I caught this film on a flight over from the states. After watching Mike Leigh's latest and rather depressing film, I was in the mood for something more fun, and this was a Japanese film with robots ... fun right?
Sakutaro is an aimless dreamer and unsuccessful science fiction writer, who happens by luck to be married to the one woman, Setsuko, who can look after him. He sits in the park or in his study all day surrounded by toy robots, dreaming and writing. When Setsuko is diagnosed with cancer and given a year to live, Sakutaro writes a story every day to keep her spirits up.
The film thankfully doesn't try to tell every one of these stories; most are just amusing or interesting titles. For a few the film cuts to Sakutaro's imagination as he battles robots or has a hallucinogenic experience with a giant squid. These parts work very well and the stories themselves are poignant and funny. For these alone it's certainly worth watching the film.
As to the underlying story, I'll just say that it's bleak. If there's a message it's not too deep. That's why I give this 7/10.
Sakutaro is an aimless dreamer and unsuccessful science fiction writer, who happens by luck to be married to the one woman, Setsuko, who can look after him. He sits in the park or in his study all day surrounded by toy robots, dreaming and writing. When Setsuko is diagnosed with cancer and given a year to live, Sakutaro writes a story every day to keep her spirits up.
The film thankfully doesn't try to tell every one of these stories; most are just amusing or interesting titles. For a few the film cuts to Sakutaro's imagination as he battles robots or has a hallucinogenic experience with a giant squid. These parts work very well and the stories themselves are poignant and funny. For these alone it's certainly worth watching the film.
As to the underlying story, I'll just say that it's bleak. If there's a message it's not too deep. That's why I give this 7/10.
