I haven't done a "Pictures" post for ages... Which is mostly because we watch way fewer movies these days. I don't know why. Our habits shift over time, cat-like. And the current moment is just movie-lighter. But I've had some notes kicking around for months and months, and we've watched a couple of things recently, so here's a cursory glance:

1.
The Water Flows to the Sea
2023, Tetsu Maeda

I enjoyed this much more than I expected. It's a heart-warming story that explores how people who have been hurt start to edge their way back into the world. You get quirky characters; you get awesome food, jumpers, and scarves. And there's a cat. What's not to like?

2.
The Lines That Define Me
2022, Norihiro Koizumi

This takes us into the world of suibokuga, or Japanese ink painting. It's a study of mentorship, friendship, and rivalry, and the painting scenes are energizing and fascinating. A tad ponderous, but enjoyable.

3.
Lonely Glory
2023, Keitaro Sakon

We've all met someone like Haruka... Bossy, driven, manipulative, and totally unable to see the big picture, she loses her job (which, ironically, is in the counselling business...), and then manoeuvres tirelessly to bring about the sale of the old family udon shop. The kick-ass expression of her "selfish benevolence" paradoxically has some positive individual impacts, but also triggers unquantifiable losses on a community scale -- not to mention her own growing isolation. Thought-provoking.


Zamami-jima, Okinawa, 2017

4.
Departures
2008, Yojiro Takita

In Japan, those who carry out the rituals surrounding death are apparently subject to much stigma. So when our hero, down on his luck, inadvertently snags a job in the "encoffinment" business, he has the prejudices of the rest of the community (including his wife) to overcome. A very touching film, showing us not only how cathartic these funerary rituals can be, and how people truly can be moved to rethink their ingrained ideas, but also how very fragile we are as human beings, all with our sad stories to tell. Hard not to shed a tear...



5.
I Go Gaga: Welcome Home Mom
2022, Naoko Nobutomo

And utterly impossible not to shed a small bucket of tears over this one, especially as it caught us in a dispirited week... This is the "sequel" to a documentary that charted the lives of the film-maker's parents at a time when the onset of her mother's Alzheimer's disease was exponentially worsening the normal trials of old age. In this more recent film, we watch as things decline still further. Mum's dementia deepens, but Dad (who turns 100 during the course of the movie) heroically battles on, determined to look after her. When she has a stroke, and is taken into care, he still makes herculean efforts to visit her every day -- until covid restrictions kick in, and contact is minimized. Eventually, Mum passes away. I had certain questions about the limits of consent in this film (Mum was definitely past the point of being able to give it). But the beautiful faces of this brave couple will stay with me, and the film certainly makes audiences think about what -- within the limits of your powers -- you want the end to be. No feeding tubes for me, please... Just let me go...