As with many young male fans,the stunning model/actress/singer Uchida Yuki stole my heart when she debuted onto the Japanese entertainment scene in the early 90s in such Fuji TV J-Dorama series as "Hitotsu Yane No Shita", "Jaja Uma Narashi" and "At Seventeen" and in movies like "Cat's Eye", where she often played tough, tomboyish characters whose rough exteriors hid deep emotional pain and tragic pasts. With her tall, slender body and model good looks she was an instant star and even made a name for herself as a singing idol. In 2002 she briefly retired from the entertainment industry to marry fellow actor Yoshioka Hidetaka which unfortunately ended in quick divorce in a mere three years. Uchida made a quiet return to TV drama in the Nihon TV drama "Dare Yoi Mo Mama O Aisu" and has since established herself as a serious dramatic actress in series such as "Hiryu-Team Medical Dragon 2" among others.
"Quiet Room Ni Yokoso", the latest film from writer/director/actor Suzuki Matsuo whose writing work includes the deeply emotional "Tokyo Tower: Okan To Boku To Tokidoki Oton" and the madcap "Koi No Mon" is a nice showcase for Yuki's talents and is indeed a welcome comeback for this young star.
Yuki portrays the oddly named Sakura Asuka, a former "campaign girl" and now fledgling writer who has had her share of a rough life. Her former husband (Tsukamoto Shinya) a much older man, was a nebbish and all-too-serious bore. Their profound personality differences were too much of a strain on her and Sakura leaves her husband reluctantly (she even has an abortion). Asuka eventually meets a kindred spirit in the eccentric and odd-looking Yakihata Tetsuo (Kudo Kankuro). While mismatched in looks and appearance, Asuka falls for his bizarre personality and they quickly marry.
Yuki's happy world however soon turns upside down when she finds herself institutionalized into a Psychology Ward after an overdose of prescription drugs. Although Asuka claims it was just a mistake, doctors decide it was an aborted suicide attempt (something which Asuka herself does not remember). Amidst the wacky, deranged and almost cartoonish assortment of characters in the ward, she finds friendship among fellow patients Kurita (Nakamura Yuko) who like Yuki had attempted suicide previously; the childlike music protégé and longterm patient Sae (Takahashi Mae)and the dark and charismatic Miki (an absolutely stunning Aoi Yu) who suffers from severe bulimia.
Together they endure and give support to one another as they await their hopeful release from the ward, which is under the strict supervision and iron will of head Ward Nurse Eguchi (Ryo).
The script by Suzuki recalls elements from Milo Forman's seminal 70s drama "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" but doesn't share that film's dark, anti-establishment tone and instead is a film that more closely resembles James Mangold's touching and sobering "Girl, Interrupted". In fact the similarities between the two movies are very much striking but I don't think that diminishes "Welcome To The Quiet Room" at all and I think the two films can be looked at as companion pieces rather than derivatives.
As mentioned, this is Yuki's movie to be sure as it is a showcase for the talented actress. Yuki's Asuka plays the entire emotional landscape from drama to comedy and even gets to do a little song and dance. Writer/actor Kudo Kankuro (screenplay for Zebraman, Ping Pong, Go) is a bit over-the-top in his role as geekish Tetsuro. One can't help but laugh in disbelief that his character could "hook up" with Yuki's character. He seems too much of a social oddball and his antics seem less funny and endearing and more irritating and annoying. Fashion model Ryo (Gaichu, Casshern, Azumi) never ceases to impress with her quiet yet effective roles. She's not just a pretty face but a talented actress that brings subtle depth to her characters. While Nurse Eguchi is nowhere near the "witch" that Louise Fletcher's Nurse Ratched was in "Cuckoo's Nest", she is still very much in the same spirit as that character.
Just as Angelina Jolie's supporting role stole the film from lead Winona Ryder in "Girl, Interrupted", so too does Aoi Yu's small role as Miki steals the film from Yuki. Playing very much the same type of dark, rebel character that Jolie did, Aoi is absolutely mesmerizing in the film. With her Amuro Namie inspired cornrow braided hair and "goth" fashion to her cool and controlled performance, it is a very different but pleasantly sexy look for Aoi. Aoi is certainly one of the best young actresses in Japan today and this is clearly an example as to why.
Suzuki's direction style here is a bit unfocused. Some of the funny moments seem quite contrived and forced while the dramatic elements in the film seem to belong to an entirely different movie. It's as if the film is just as schizophrenic as the patients in the hospital ward, shifting from absurd comedy to tear inducing social drama. While the film often refers to "Wizard of OZ", the film seems to have more in common with the psychedelic "Alice In Wonderland".
To be quite honest, the ending really made me mad. To avoid any "spoiler" material, suffice to say, Asuka's actions at the end seem very uncaring and I'm not sure that it was the intent of Suzuki to elicit that type of reaction. While I think I can understand the reasons for Asuka's final behaviors, it seems a bit cold and heartless in light of all that came out in the movie. It undoes all the friendships made in the film.
I still liked "Welcome To The Quiet Room" but the ending really turned what could have been a sentimental and touching movie into one where you start to hate Yuki's character and that's not the type of feelings I'd like to associate with her.
"Quiet Room Ni Yokoso", the latest film from writer/director/actor Suzuki Matsuo whose writing work includes the deeply emotional "Tokyo Tower: Okan To Boku To Tokidoki Oton" and the madcap "Koi No Mon" is a nice showcase for Yuki's talents and is indeed a welcome comeback for this young star.
Yuki portrays the oddly named Sakura Asuka, a former "campaign girl" and now fledgling writer who has had her share of a rough life. Her former husband (Tsukamoto Shinya) a much older man, was a nebbish and all-too-serious bore. Their profound personality differences were too much of a strain on her and Sakura leaves her husband reluctantly (she even has an abortion). Asuka eventually meets a kindred spirit in the eccentric and odd-looking Yakihata Tetsuo (Kudo Kankuro). While mismatched in looks and appearance, Asuka falls for his bizarre personality and they quickly marry.
Yuki's happy world however soon turns upside down when she finds herself institutionalized into a Psychology Ward after an overdose of prescription drugs. Although Asuka claims it was just a mistake, doctors decide it was an aborted suicide attempt (something which Asuka herself does not remember). Amidst the wacky, deranged and almost cartoonish assortment of characters in the ward, she finds friendship among fellow patients Kurita (Nakamura Yuko) who like Yuki had attempted suicide previously; the childlike music protégé and longterm patient Sae (Takahashi Mae)and the dark and charismatic Miki (an absolutely stunning Aoi Yu) who suffers from severe bulimia.
Together they endure and give support to one another as they await their hopeful release from the ward, which is under the strict supervision and iron will of head Ward Nurse Eguchi (Ryo).
The script by Suzuki recalls elements from Milo Forman's seminal 70s drama "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" but doesn't share that film's dark, anti-establishment tone and instead is a film that more closely resembles James Mangold's touching and sobering "Girl, Interrupted". In fact the similarities between the two movies are very much striking but I don't think that diminishes "Welcome To The Quiet Room" at all and I think the two films can be looked at as companion pieces rather than derivatives.
As mentioned, this is Yuki's movie to be sure as it is a showcase for the talented actress. Yuki's Asuka plays the entire emotional landscape from drama to comedy and even gets to do a little song and dance. Writer/actor Kudo Kankuro (screenplay for Zebraman, Ping Pong, Go) is a bit over-the-top in his role as geekish Tetsuro. One can't help but laugh in disbelief that his character could "hook up" with Yuki's character. He seems too much of a social oddball and his antics seem less funny and endearing and more irritating and annoying. Fashion model Ryo (Gaichu, Casshern, Azumi) never ceases to impress with her quiet yet effective roles. She's not just a pretty face but a talented actress that brings subtle depth to her characters. While Nurse Eguchi is nowhere near the "witch" that Louise Fletcher's Nurse Ratched was in "Cuckoo's Nest", she is still very much in the same spirit as that character.
Just as Angelina Jolie's supporting role stole the film from lead Winona Ryder in "Girl, Interrupted", so too does Aoi Yu's small role as Miki steals the film from Yuki. Playing very much the same type of dark, rebel character that Jolie did, Aoi is absolutely mesmerizing in the film. With her Amuro Namie inspired cornrow braided hair and "goth" fashion to her cool and controlled performance, it is a very different but pleasantly sexy look for Aoi. Aoi is certainly one of the best young actresses in Japan today and this is clearly an example as to why.
Suzuki's direction style here is a bit unfocused. Some of the funny moments seem quite contrived and forced while the dramatic elements in the film seem to belong to an entirely different movie. It's as if the film is just as schizophrenic as the patients in the hospital ward, shifting from absurd comedy to tear inducing social drama. While the film often refers to "Wizard of OZ", the film seems to have more in common with the psychedelic "Alice In Wonderland".
To be quite honest, the ending really made me mad. To avoid any "spoiler" material, suffice to say, Asuka's actions at the end seem very uncaring and I'm not sure that it was the intent of Suzuki to elicit that type of reaction. While I think I can understand the reasons for Asuka's final behaviors, it seems a bit cold and heartless in light of all that came out in the movie. It undoes all the friendships made in the film.
I still liked "Welcome To The Quiet Room" but the ending really turned what could have been a sentimental and touching movie into one where you start to hate Yuki's character and that's not the type of feelings I'd like to associate with her.