What hits you first with Ryusuke Hamaguchi's epic "Happy Hour" is that it is far from a single hour in length, and that all characters involved are far from happy with their lives. Much like the time shared between the four leads and their significant others, the film is drawn-out, awkward and we learn some things we'd probably rather not have. But while far from comfortable viewing, it certainly reveals a number of traits about our lives, the company we keep and how our feelings differ with age.
Four friends Akari (Sachie Tanaka), Sakurako (Hazuki Kikuchi), Fumi (Maiko Mihara) and Jun (Rira Kawamura) arrange an outing together, with drinks afterwards. But as discussions grow, snippets of each other's lives are revealed, leading each to question how close they are, as well as if these are the people they still want to spend their spare time with.
When Jun announces she plans to divorce her robotic scientist husband, the group start to see cracks emerge in their friendship. Not having revealed her ambitions to the whole group, she also lies about certain aspects of his behaviour when in court, which the others feel less than comfortable with. Jun then disappears, leaving the others to help her husband try and find her, but they also start to question their own marriages and where they want to go in life.
Having to spend over five hours with these characters leaves one conclusion: None of them are particularly likeable, and some feel very unrealistic. The male characters all come across as one-dimensional caricatures of humans, showing little to no emotion. Jun's husband is as textbook as she describes, declaring his love and handling accusations against him in monotone. Fumi's editor husband's expression is far too cool, as he barely bats an eyelid at anything. While Sakurako is housewife to a typical salaryman.
Part of this is perhaps down to Hamaguchi employing local actors with no real experience in film, and so come across as a little wooden, though some better direction could make them more passable. With Jun lying and Sakurako having an affair, you don't develop the sympathy their husbands perhaps deserve, as they are a little too flat to ever consider sharing a life with. The female leads also come across as acting or hypostasising before actually talking with their husbands, which is a key outcome from the film.
A fun time for drinking with friends, this is not the 'happy hour' they expect. Now in the latter half of their thirties, they are starting to become set in their ways, and struggle to talk comfortably with one another. This is a collection of people who don't talk enough, saying too much. As such, when in lengthy discussion, they reveal too much in too short a period, leading to conflict.
The lengthy format allows this to come out, with Hamaguchi - who likes a long runtime - crafting the dialogue with Tadashi Nohara and Tomoyuki Takahashi to lead each to the point of irritation. The more they hear the problems of others, the more they realise their own; left to linger on their mind, their own frustrations are deflected on to others. It takes time to bring that out, and so the ambitious length is necessary in that sense.
But while Hamaguchi develops the scenarios well, the characters and some of the performances leave a little to be desired, leaving you in two minds as to whether responses come out naturally or by Hamaguchi's contrived design. With the heavy dialogue nature of the film, it is clear to see why he would want to use novices for a more natural rhythm, but their awkwardness at times makes you crave for some better performances, or indeed Hamaguchi giving them a bit more to go on.
The ambition pays off, however, with alcohol and friends round a table leading to confrontation as we get older, less able to see eye-to-eye with others the further we get down our own path. Hamaguchi teases this out, but it takes time. A happy hour leads to quick drinks, talks and merriment, but once it's over - like these drinking sessions - the cost goes up.
Politic1983.home.blog.
Four friends Akari (Sachie Tanaka), Sakurako (Hazuki Kikuchi), Fumi (Maiko Mihara) and Jun (Rira Kawamura) arrange an outing together, with drinks afterwards. But as discussions grow, snippets of each other's lives are revealed, leading each to question how close they are, as well as if these are the people they still want to spend their spare time with.
When Jun announces she plans to divorce her robotic scientist husband, the group start to see cracks emerge in their friendship. Not having revealed her ambitions to the whole group, she also lies about certain aspects of his behaviour when in court, which the others feel less than comfortable with. Jun then disappears, leaving the others to help her husband try and find her, but they also start to question their own marriages and where they want to go in life.
Having to spend over five hours with these characters leaves one conclusion: None of them are particularly likeable, and some feel very unrealistic. The male characters all come across as one-dimensional caricatures of humans, showing little to no emotion. Jun's husband is as textbook as she describes, declaring his love and handling accusations against him in monotone. Fumi's editor husband's expression is far too cool, as he barely bats an eyelid at anything. While Sakurako is housewife to a typical salaryman.
Part of this is perhaps down to Hamaguchi employing local actors with no real experience in film, and so come across as a little wooden, though some better direction could make them more passable. With Jun lying and Sakurako having an affair, you don't develop the sympathy their husbands perhaps deserve, as they are a little too flat to ever consider sharing a life with. The female leads also come across as acting or hypostasising before actually talking with their husbands, which is a key outcome from the film.
A fun time for drinking with friends, this is not the 'happy hour' they expect. Now in the latter half of their thirties, they are starting to become set in their ways, and struggle to talk comfortably with one another. This is a collection of people who don't talk enough, saying too much. As such, when in lengthy discussion, they reveal too much in too short a period, leading to conflict.
The lengthy format allows this to come out, with Hamaguchi - who likes a long runtime - crafting the dialogue with Tadashi Nohara and Tomoyuki Takahashi to lead each to the point of irritation. The more they hear the problems of others, the more they realise their own; left to linger on their mind, their own frustrations are deflected on to others. It takes time to bring that out, and so the ambitious length is necessary in that sense.
But while Hamaguchi develops the scenarios well, the characters and some of the performances leave a little to be desired, leaving you in two minds as to whether responses come out naturally or by Hamaguchi's contrived design. With the heavy dialogue nature of the film, it is clear to see why he would want to use novices for a more natural rhythm, but their awkwardness at times makes you crave for some better performances, or indeed Hamaguchi giving them a bit more to go on.
The ambition pays off, however, with alcohol and friends round a table leading to confrontation as we get older, less able to see eye-to-eye with others the further we get down our own path. Hamaguchi teases this out, but it takes time. A happy hour leads to quick drinks, talks and merriment, but once it's over - like these drinking sessions - the cost goes up.
Politic1983.home.blog.