Simple is easy? But inconvenient!

I can pay for Alien, Monster, Spy or Space ship. I don't go to see sad movie, I won't pay to cry. But sometimes, on a lazy afternoon on the weekend, I come across a movie and can't stop watching it to the end. One of them is the Korean movie "Christmas in August". Do you know that? It is sad story though, after watching that, I didn't need to be depressed but I could be warm a little. This year, "Christmas in August" is remade in Japan. Of course I WON'T go to see it, but I can watch the trailer. The Japanese one is nice and warm too.

The story is simple, one guy is sick and dying. He knows his destiny and accepts it so he decides to work at his small camera studio uneventfully to the day when he dies. But one day a lady comes to his studio, then he falls in love with her. They are getting closer but one day his studio gets closed and never opened again. The girl gets angry and breaks a window of a studio because she doesn't know why. But he never returns. In the end, his unsent mail is read. "Thank you, I can leave with my love in my heart"..... something like that. That is far from my taste, but I think it is very nice. Scenes of regular daily life are beautiful, waking up, nail cutting, vegetables washing etc,. One scene I remember well was this episode. His father could not use video remote, but the guy knew he could not help anymore soon, so he writes "how to use remote" in big letters in a paper to his father.

Anyway not only for older people, some remote controls look kind of "bullying" to me. But Japan is well on the way to an aging society and as the population ages, services, institutions, goods for the elderly are increasing. One of them is this "moblie TUKA-S". TUKA-S has very simple interface and TV ads appeal that point too. "Yes very easy!!" TUKA was acquired by KDDI because of poor performance, but this TUKA-S made a big hit and they kept the service. Today KDDI announced they will sell simple phones for the elderly too. Look! You can seal your family's name on button and "my phone number strap" is attached. But once I checked those phones, I found them very inconvenient to use, because I can't see the number I push. They are little extreme, I think.

Comments

[Mari]

Hi There
Thank you Johan, yes like I said in last post, people has interests to only around him (small world). So love, relationship might be the most important stuff for such people. The story is "lost his love" that all, but title is "in the center of the world...". The big hit of the book and movie is one of sigh people's interest.

Ah Azim, thank you for saying that.
Roger, huang, I am not big fan of Korean movie, Japanese movie. I saw memories of murder and this. Maybe that is all.

[huang]

Mari, I've watched X'mas in August too ! Yes, a sad but touching story and well told. For a dying man, X'mas had to be earlier than Dec.

Korean art films are worth watching and several have excellent cinematography.

Have you watched Korean films like Take Care of my Cat, Il Mare, Ditto ?

[robert]

extreme yes. but their commercials are humorous. ;p

nothing says "I Love you" like a broken window. dont know why I haven't thought of something fun like that. so the moral to the story is not to fall in love with quiet camera studio guys...maybe?

0yaji returnz ®rz

[Azim]

I really enjoy Your posts... I've said it before, but You really have an interesting point of view and tie in a lot of supporting (interesting) sites, etc.--Thank You again!

[Johan]

Why does it seem like every other Japanese movie recently is about some doomed lovers where one of them (or both!) are sick or dying!? I rarely want to go see a movie that gets me that depressed. I guess it has to do with "Sekaiju no chushin de ai o sakebu" and its enormous success. I haven't seen it, and I am not planning to either...