A Moment (2012) User Reviews

nice!

[g-59652-35572 · 8/10 · 14 February 2019]

A moment is about a 311 serious earthquake in East Japan. First, everyone is living their normal lives. Then, suddenly, they all saw a message in smartphone. Suddenly, they became sad and numb. They couldn't walk out from the pain of losing the people they love, until they saw everyone standing still, closing their eyes, praying for those people. They suddenly understood that they are not alone, not only lots of people shared the same feelings with them but also people stopped their busy life to pay respect and warmth to those who died. And in the end, they found their strength again towards life and move on. There is no dialogue inside the whole film, only music and scenes. I saw perfect visual storytelling skill. I also want to note that the main characters, one of them is not Asian face. It reflects that now in Japan, there are a portion of "foreigners," which are living inside Japan. They are not Asian face, not the original Japanese, but they are deeply bonding with Japan, and also their beloved ones are also Japanese. And they shared the same feelings with original Japanese. As a foreigner, I hope that by watching this short film, Japanese people can understand better that we are human, although we might be born educated, and thinking differently, we are the same with them. There is no need to be afraid of us, or to keep distance with us.

A meaningful movie to watch!

[b-88494 · 8/10 · 31 January 2019]

This film is consisted of four people's stories that seem to be connected with The Great East Japan Earthquake that happened on March 11th, 2011. The characters have hard time at first, but eventually they overcome and find their own way to go at the end. I personally like the camerawork utilized toward the ending, where the editing works as if each character was in the same spot. Through the scene, I could feel the sense of unity for each separated storyline. Although few seconds later the characters walk forward in their own direction without communicating each other, which makes me sad but satisfied at the same time. For me, the short movie was like a future mirror that would reflect my days to come in several years. The situation may be different for my case compared to the ones that they had in the movie, but surely, I would face difficulties at some point in my life. In that sense, this short film warns me that the hardship is coming and encourages as well as implies that the toughness will be over someday if I do not give up trying. The film means a lot to me.

It might not be interesting unless you know the accident.

[vivisilvia · 6/10 · 18 July 2019]

This film is about a serious earthquake which happened on 11th March in 2011, east of Japan. There're four people who are living normally, but at the moment, the world stops flowing. I like this film for two points. First, there's no dialogue. They express their struggling and sadness by their motion, looks on their faces, and sounds. We can feel their real emotions by these more than verbal expressions. It's a good way to express something non-verbal, but because of it, you might not enjoy this film if you don't know about the earthquake. Second: the moment the time stops. Everyone stops, closes their eyes and starts praying for their loved ones. It sounds like there flowing a holy time. After a few seconds of praying, they start their lives again as if nothing has happened. I like this moment of returning to their anonymities. To sum up, I like this film, but it's a bit difficult for people who don't know the earthquake to understand and enjoy.

We should not forget the disaster.

[craftholic1999 · 9/10 · 2 March 2019]

When I was a 6th grade of an elementary school student, the great east Japan earthquake happened. I was in Akita so we were directly affected by the earthquake. Every day, the news reported the damage of the disaster and many people injured, died and missed by the disaster. I can not forget that day. The film is about the people about hurt their feeling from the disaster. It already passed 9 years from the disaster and the number of news related to the disaster is decreasing. People tend to forget the disaster. This film is good to remind us that there are many people, not only Japanese but also people who come from other countries, still, live with deep sorrow and try to overcome it. There is no dialog in the film but I can understand the emotion of the characters. I recommend watching this film because everyone may understand the story easily.

Even without any dialogue powerful and touching message it tells

[b-13616 · 8/10 · 28 January 2019]

In this only 16 minutes long short film, we first see four main characters, who appear to have negative feelings in their mind. Some seem to suffer from an issue in construction of relation, and another is experiencing trouble while tackling with acting practice. One thing apparent is that every one of the characters is deeply hurt in their heart. We cannot clarify the reason of their mental damage till nearly the end of the film, and therefore all we can do is just keep watching how severely they are troubled with something and wondering why they cannot escape the pain. It was so heartbreaking moments for me that I almost looked away from the screen. Suddenly, however, we see the story gets into a turning point: when looking back a clock at a park as returning where he comes from, when turning on a smartphone, or when taking a glance to a wrist watch, they (and some of us) find that a very special moment has come, and finally audiences notice the reason of their hurt, loneliness, or vivid lost feeling. This work describes an unforgettable, and still painful event for many citizens in Japan, and also those who lost beloved people on that day. At the same time, however, characters talk to us with a somewhat positive message: please remember that you are not alone. Look up, and then you will see there will be someone who is feeling in a similar way. It does not require them to persist in past regrets, but rather may try to help them look forward again and make the state to be stuck in the time warp change.

sympathize

[silvayuki · 7/10 · 24 January 2019]

The short film, a moment is the story of people who are struggling. People live while they have something like anxiety or distress. The film reminded me of it. At the beginning of the film, I did not find the theme of it, but in the middle of the film, I understood when I saw the clock which shows 2:46 p.m. The theme was the earthquake in March 11th, 2011 which caused a huge damage to the east and north area of Japan. My hometown, Sendai city in Miyagi prefecture also suffered huge damage since the center of the earthquake shock was off the coast of Miyagi. At that time, I was sixth-grade of elementary school. When I was cleaning the gym with my friends, the shock struck us. The gym made a very big noise because of the shock and I thought it was the end of the world. Though I did not lose my family and relatives, I lost landscapes of my familiar places. For example, my mother's hometown, Taro town in Iwate prefecture which has a very long breakwater was hit by tsunami and became a pile of rubbish after the earthquake. I felt a big sense of loss and fully realized the cruelty of natural disaster. Those who in the film seem to have a bigger damage than me. They lost their family, but they overcome the tragedy and advance to their future. I was encouraged by their action.

A moment

[pnoytt · 10/10 · 17 July 2019]

When I watched this film, memories of earthguake came back to my mind. Many people witnessed the rage of nature. At first, a man from abroad appeared. And also the stage was Japan, so I am interneted in the film. After that, a woman and two men appeared. Although this film proceeds focusing on those four people, I didn't understand what the film conveys. What I could understand was what everyone was struggling. I finally realized when the date and time "14:46" March 11 appeared on the foreign man's smartphone. This scene gave me a wake-up call. I could understand how deep thier heartache is. In this film, there were no scenes that people were talking. By only using images, we concentrate on character's facial expression and think about people's feeling and situation. As a result, we can understand the meaning of the film more deeply.

Silent Prayer

[0000k17 · 7/10 · 8 December 2021]

The movie genre of ' a moment ' is short drama. It was made in 2012. Four men and women who don't know each other's names and faces suffer from "loneliness". One day, people all over Japan hold a moment of silence at 2:46 p.m. What do the four men and women feel about it? The key point of the film is that the scene, objects and colors show their feelings. If they feel sad and depressed, the scene and object look dark. As their feelings change, the color and objects on the scene convey the changes of their feelings. I feel once again that each person has their own moment, and everyone is alive, even though they seem to be frustrated at times. Some people may like it. Other people perhaps don't like it. I think that it is worth watching this movie and I like it. By watching the film, I am able to feel gratitude in my daily life and be thankful for the support of the people around me.

It is appealed from the screen.

[risa_gu · 9/10 · 13 October 2021]

This is a short film released in 2012. It is about each life of four people who experienced the same suffering on March 11th, 2011. Their circumstances are different from each other, but they connect their hearts during a minute of praying in silence. There is no dialogue at all, but the images strongly reflect the emotions of the characters. Their expressions and gestures express their loneliness and negative emotions. Especially, I was impressed by the scene of praying in silence. This scene shows each person closing their eyes and praying in the city. They are all strangers, but I feel as if they are connected to each other. Also, the structure of this story is very original. It is based on the Great East Japan Earthquake, but the theme does not appear until the clock is shown in the middle of the story. The audience will be shocked when viewers realize this theme. It is worth seeing this film.

The film that a Japanese should watch

[monata1717 · 7/10 · 19 June 2019]

This is the first time I have ever seen such an thoughtful film. I had never seen the films which is based on earthquake disaster until now. This film has no dialog, so there is a quiet serious atmosphere. That is why I gazed in the performance of the actor even more. The people who lost a family in an earthquake disaster live as hard as possible. They are unable to stand it. To gaze at them, I came to feel a pain in my chest. I want to recommend this film to all nations in order to not forget the earthquake disaster.

the day

[momockinoco · 8/10 · 27 October 2021]

This moving film "a moment" was made in 2012. The genre is drama. In this movie, there are four main characters: A young man traveling around the world, a girl in a theater company, a restaurant cook, and a salaried worker. They lose their loved ones on "the day". They sometimes remember it and live in sorrow. However after they shared the time for people all over Japan to remember "the day" and stop to pray, they live forward. I suppose the message of this short film is how important it is for all people to live a positive and strong life. Surely it is difficult to forget the sad things, but if you don't live forward, nothing will start. I think it is necessary for us to accept sad events and still enjoy ourselves every day. This short film is worth watching. I would like to recommend it to many people.

Great East Japan Earthquake

[ohkf · 6/10 · 25 December 2021]

"a moment" is a 15-minute film from 2012, directed by Akira Sasaki. It is a non -dialog short film focusing on people living in Tokyo and the effect of the Great East Japan Earthquake. The screen switches the scene over and over between a young man who lost his lover, a woman who struggled with her companions, a restaurant owner who lost his father, and a man who tries to be kind to his employee. Each of the characters has their own problems, and it seems they do not have something in common, but at the moment of silence, some kind of mental connection appears. It is a beautiful film, as those people without any connections come together in a particular moment, and go back on their own way. The film directs positive images by telling us stories of their own life and how they get through. People should watch this film, to remind them of the tragedy.

I'm sorry but...

[painauchocolat · 2/10 · 28 June 2019]

I understood the purpose of the movie. But the way it was shot seemed really cliché and kind of cheap to me. The way characters have their own problems, but then meet by coincidence, looking at each others as if they knew they were figures of a film looks, for me, quite clumsy. Of course at the end, as it is always the case in real life - this is well-known -, they all miraculously solve their problems and have a happy ending.

Also, it's really hard to empathise with the characters because some of their issue don't seem very clear and you're just like "Ok, what's the problem with this girl? Why isn't she happy?" Is the salary man secretly in love with his subordinate ? Because it's how interpreted it. The absence of dialogue is not a matter per se but here, the images don't talk enough for themselves, so it just doesn't work...

The image of the American guy who goes on a journey to Japan to forget about a hurtful break-up is not really original and as I said earlier, it's really hard to empathise with him because seeing him looking at a picture of his girlfriend on his (very old) phone - which is once more very original -, with his big backpack just make you think he's the archetype of the "gaijin" (a pejorative word designating foreigners in Japan).

Finally, I don't know if this short film was supposed to be oriented more towards Japanese or Occidental audiences but in my opinion, I don't think it manages to bring the message it wants to convey originally. And it's really a shame...

cannot forget

[holton1225 · 10/10 · 22 December 2021]

This short film starts with the scene of four people with serious faces who seem not to be happy. Each has their own job and own life. However, on the important day for them, they all do the same thing, thinking about their loved ones. At the beginning of the film, about for 5 or 6 minutes, I didn't understand what was going on. They suddenly start crying and the images give no information why. The characters seem not to be friends, they are not even acquaintances, which makes me puzzled. However, one important scene which only shows the time and the date makes me realise that it is about the historical incident which we should never forget. I think if this film told us the theme at the very beginning of the film, it would be really boring. The filmmakers must have thought not telling the whole theme and its message for a while should make its impact much stronger. Another distinctive point of this film is an international perspective. They are three different nationalities, American, Taiwanese, and Japanese. The tragedy portrayed was not about only Japan. Even though it happened in Japan, not only Japanese people but also other nationalities have been suffering from the painful incident. There have been so many campaigns, like cheering "Japanese" people and "Japan" just because it happened in Japan, however, it might be a bit beside the point. We might have missed one point; it wasn't a Japanese-thing but a world-thing. I suppose the filmmakers successfully tell us our overlooked point and give us a new perspective, using very effective camerawork and the change of the characters' facial expressions. If you go and see the film at a cinema, this film will definitely convey a very strong impression and message. You should watch the film.

Beautiful and cheering short film !

[ryuryukl · 9/10 · 3 March 2019]

I really like the movie in that it attracts our attention very well. At the first half part, we will have no clue understanding what the movie is about because people are just grieving at something and showing their sad faces. Considering that few different people are on the TV again and again, we might be able to guess that they have something in common, which makes us concentrate on the storyline or people's face more. However, the core message of this movie suddenly appears when the date and time is shown to us, which is March 11th. Afterwards, we were able to follow the content easily and understand why the first half of the people were showing that sad face. As the movie gets closer to the end, even though the characters in the movie do not talk, we were cheered up by them because their face and atmosphere changes into something positive such as start walking or changing the background of the phone. Thus, I would like to recommend this short movie not only to those who were involved in the 3.11 earthquake, but also to people who are feeling blue but seeking a better future.

Nice one

[b-96128 · 7/10 · 3 March 2019]

In the film, there are some features that remind audience of the Great East Japan Earthquake. The impression that I got from this film is each of them are facing difficult problems in daily life and those individuals are trying to overcome the sadness and tackling the reality. Moreover, end roll of the film told me that those people are from different countries, and this made me realize that the Great East Japan Earthquake stays in the heart of not only Japanese people but also people all over the world because a whole world is connected somehow. The moment that those main characters are not knowing each other but come across in the last was very nicely describing that each people are connected and sharing painful memories even though we are unacquainted. Even though this film has no dialogue, the facial expression of actors and music are enough elements to understand what happens in the film.

meaningful movie

[yu-ka · 8/10 · 23 December 2021]

A moment is a drama movie made in 2012. At the beginning of this film, four people of different nationalities and genders are suffering from their own loneliness. However, at the moment when the clock shows the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake, they remember their past while expressing their sincere condolences, from which they begin to overcome their loneliness and move forward. We cannot realize what triggers them to suffer from loneliness at first, so the scene showing the time on their cellphone is very heartbreaking. Also, it is impressive that the music becomes more and more grand and gorgeous as their emotions change. Regarding the 3.11earthquake, Japanese media tend to focus on the Japanese victims and their families, but I think this film has a new perspective that shows there are many people suffering from this disaster across the country. This film makes you a little sad but it will also give you courage. Now, more than ten years after the disaster, this is a very meaningful movie that should be seen by anyone who has almost forgotten what happened on that day.

Nice

[f-emiri · 6/10 · 21 July 2019]

I think this movie has many metaphors. For example, after time of characters who have trouble in their life stops, their life comes to go well. This scene show that it is important to spop and think once when we get into trouble. Also, the scene that characters pass each other tell us not to forget that anyone have problems and not to think you are alone. Characters in this movie have different races. This means troubles has spread all over the world. Speaking of productions, this movie makes me an impression on me by eliminating dialogue. And the music played all the while that is mellow makes me feel relax. Thanks to these techniques, this movie is so emotional though this is not fun movie.

Encourage you

[kamamitochan · 8/10 · 24 December 2021]

This short drama was made in 2012. In this story, there are four main characters who live in different places. They don't know each other, but what they have in common is that they feel lonely. They are inspired by 'a moment'. In my opinion, this story conveys a message that you're not alone no matter how painful things are for you. By noticing they're not alone, they can move forward. In this movie, although this movie has no dialogue, each situation which they are in is expressed by their facial expressions, their belongings like a picture, a ticket, a photograph of a deceased father, two cans of coffee, and so on. Especially, we can read their loneliness in their eyes and the camera is focused on them. Besides, what 'a moment' is doesn't appear directly, but it is implied by a certain time. When it comes to a certain time, some people stop walking and think with their eyes closed. Also, the camera is focused on a certain time displayed on some clocks. The camerawork gives some hints. This movie encourages you to overcome sadness or difficulty, so it is worth seeing.

Step forward

[myqkbt · 7/10 · 24 December 2021]

This story is about four men and women. At the beginning, they have loneliness somewhere in their heart they think about things negatively.

At the time, not only these four men and women but also all the Japanese people share a moment. At the moment these characters meet face to face. From the moment, the characters want to try to take a step forward. Perhaps you cannot understand what kind of message this film tells us at the beginning, so you may get bored. You can only understand that characters have loneliness. However, I want you to find the moment of this film when you can understand the message of this film. I think that you will be encouraged, so I especially recommend that those who have loneliness and tend to think about all things negatively watch this film. You are sure to want to take a step forward.

a moment review

[MA_KNKNK · 8/10 · 19 June 2019]

This film is short, but the scale of story is grand. I experienced The Great East Japan Earthquake when I was a 6th grade of an elementary school student. I was so scary. I could never forget about the fear at that time. Each character had each experiences. But they felt so sad in the same way. We have to learn a moral from The Great East Japan Earthquake. This film made me feel living stronger and positively.

Remember that time

[amagaerunami · 7/10 · 24 December 2021]

Firstly, I couldn't understand what the director wants to tell us until the scene of the praying. Until that, I think that this film is only about the life that never works out as we expect. We can remember the importance of the ordinary life because of the scene.

Secondly, the director uses the contrast of the brightness around the praying scene.

Maybe, it expresses the feeling of four characters. Actually, from 2:40 to 5:38, the brightness is dark and they also look gloomy. From when they pray, the weather and the lighting are lighter. And the four characters look more positive. Because of these two points, I could better imagine the feeling of characters and the purpose of the filmmakers.

Forget-the day-not

[minamiakiiku · 5/10 · 1 November 2021]

This short film "A moment" was directed by Akira Sasaki. The drama features four international figures in some kind of dissatisfaction. They lead their melancholic life, but 'a moment' makes a change in their mind and life. In my opinion, visual expressions clearly displayed the feelings of the protagonists. Firstly, we can consider the setting of lights. For instance, a Japanese worker looked bothered in his dark room. However, at the end, he was on a brightly lit train, and his face showed his agony was got rid of. This contrast indicates his emotion shifted. Moreover, facial expressions of the protagonists are awesome. Especially, a Taiwanese cook, who mourns his father's death, did a great job. Even without any words, his acting performance showed his suffering and deep sorrow. Throughout this visual approach, I felt emotional, and really impressed. Having said that, I found some unrealistic aspects. After 'the moment', they looked so refreshed. The scene made me wonder why their agony was gone so soon. Some scenes are not plausible for me, but I recommend this film because it is a good reminder of 'the moment'.

A well thought movie

[anne_chan · 9/10 · 13 July 2019]

This is a fifteen-minute film that tells us about the after story of the earthquake that occurred in March 11th 2011. It shows us the feeling of various characters who lost their beloved ones during that earthquake. First the film shows the characters depressed expressions but, when it came half way through it started to give the main theme which is about the earthquake. The scene when the American looks at his phone and sees the date, many people in the city stopped and prayed. I think the four main characters met each other to know that they are not the only one who lost their beloved ones, so that in the end they overcame little by little.

sorrow

[Pimpkingirl00 · 8/10 · 22 October 2021]

There are some people who have a deep hurt in their life. All the hurt was caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake. Do their minds change or not? I think this story wants to tell us, you should proceed on your own way, whenever you hit a wall. People next to you might have the same hurt, the sorrowful mind is not only you. To realize it, the filmmaker lets them meet. This thing might be rare in our daily life. But, if this occurs in our life, people who have deep hurt like them might not deeply consider the hurt. So, it is necessary to meet. It's only for a moment when people disappear, but the people left behind continue to live. So, raising your face and having a strong mind is the most important thing. This story is a little difficult to understand, to glean what the writer and director want to tell us. To remember and avoid forgetting the big earthquake, people should watch it. But if you introduce this story to someone, before that you should tell them it is related to the earthquake.