In 2006, the film “Memories of Matsuko", which was filmed by the famous Japanese director Nakashima Tetsuya, was released in Japan and caused extensive discussion. The film won many praises for its excellent format and full of human care. The film was shortlisted in the Japan Film Academy Awards, including Best Screenplay and Best Photography, and won the Best Actress, Best Soundtrack and Best Editing Awards. "Memories of Matsuko" was adapted from the novel of the same name by Yamada Muneki. This film continues the strong expressionist style of Nakashima Tetsuya's works. These elements are exaggerated colors, artificial scenery, interspersed comedy elements, musical elements and philosophical elements. The film uses more than 400 CG lenses and animations. Movies is like Disney animation, with gorgeous colors and childlike humor. The director used various postmodern techniques to tell the life of the pine tragedy.

The director used the big colors and the big scenes in the movie to show the mood of Matsuko. For example, she was singing in the riverside of the hometown. Also, her memories of the river and other scenes are using big shining color. The color is a strong large red, but the use of light is relatively dark. This arrangement of suggestive psychological mirror is also very clever. Moreover, when the director tells the story of Matsuko, most of the scenes are completed in a relatively closed space in the room. Just like the life and psychological growth of Matsuko, the object is used to cover the psychological space of the characters. The film makes full use of shooting techniques.

To confess or express the voice for the characters, such as Matsuko borrowing money from the younger brother, the lyrics sung on the stage directly reflect the inner world of Matsuko, and the lyrics content contrasts with the hustle and bustle of the stage. I have to say that the film’s director is awesome and art design is unique in the arrangement of the scene. It is worth mentioning that, from the perspective of the role setting, Ryu's character reveals a concept of causal cycle in the dark. The sorrow of Matsuko really began with Ryu who led her to be dismissed from school, and Ryu was the last man in her life. This track returned to the origin.

In Ryu's memory, there are many memories of Matsuko, and the director uses a lot of beautiful pictures to tell. Along stood by the river, the river was sparkling under the gloom of the setting sun. The beautiful and gentle teacher Matsuko appeared in the sight of the young boy. The picture is very beautiful, very tender, and even a bit embarrassing, but even then, everything can't be returned at all, which is the regret of the film left to the audience. Throughout the film, the director expresses the tragedy in the form of comedy and warmth, telling the Matsuko's tenacious pursuit of love, from the fairytale dreamy swan world step by step into the dark world of crows.

The life of Matsuko is the process of dream creation, the destruction of dreams, and the reconstruction of dreams. It is filled with hope and despair, suffering and perseverance. Through a set of quick clips and colorful pictures, the film shows us the attitude of people in the face of life difficulties. Some people evade. Some people are numb. Some people fall, just as the film says, "The dream is very happy, but the happiness is over. There are very few people in a lifetime, and everyone wants to be a white swan. When he grows up, he discovers that he has become a black crow." Perhaps this is the portrayal of Matsuko's lifelong dream, and the tragedy of this life is not accidental. It is a combination of character and destiny. The film inspires the love and care of the audience deep in the delicate picture. It must be said that this is a present. It seems that there are still rare humanistic video works.

IMAGE SOURCE: image1 image2 image3image4

My Score is 7.9/10

Movie URL: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/31512?language=en-US
Critic: AAA