Between Calmness and Passion (2001) User Reviews

Beautiful film, but can be bettered

[leekandham · 8/10 · 21 August 2002]

Calmi Cuori Appassionati tells of the history of the love between Junsei (Yutaka Takenouchi), an art restorer working in Florence, and the love of his life, Aoi (Kelly Chen). Ten years back they break up in Japan and lead new and separate lives in Italy. But whilst Aoi has found a new beau, Junsei fails to fall out of love with her. Fleeting near-misses and real encounters pass by, as they discover what was really behind their relationship to start with and make their own decisions in the end.

Calmi is a beautifully set film, with the magical backdrop of Florence as its central setting. With additional scenes set in Milan and Japan, it really did feel an international movie.

However, the film lacked the innovation we come to expect from an independent film. Sure there were a few fine moments of direction and cinematography, especially many of the aerial and distance shots, but there was nothing that really took your breath away.

The storyline itself was much the same. Enough to keep you interested, well written and nicely timed flashbacks, but nothing that really surprised you. In a way you might have thought the story was a bit magical in that you couldn't expect it to surprise you. The characters also lacked a little depth, not really allowing you to explore them. The film really didn't make you think too deeply at all.

One of the most annoying aspects about Calmi is the soundtrack. Unfortunately, I felt the choice of using several tracks from Enya's Paint The Sky With Stars was overdone and was often used in parts of the film where the music just didn't fit. There are pluses, however, where Enya wasn't used and the classical pieces did fit in well.

I could go on summarising all the faults of the movie, but I feel that it would be over-critical since I'm would be setting extremely high standards. Indeed, I would like to stress that I did enjoy this film and it did engage some of my own emotions. There were some scenes where the acting was very good. I was impressed by the acting ability of Takenouchi, having not seen before, and also that of Chen.

However, I am disappointed that the film really didn't try enough to escape the boundaries that we associate with mainstream pictures and show us something more stunning to the eye. But I do offer it applause because ultimately it is a fine movie.

The Unbelievable Eternal Love

[unosweetsorrow · 8/10 · 11 October 2003]

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.

Meh

[peter07 · 6/10 · 2 September 2013]

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.

Attractive, but inconsistent

[kurai_hisui · 11 January 2003]

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.

Amazingly beautiful

[dchang-6 · 10/10 · 5 July 2006]

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.

Could have been...

[jooby · 5/10 · 3 August 2002]

I bought the Japanese DVD version of this DVD after hearing all the hype about the film in Japan. Well, I was a bit disappointed with the story line. The cinematography is awesome with some of the best shots of Florence that I've ever seen on screen. Leading actor and actresses are quite attractive. And their acting is, in my opinion, slightly better than those seen in soap operas. One terrible acting scene I would like to pick on is the scene where Akagi and Aoi kiss after long separation. It is by far the most fake-looking and artificial kiss scenes I've ever seen. I won't elaborate further to avoid revealing the plot. Also, the English lines delivered by Aoi's boy friend sound really like reading out loud in monotone voice. Terrible acting there. ***Warning***SPOILERS***Also, in my opinion, the movie should have ended when they meet at the top of Duomo and not have to drag on to show more of the same predictable conclusion. ***Warning***SPOILERS*** I would, however, still recommend this film on the cinematography and to the fans of Kelly Chen and Yutaka Takenouchi. They do look good (physically that is, not the acting in particular) in the movie.

About the DVD: region 2 DVD (rosso is the one I have) comes in anamorphic wide screen and the transfer is flawless, along with the digital sound tracks.