When a bored college student learns that a long lost aunt has been found dead in a park, he begins piecing together her life to see if it had any value. What he finds is a revelation. Talented film director, Tetsuya Nakashima (“Kamikaze Girls” 04), wields a host of cinematic tools to make “Memories of MATSUKO” a memorably entertaining and emotionally powerful “fairytale tragedy,” weaving together realistic human drama with offbeat comedy and spectacular (Bob Fosse-like) production numbers to tell the heartbreaking story of Matsuko Kawajiri, a starry-eyed woman who spends her entire life serching for a worthy “prince” capable of returning her limitless love. Versatile actress, Miki Nakatani, renders a virtuosic performance in the lead role of Matsuko.
What’s surprising is that sometimes Japanese dramas can be either really great or really boring, but their movies are always top notch and the movies are A+ work — well, I guess it depends on the movie… but I’ve watched a ton and they’ve been mostly good. Anyway, Memories of Matsuko was really depressing, more than I thought it would be. :( The colors are really bright and vivid, which was a direct contrast from the atmosphere of the film. I kind of liked that, except for the fact that the present day scenes looked like everything was set to exclusion in Paint Shop Pro at 100%.
The man who played her brother (Kagawa Teruyuki) didn’t overact here and I was kind of shocked. I don’t know, he was just so cringeworthy in MR. BRAIN, but all sorts of funny in Kisaragi… what I’ve noticed though is that the performances in movies are usually much better than they are in dramas (sometimes). Miki Nakatani, while I’ve never seen her in anything before this, was fantastic as Matsuko. Some of the more emotional scenes didn’t feel forced at all and I found nothing to be so-so about her acting. And Eita was Eita. ♥
Even capping this movie was hard, because I skipped to the ending again and it still makes me want to cry (it’s not exactly sad, but it’s … just like “aww ;A; “, you know?). I was ready to start sobbing like a little girl but my roommate was in, so I teared up quietly, haha
tl;dr Memories of Matsuko is bittersweet, heartbreaking and lovely and I highly recommend watching it.