160. Maborosi; movie review

MABOROSI
Cert 12A
109 mins
BBFC advice: Contains suicide theme

Ah, contemplative movies - they give us time to think and consider moral issues or they test our concentration beyond its limits.
I suspect that cinephiles will love Hirokazu Koreeda's re-released Maborosi because it is beautifully lit and intelligently dissects how bereavement affects a young woman.
However, those who occasionally watch movies to escape their day-to-day will want more than its one-paced drama.
Makiko Esumi plays the film's subject, Yumiko, who still dreams of her long-passed grandmother in the early years of her marriage to her beloved husband (Tadanobu Asano).
Nevertheless, her life is otherwise bliss with her fella and a new baby.
Until hubby is hit by a train.
Koreeda's movie goes on to explore how she tries to get her life back together - largely, for the benefit of her son.
It examines the initial phases of inertia after sudden loss and then what happens when the proverbial dust appears to have settled.
It also looks briefly into the baggage which all adults have and how they cope when things don't go to plan.
They are no histrionics - I can't recall Yumiko shouting, screaming or even crying during the movie.
But death is keenly felt and Maborosi implies that the formal nature of Japanese culture keeps emotions in check.
As said, it is a gentle and thoughtful film which is pleasing on the eye but I suspect that some who see it will believe that the camera lingers too long. If I am honest, I am among them.

Reasons to watch: Another intriguing insight into Japan
Reasons to avoid: Too little action

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 6.5/10

Did you know? In 2014, more than 25,000 Japanese people took their own lives. The vast majority were men. The rate is far, far higher than virtually all other wealthy countries and three times the suicide rate in the United Kingdom. 

The final word. Hirokazu Kore-Eda: "I constructed every scene in this film not for the purpose of telling her story, but to invite the audience to feel the light, the sound and the darkness that Yumiko was feeling at that moment. I wanted to portray the change within her by depicting the changes of light and shadow that surrounded her."

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