The Worst Film Ever

Really Surprised!

I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

I saw this movie right before I sold the DVD. Based on a bestselling Japanese novel, the movie has an interesting premise with a Japanese guy, who excels in art restoration in Florence, and his estranged love, a half-Japanese woman who works at a jewelry store in Milan. The movie goes back and forth with flashbacks as to how the couple met and developed their relationship.The movie was too long at two hours and four minutes, as it could have been done in a shorter period of time, but hey, glacial pace is a trademark of Japanese cinema. The setting in Italy is great and so is seeing scenes of that wonderful country. I would say that is where the good points stop. Much is not explained about the couple's relationship and such, including Aoi's abortion and subsequent breakup. The side stories of Junsei's friends were not needed and looked hokey. And Michael Wong, who played Aoi's new beau, had the acting skills of a tree stump. In conclusion, one reviewer said Asian perceptions of a love story greatly differ from those of the West, and that is true. Perhaps Asians audiences will like this movie more than Western audiences. I for one don't regret seeing it but would I recommend it? Not sure.

This movie was one of the most popular movies in Japan and Korea when it was released, and it is easy to see why. Not only are the cinematics gorgeous, the central love story is also exquisite -- although extremely painful -- in a very sad regretful kind of way.The characters are very believable, and their all too obvious flaws, as well as their unhappy personal lives, make the movie ring true unlike many happy-go-lucky Hollywood movies. The fact that the story is told in reverse, with the two lovers broken apart and living with new lovers but slowly realizing that their lost loves are their true loves, only heightens the tragedy and the drama.Two quibbles: the movie starts very slowly and the English voice acting is pretty terrible. However, this is somewhat of a positive because it centers the viewer on the interaction between the Japanese characters, making it feel as if they are the central characters.

If you really want to feel the true and eternal love. I cordially recommend this movie. And you can enjoy the beautiful views of 3 cities of Italy,France and Japan. This movie was originated from the novel which has two books written by two authors(one book written by a male writer and the other one written by a female writer) As popular as the novel, this movie was so popular in Japan and recently in Korea. As I said, this movie is really perfect for the people who love Romance genre. And I would like to say that this movie is the top of the Romance genre movies.(But I can't be sure that the people from non-Asian can understand.You know, the ways of thinking of Asian and non-Asian are a little bit different each other)There'll be no regret after you watch it, but a wet handkerchief.

It was a beautiful film, visually, without a doubt. The choices of setting, camera angles, lighting, are all stunning. The rest of the movie is pretty inconsistent. The plot is interesting, but a bit predictable. Pacing alternates between some brilliantly timed scenes and long, dragging ones. The acting, in particular, feels like two movies got spliced together by accident. The Japanese segments are excellent (with one or two notable exceptions), and Yutaka Takenouchi plays his part perfectly. But I winced whenever someone starting speaking English. Merv (and I think you should lose two stars just for naming a character 'Merv') is like watching a infomercial host doing a bad Bill Clinton impression. He's so lifeless, it's funny. And Kelly Chen pauses so long between English lines, you'd think she was reading them phonetically from a TelePrompTer. And her character, Aoi, seemed particularly under-developed. All that said, it was a nice, and very pretty little romance. Worth renting for a quiet evening, but I wouldn't go searching for it on e-bay or anything.