Mr. Murakami's Garden (1999) User Reviews

Death is like the government...

[Fyodor_Karamazov · 9/10 · 2 June 2003]

A great script, some sub-par acting on one side and a neat performance as the archangel Death in a suit on the other side, and one of the best original scores I have ever heard in such a small indie film make up "Mr. Murakami's Garden." I don't believe this is available anywhere other the film fest scene (the Independent Festival of Cinema and Technology, etc.), but it may be playing online somewhere (like ShortTV.com or Atom Films) if one was inclined to look for it. Although the acting is so-so, it's worth a look. Dark but funny, I wish I'd seen it twice for full effect. A true original!

An interesting point of view on death...

[Kaspar-4 · 10/10 · 14 September 1999]

I caught "Mr. Murakami's Garden" at a screening party and was impressed with it's photography and command of color. It's an interesting take on death and the afterlife that features Death portrayed as an older gentleman in a simple black suit not unlike a typical government employee, he even requires the dead man to fill in forms in duplicate. Both sardonically funny and at times a little jarring - I liked this one a lot, it was actually quite a bit more original that "Meet Joe Black." I only wished it were quite a bit longer.

Great short film.

[robert-883 · 10/10 · 28 March 2006]

I love this movie. There are some great shots in this film and the use of color is interesting. The subject is very interesting as well. Unfortunately there is a bit of poor acting by one of the players, however this is not so distracting as to ruin this film. Fortunately the vision of the director saved this film from this poor performance. Hopefully there will be more short subjects forthcoming from this director in the near future. I would have liked to have seen a more exploratory nature of the subject as well as better acting in some areas. For a first effort (I am assuming here) it is one of the best.

This is one of the better short subject films out there. Excellent 10 STARS!!!