BLUE VALENTINE

"BLUE VALENTINE"(2010/U.S.A)
Synopsis
Blue Valentine is the story of love found and love lost told in moments past and present. This honest and moving portrait follows Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams who star as Dean and Cindy, a married couple who spend a night away from their daughter in an attempt to save their failing marriage. Juxtaposed with playful scenes that trace their romantic courtship six years prior, Gosling and Williams journey through the brutal heartbreak that comes with fading love and broken promises.

Love is a precious spice of life and you may have experienced  passionate love.
This movie showed me the beginning of such a wonderful love but also showed me a sad ending of love.
Both of them, Dean and Cindy were too passionate and they could not control their emotion even after marriage. In order to restore the relationship, they had several unsuccessful talks. They had grown up in unhappy families and they didn't want to be like their parents. As a result, they were in love but could not get along.
That was so sad! But I think there are many people who can empathize with this movie.
There is no magic to keep a happy marriage. We have to try to care for each other and talk about anything. And I think the most important thing is having a same level of goal for each other. When you reach the goal with your partner, then you can step up some more.
In this movie, the hero and heroine lost their dreams. Their future values are quite different. I thought that when they lost hopes and dreams for each other, their relationship ended.
If you are now in love I don't recommend this movie but there may be many things to learn from it.
This movie's highlight was a performance of the actor and the actress. In particular Ryan Gosling who played as Dean gained weight and his hair thinned after his marriage. I'm a fan of his! And Michelle Williams was nominated for an Oscar for this movie.

My rating:★★★

SHUTTER ISLAND

"SHUTTER ISLAND"(2009/U.S.A)
Synopsis
It's 1954, and up-and-coming U.S. marshal Teddy Daniels is assigned to investigate the disappearance of a patient from Boston's Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital. He's been pushing for an assignment on the island for personal reasons, but before long he wonders whether he hasn't been brought there as part of a twisted plot by hospital doctors whose radical treatments range from unethical to illegal to downright sinister. Teddy's shrewd investigating skills soon provide a promising lead, but the hospital refuses him access to records he suspects would break the case wide open. As a hurricane cuts off communication with the mainland, more dangerous criminals "escape" in the confusion, and the puzzling, improbable clues multiply, Teddy begins to doubt everything - his memory, his partner, even his own sanity.

Teddy tried to solve a mysterious incident in the island which is isolated from the rest of the world. But he was a patient of the asylum before and he still seemed to suffer from a mental illness.
Teddy was being tested whether he was already completely cured from his mental illness and if he is not he has to be taken to surgical lobotomy.
It was difficult for me to distinguish which scene he was sane and which was not. But in the last scene Teddy said that "Which is worse to live as a monster or die as a good man."  I believe he was definitely sane from the beginning until the end and he chose to die as a good man.
My interpretation of the ending is something like this but I think there are some other interpretations.
This movie is perfect for first-class suspense story and the music is also cool too. Several soundtrack of this movie was composed by John Cage. ( His music is quite unique and he was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde.)　 His music added suspense to the movie.

My rating:★★★★

SOURCE CODE

"SOURCE CODE"(2011/U.S.A)
Synopsis　
When decorated soldier Captain Colter Stevens wakes up in the body of an unknown man, he discovers he's part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train. In an assignment unlike any he's ever known, he learns he's part of a government experiment called the Source Code, a program that enables him to cross over into another man's identity in the last 8 minutes of his life. With a second, much larger target threatening to kill millions in downtown Chicago, Colter re-lives the incident over and over again, gathering clues each time, until he can solve the mystery of who is behind the bombs and prevent the next attack.

I think this movie can be compared to "de javu" movie by Denzel Washington. However, I was able to sympathize with the hero of this movie more.
Several scenes changed so quickly and the hero re-lived the mission over and over again. One of them, he needed to do his mission and  at the same time solved another problem. The program called Source Code which the scientist made was perfect, but he committed a serious problem.　A human carried out the program, not computers. A human could cause unpredictable behavior and emotion. The hero tried not only to find the bomber, but also to prevent the accident from happening in order to help the passengers survive. It meant he tried to change the past. If the past was changed, the future would also be changed. He expected that to happen and he acted on it.
This movie showed whether his mission was successful, who he would be in the future is and why he was chosen for the program as the result I learned a sad story from his past but the ending was not sad. I thought he made a good choice for the rest of his life.

My rating:★★★

Elle s'appelait Sarah(Sarah's Key)

"Elle s'appelait Sarah(Sarah's Key)"(2010/France)
Synopsis
One of the darkest moments in French history occurred in 1942 Paris when French officials rounded up over 10,000 Jews and placed them in local camps. Eventually over 8,000 were sent off to German concentration camps. As 10-year old Sarah and her family are being arrested, she hides her younger brother in a closet. After realizing she will not be allowed to go home, Sarah does whatever she can to get back to her brother. In 2009, a journalist named Julia is on assignment to write a story on the deported Jews in 1942. When she moves into her father-in-law's childhood apartment, she realizes it once belonged to the Strazynski family, and their daughter Sarah.

The movie started with two different stories simultaneously.
One is the story of an American journalist living in Paris today.  Another is the story of a 10 year old girl named Sarah who lives in Paris in the past.
At first, I could not understand the relation of the two characters. But an American journalist, Julia traced the history of the persecution of Jews in France and I understood what the connection was all about.
Sarah had been round-up to a velodrome(Vel' d'Hiv) with her parents and she escaped there after a great struggle to help  her younger brother.
The success of her escape was because of the miracle of two things. First, a Nazi soldier with a conscience helped her escape. Second, a French elderly couple concealed her and after that, they became her foster parents. (In France during that time nobody could help Jews because of the negative rumors surrounding them and if would try to help the jews, they will be punished.)
Jewish survivors who have been exposed to the truth of the persecution of the Jews today, I think they have experienced a miracle just like Sarah. After the war,  they must have lived a life of psychological damage just like Sarah.
Julia searched for the truth about Sarah's life after the war because of her mission as a journalist. But the result of the search was disappointing for the people surrounding Julia and Sarah. Was knowing the truth the right thing to do?  Julia was suffering, but she had taken the pains and became stronger after learning of Sarah's life.
If I were Julia, I would do same thing like her but I have no strength like her.
Following the history, we faced a dark and tragic past of war. But history always repeats itself.
Modern world is unstable politically and economically and wars will always there waiting to erupt,  so I think we need a good story like this movie to always remind us of the past.
Touched by this movie, "The Pianist" ; Roman Polanski's masterpiece reminded me.
I highly recommend this movie!

My rating:★★★★

CHERNOBYL HEART

"CHERNOBYL HEART"(2003/USA)
Synopsis
This Academy Award-winning documentary takes a look at children born after the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster who have been born with a deteriorated heart condition.

This documentary was filmed 8 years ago, but it was released in Japan this year.
Now, everywhere in Japan, the radiation-related documentaries are appearing one after another.
The tragedy in March 11th, was not only due to natural disasters. There is no sign of converging accident in Fukushima because of radioactivity. There are still many people who cannot go home. I am very sad for them.
Ordinary people like me, thought  nuclear power plants were safe untill the accident happened.
Since Japan is a poor country in terms of resources, nuclear power was a dream power supply especially for pepople in the past. As evidence, world-famous Japanese cartoon characters, DORAEMON and ASTRO BOY are powered by nuclear energy. They are heroes for children, but I think their bodies are dangerous.
Radioactivity from Fukushima Daiichi nucler power plant is spreading like a  infectious diseases and has no sign of convergence.
Many chidren with a deteriorated heart condition were born after Chermobyl nuclear plant disaster.　We should learn a lot of things from this movie. 

I want to introduce this short film to you. This was made by Japanese director,Yukihiro Shoda.
In the second half of this film, you will see a girl wearing a red dress and is looking Taro Okamoto's mural. his mural "The Myth of Tomorrow", depicts a human figure being hit by an atomic bomb.
It's only four minutes of this fiction video, but it is a very shocking prediction of the future for me. I also want to hear your impressions.

My rating:★★★★

THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS

THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS(2009/Canada,France,U.K.)
Synopsis
In London, the sideshow troupe of Doctor Parnassus promises the audience a journey to the "Imaginarium", an imaginary world commanded by the mind of Doctor Parnassus, where dreams come true. In the stories that Doctor Parnassus tells to his daughter Valentina, the midget Percy, and his assistant Anton, he claims to have lived for more than one thousand years; However, when he fell in love with a mortal woman, he made a deal with the devil (Mr. Nick), trading his immortality for youth. As part of the bargain, he promised his son or daughter to Mr. Nick on their sixteenth birthday. Valentina is now almost to the doomed age and Doctor Parnassus makes a new bet with Mr. Nick, whoever seduces five souls in the Imaginarium will have Valentina as a prize. Meanwhile the troupe rescues Tony, a young man that was hanged on a bridge by the Russians. Tony was chased until he finds and joins the group.

I like this movie's director, Terry Gilliam. He is an American, but he is mainly active in the U.K. as an  animator, actor and movie director. He is also famous for being a member of Monty Python.
His image of a movie is artistic, so  the story he creates is beyond our imagination.
I always feel excited to watching his movie. "THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS" also exceeded my expectations.
The imaginary world commanded by the mind of Doctor Parnassus is so amazing.
Terry used his original animation techniques. Although it's a little weird world, it emphasized his individuaily. I am also an animator myself, so I admire him and I wish I could visualize my images like him!
If you see the trailer, you would think that it must be a flashy adventure movie like hollywood movies. In fact it is not. I think it is a love-it-or-hate-it type of movie just like "12 MONKEYS" and "THE BROTHERS GRIMM".
This movie is notable for Heath Ledger's appearance and became his posthumous acting. The filming was interrupted by his death, but his friends, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell helped to play his role and the complete the movie. As a result, the actors were very gorgeous and splendid.
By the way, I found a very interesting video. It was for a children's show in Terry's younger days.  He was showing how to make an animation. He was so young!
I like the video so much. How about you?

My rating：★★★★

Pora Umierać (Time To Die)

"Pora Umierać (Time To Die)" (2007/Poland)
Synopsis
Aniela, is as much a sprightly, unyielding relic of the past as the big dacha-style house surrounded by tall trees in which she lives alone with her impetuous dog, Philadelphia. Across the way, she disapprovingly observes a boorish fat nouveau-riche man in a big new house, and over in a corner, a shabbier building occupied by a struggling music school, everybody wants Aniela's house or her land. When nouveau-riche neighbors, aided by her cold-hearted son, conspire to gain her property, she finds a way to outsmart them.

The heroine was a very aged woman and she lived in an old house for decades. I thought she was energetic, but she knew that it was near the end of her life.
She reminisced her memories of love, wedding, and her young son around the house. The scenes were projected beyond the old glass doors. They were so beautiful. Although this movie was black and white but I felt the colors of her memories one by one.
She was also a charming woman, but people around her, even her son, did not know about the goodness in her. She might be so lonely. She lived throuth memories.
This movie seems sad story and when we grow old we will feel same loneliness she felt . So I was sympathetic to her feelings.
Neighbors had wanted her big home land. She was not greedy. She just wanted to keep her memories.
Anyway the music of the movie is stunning and the heroine, Danuta Szaflarska's acting is so outstanding. (She is 96 years old and still active!) Everything of the movie can be compared to a poem.

My rating:★★★

SHINANAI KODOMO:ARAKAWA SHUSAKU (Children will not die)

"SHINANAI KODOMO:ARAKAWA SHUSAKU (Children will not die)"(2010/Japan)
His Life(excerpt from wikipedia)
Shusaku Arakawa (1936-2010) was a Japanese artist and architect.
Arakawa studied mathematics and medicine at the University of Tokyo, and art at the Musashino Art University. Initially he worked with printmaking, using abstract dada and Neo-dada styles. He had lived in New York since 1961.
Arakawa met his partner Madeline Gins in 1963. Together, they founded the Architectural Body Research Foundation. They designed and built residences (Reversible Destiny Lofts, Bioscleave House, Shidami Resource Recycling Model House) and parks (Site of Reversible Destiny-Yoro). They developed an original theory and practice of the relation of the human being to the exterior world, elaborated most extensively in their book, Architectural Body. Arakawa and Gins were, together and separately, the authors of several books and exhibition volumes, most recently Making Dying Illegal.

This movie is a documentary centered on interviews with the residents living in the apartment complex which Mr.Arakawa built in Mitaka, Tokyo. The apartment complex is called Reversible Destiny Lofts.
I have actually seen it once and I was very interested in what's going on inside the rooms.

This movie gave me the answer my question.
The floors are not flat, the ceilings are low enough to hit the heads of the residents, and the sound resonates in the irregular walls. Living in the apartment complex seems to be unconfortable. The residents should always be careful.
Mr. Arakawa said living in Reversible Destiny Lofts lead us to living our lives forever. We can survive against death.
I think the meaning is that using the senses such as touch, sight, and hearing stimulates the brain. (The residents use their senses very well because of the difference shapes of the room.) We die of brain death so, Mr.Arakawa thought we won't die if we will not be brain-dead. This is my interpretation.
The movie's director, Nobutaka Yamaoka, has lived this apartment ever since his child was born. He doesn't have his confidence in Mr.Arakawa's theory, but he certanly sees changes in his child.
This movie is difficult to understand, but if you are interested in residential architecture, this movie will help you to get new imagination. And if you are also intersted in Mr.Arakawa's theory, you will try to visit Reversible Destiny Lofts.

My rating:★★★

SURVIVING LIFE(THEORY AND PRACTICE)

"SURVIVING LIFE(THEORY AND PRACTICE)"(2010/Czech Republic,Slovakia)
Synopsis
This movie is a Czech comedy horror film by Jan Švankmajer. The film uses a mix of cutout animation from photographs and live-action segments, and tells the story of a married man who lives a double life in his dreams, where he is married to another woman. It will premiere out of competition at the 67th Venice International Film Festival.

Have you ever seen a dream? I have always seen colored dreams with scents. 
My dreams come as comedy, tragedy, disaster or  suspence story with dinosaurs coming out to get me.
Sigmund Freud is an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis.
According to Freud, dreams are meant to satisfy human desires and all of our dreams are meaningful ones. And he also said there are two types of dreams. One is when the desires appear cleary. Another is when the potential desire appear and change their shapes as distorted dreams. 
This movie deals with the logic of Freud in a very unique way.
Evzen, a hero of the movie, met a women in his dream and he tried to manipulate his dream to see her again. But the women was not his clear desire. So what is meaning of her appearance?  As the story progresses, you will find her true identity. The end of the movie is complicated mixture of reality and dreams.
I like Švankmajer's movies and I am always impressed by the production of his movies and his techniques. Generally his movies are difficult to understand.
But I think this movie is easy to watch even if you're a beginner fan of his.

My rating:★★★★

MARY & MAX

"MARY & MAX'(2009/Australia)
Synopsis
"Mary & Max" is a claymated feature film from the creators of the Academy Award winning short animation "Harvie Krumpet". It is a simple tale of pen-friendship between two very different people; Mary Dinkle, a chubby lonely eight year old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max Horovitz, a 44 year old, severely obese, Jewish man with Asperger's Syndrome living in the chaos of New York.
Spanning twenty years and two continents, Mary and Max's friendship survives much more than the average diet of life's ups and downs. Like "Harvie Krumpet", "Mary & Max" is innocent but not naive,  as it takes us on a journey that explores friendship, autism, taxidermy, psychiatry, alcoholism, where babies come from, obesity.

This movie is based on a true story. Adam Elliot, the Australian director of this movie has a physical disability and he had a penpal in the past.
I also had some penpals when I was a junior high school student. I wrote a lot of things to them. So I think I can understand what Mary feels and I can also understand what Adam conveys.
Mary and Max had lonely lives but their friendship has been nurtured over the years through letters and chocolates.
As usual, there are a lof of clay animations for children but this movie is for adults. The characters look ugly but when you see the story, you realize that they are lovely.
When the movie was released in Japan this year, I helped in the promotion by making "Mary and Max" dolls and I also wrote a contribution to the film brochure. (This was a very nice experience for me!)
I saw this movie dozens of times to make the dolls. Every time I see it, I'm always crying with emotions.
I really would like for you to see the movie!

(I made these dolls)

My rating:★★★★