did tick these boxes, except it was muuuuch slower than I would've liked. I wish there was a bit of a backstory or some more... story added on top of all the mindfulness lessons.
Speaking of mindfulness: I am glad this movie introduced a lot of people to this concept and provided a breakthrough for some of us (slow down and smell the roses) but ofc it won't be that for everyone. I, for one, found it a bit over the top, romanticising and idealising every boring aspect of this man's life, and I don't think that's realistic. Yeah, sure, it would probably be refreshing or interesting for a few days or weeks but eventually I'd want to experience other things life has to offer. Wouldn't you? Is it healthy to never express any opinions/feelings and barely speak to people? Take your work so seriously? Is that happiness? I think there should be some sort of balance and the writer seriously oversimplified what a content life looks like.
And to finally get to my point: this movie only moved me at the end, when Nina Simone's "Feeling Good" is playing and Hirayama is smiling/crying, because that's when I felt a bit of emotion and authenticity coming from this guy. It's not clear what he's thinking/feeling (and I think that's the director's whole spiel, to leave things unspoken, which does leave one wondering what is going on but I also think it's a cop out, because each viewer is doing his work for him, which is creating a backstory and personality for the main character, so that things make sense for each of us. Say what you want to say Wim, give us the story!!!). Anyway, there was a lot of sadness behind the smile, his eyes were red, his face kept going dark and sad and his smile felt forced. That's how I saw him, a repressed man who is forcing himself to stay positive at any cost, because the alternative is bleak. I thought he was just alone by choice at first but by the end I saw him as deeply lonely and hanging by a thread. I'm saying this as a person who enjoys solitude and quiet natural spaces, just like this character. It's a lonely life, because not many people enjoy the little things, the slow things, the mundane things, and sometimes you feel like sharing these little wonders with someone else but there's no one who appreciates the same, so you just kind of resign yourself to noticing and enjoying these things on your own. So solitude turns into isolation, and it's painful. I think that boring "social animals" cliche is true (definitely not saying we should spend all our time in packs, yapping on, ew) and Wenders simplified happiness and "perfection" too much.
I also would like to stress that the mundane is oftentimes dirty and nasty and cruel. His toilets were nice and fancy, and he got to spend a lot of time near nature, but how many of us are forced to live/work in dirty, noisy, crowded urban environments that look nothing like what's depicted in the movie? It's hard to romanticise these common aspects of life unless you live in idealised Japan.
All in all, it was a cute watch with good music. I appreciated the simplicity of the movie, in almost a rebellious sense compared to Hollywood movies, which are all about drama, noise, bla bla, just thought it went a bit too much in the other direction and would've been more impactful had it had a more clearly defined storyline.
First of all, I went in with the correct expectations: indie film, slow-paced, romanticising daily life, cool music. And it did tick these boxes, except it was muuuuch slower than I would've liked. I wish there was a bit of a backstory or some more... story added on top of all the mindfulness lessons.
Speaking of mindfulness: I am glad this movie introduced a lot of people to this concept and provided a breakthrough for some of us (slow down and smell the roses) but ofc it won't be that for everyone. I, for one, found it a bit over the top, romanticising and idealising every boring aspect of this man's life, and I don't think that's realistic. Yeah, sure, it would probably be refreshing or interesting for a few days or weeks but eventually I'd want to experience other things life has to offer. Wouldn't you? Is it healthy to never express any opinions/feelings and barely speak to people? Take your work so seriously? Is that happiness? I think there should be some sort of balance and the writer seriously oversimplified what a content life looks like.
And to finally get to my point: this movie only moved me at the end, when Nina Simone's "Feeling Good" is playing and Hirayama is smiling/crying, because that's when I felt a bit of emotion and authenticity coming from this guy. It's not clear what he's thinking/feeling (and I think that's the director's whole spiel, to leave things unspoken, which does leave one wondering what is going on but I also think it's a cop out, because each viewer is doing his work for him, which is creating a backstory and personality for the main character, so that things make sense for each of us. Say what you want to say Wim, give us the story!!!). Anyway, there was a lot of sadness behind the smile, his eyes were red, his face kept going dark and sad and his smile felt forced. That's how I saw him, a repressed man who is forcing himself to stay positive at any cost, because the alternative is bleak. I thought he was just alone by choice at first but by the end I saw him as deeply lonely and hanging by a thread. I'm saying this as a person who enjoys solitude and quiet natural spaces, just like this character. It's a lonely life, because not many people enjoy the little things, the slow things, the mundane things, and sometimes you feel like sharing these little wonders with someone else but there's no one who appreciates the same, so you just kind of resign yourself to noticing and enjoying these things on your own. So solitude turns into isolation, and it's painful. I think that boring "social animals" cliche is true (definitely not saying we should spend all our time in packs, yapping on, ew) and Wenders simplified happiness and "perfection" too much.
I also would like to stress that the mundane is oftentimes dirty and nasty and cruel. His toilets were nice and fancy, and he got to spend a lot of time near nature, but how many of us are forced to live/work in dirty, noisy, crowded urban environments that look nothing like what's depicted in the movie? It's hard to romanticise these common aspects of life unless you live in idealised Japan.
All in all, it was a cute watch with good music. I appreciated the simplicity of the movie, in almost a rebellious sense compared to Hollywood movies, which are all about drama, noise, bla bla, just thought it went a bit too much in the other direction and would've been more impactful had it had a more clearly defined storyline.