HIMIZU-DEIN SCHICKSAL IST - MO

Sono Sion is easily one of the most exciting, if not THE most exciting director working in Japan currently. His catalog of films have brought some of the most powerful movies I have ever experienced, and once again, Himizu delivers the goods. The film is a journey, that is in parts melancholic, funny, disturbing, playful, repulsive and ultimately redeeming. The two young leads certainly do deserve the hype around them, their performances are outstanding. As with most Sono Sion films, viewers must be warned against some of the content of the film, a lot of it darker than the average viewer would want to subject themselves to. And yes, as in one review, there is violence against women/domestic violence, but nothing as bad as other Sono Sion films such as "Strange Circus" or the recent "Guilty of Romance". However, for fans of Sono Sion, this is definitely worth checking out. For those who haven't seen a Sion film before, I'd recommend starting with Love Exposure and working your way up to this one- this being a much darker and disturbing film. Anyway, I love this movie. It is very stimulating viewing and has a rewarding and powerful resolution. If this kind of movie is your thing, go for it, if not, maybe avoid it. As far as the actual blu ray is concerned, once again Third Window provides an excellent transfer picture and sound-wise, and the extras are fascinating.

Himizu had it's premiere at the Terracotta Film Festival, in London, back in April. I happened to be there to see the film before but decided, as there wasn't much else to do, to stay on to see this one as well - as it was the last film of the event.... best decision ever!! The story centres around 2 young school kids trying to cope with life following a natural disaster and both have parents that, basically, don't care what happens to them. Shôta Sometani & Fumi Nikaidô did well with what, at some moments, was a tough emotional storyline (both going on to win an award at the 2011 Venice Film Festival and it's clear to see why). Yuichi (Shôta Sometani) goes through quite a journey, for someone who's only 14/15 years old, over the course of the film and you can sort of understand why he does what he does. There are other characters that keep the story moving along - these include a group of adults living in tents / shelters near the rental shop, who try and help out, a criminal (Denden, Cold Fish [DVD ]) to whom Yuichi's father owes money and of course the parents. There are dark, violent moments, romance and, thankfuly, comic moments that make the 2+ hours go by quicker then you think - you really get caught up in what's happening in these peoples lives and how they're going to deal with whats coming next. I can't recommend this one highly enough.

Sono's somewhat twisted message of hope to Japan makes difficult viewing, but if you can stomach some genuinely distressing scenes - Himizu offers a genuinely compelling story. Both story and characters are tragic to a degree of being darkly comic, I've never seen so many people get slapped around before! Yuichi's world is falling apart and despite his desire to be a good person, there lurks inside him a hunger of self destruction, fed by his mother's ambivalence and one fateful night with his father, Yuichi becomes a danger to society - an almost damning reflection of modern Japan, where we all too often see incidents of indiscriminate stabbings in the streets. Keiko's own tragic circumstances cause her to feel a compulsion and desire to be wanted by those who would turn her away (to a sadistic degree with her parents) and thus she is drawn to Yuichi, who himself doesn't want complications in life. She persists in offering herself to Yuichi and may ultimately act as a catalyst to his salvation. The Tohoku earthquake merely acts as a vehicle to reflect the breakdown in society, and in Sono's warped manner you can expect something that will leave a lasting impression. The music, and ending scenes in particular are especially poignant - with solid acting all around. I recommend Himizu

Poor

As in the other Sono Sion recent movies, "Himizu" is Intense and violent, focused on the difficult relationship between the world of adults and the teens. The actors and the cinematography are great but it is not as inspired and delightfully ambiguous as "Suicide Club" and especially "Noroko’s Dinner (Suicide 0)", and not as epic and crazy as “Love Exposure".

Another good film from this director. Its a dark drama which can be difficult to watch as it is very desperate and offers little in the way of optimism. Its well shot, acted and scored. Also worth checking out are Cold Fish and Guilty of Romance.

It was really good movie ever! I watched it in Japanese only, sometimes I had a trouble to catch the voice clearly, but anyways, it was very good, best ever. Beautiful music, impressive scenes, expressive voice and acts. The topic of this movie is very depressive, but at the end of it, you will be able to get some warm feelings from it. I strongly recommend it to you.

Enjoyed this dvd very much. Great acting and scenes.

中古で安く買えて良かったです。内容も良く何回も見れそうです。

Very well acted, and shot. I love this film.

Der Film wird und soll wohl auch erschrecken. Er vollzieht einen Skalpellschnitt durch das kollektive, psychische Befinden der japanischen Bevölkerung, die dem Zsunami und Nuklear-Super-Gau von Fukushima ausgesetzt war. Was dabei in teilweise offener Raserei an extemem Leiden zutage tritt, hätten wir uns ohne dieses Zeugnis so in der - noch - sicheren Ferne nicht vorstellen können. Es wird aber auch viel von dem Nationalcharakter der Japaner offenbar und die historischen Schilderungen vom Auftreten ihrer Truppen in besetzten Gebieten während der großen Kriege erhalten hier ihre späte Bestätigung und fördern das Verständnis davon, was dieses Volk noch zu verarbeiten hat. Hemmungslose Aggressivität und Verachtung des menschlichen Lebens scheinen immer noch weit verbreitet und tief verankert zu sein. Aber auch die andere Seite tritt hervor. Liebe, Mitgefühl, Verehrung und Hilfsbereitschaft sind bei diesen Menschen ebenso vorhanden, wie in allen Völkern. Aber wirklich rührend und zu Herzen gehend ist die liebevolle Anhänglichkeit der jungen Keiko an Yuichi, den vom Trauma gezeichneten, zutiefst depressiven und zum Autismus neigenden vierzehnjährigen Jungen, der sich von verantwortungslosen Eltern im Stich gelassen auf sich allein gestellt findet. Die ganze Geschichte vollzieht sich aus der Sicht dieses kindlichen Paares, dessen Träume unter dem Druck der äußeren Verhältnisse ihrem Alter weit vorauseilen. Ein erschütternder und bewegender Film, dessen Hersteller und Darsteller höchstes Lob verdienen. Wer den asiatischen Menschentypus mag, wird sich unweigerlich in die junge Fumi Nikaidu verlieben. Eine echte Entdeckung!

親の虐待の、怖さ・あきらめ・怒り・淋しさ・愛されたい気持ち…色々、考えてしまう作品です。 あってはならない事なのに、どこかにある事なんでしょう。

映画評論家の高評価から、気になっていた作品。 話は展開が早く、2時間集中しきりであっと言う間です。 俳優陣（特に主人公の染谷君）の演技力が凄すぎて、最初はストーリーに 集中出来ませんでした(笑) やや現実離れした演出はありますが、それほど気になりませんでした。 メイキングもたっぷりとあり、大満足です！もはやドキュメントです。 1度見た後も、何度も見てしまう程はまっています。 原作の漫画は、ぱらぱらと読んだ程度ですが割とセリフを忠実に取り入れられていると思います。 是非とも見て頂きたい作品です。 絶望で終わらぬ作品なのが、何よりよかったです。