After Life

Japanese (subtitles)

118 minutes

1998

5 Stars

A most beautiful, intriguing, and thought-provoking movie. No fancy CGI, no adrenaline, just a beautiful movie that takes place, for the most part, in what appears to be an old school. It is a 'way-station' where the newly departed come for a week. They arrive on Monday, and are given until Wednesday to think of their happiest, most beautiful, most precious memory which is then filmed, and when they depart in a couple of days, they will have this one memory to take with them for all eternity. This is a movie I would like to own, and watch again. This movie ranks up there with Captain Abu Raed and Poetry in my book. The only problem I had was the subtitles didn't show the very bottom of the letters, but that may have been my fault, not the DVD's.

Trailer

Madadayo (Not Yet)

Japanese (good subtitles)

134 minutes

1993

*****

Kurosawa's final film based on the literary works of real-life Japanese author, Uchida. Honestly, it looked boring, but was a delightful insight into the more modern Japanese culture. When the Professor turns 60, he retires, and his students, all male, celebrate his birthday every year with him. They care for him and his wife, and when their house is destroyed by allied air raids, they eventually build one for them. A sensitive and touching movie, it deals with the transition between retirement and death. Every year when the students would throw the party, they would ask, Maadha kai? (are you ready) and the Professor would respond, Madadayo ('not yet'). If growing old and dying frightens you, you may want to view this. If the Japanese culture intrigues you, you will want to view this. No fighting, swords, or adrenalin.

Trailer

Hanzo the Razor: Who's Got the Gold

Hanzo the Razor: Who's Got the Gold

Japanese, English Subtitles

1974, 84 Minutes

0 Stars

Hanzo "the Razor" Itami, played by Shintaro Katsu. Rainy Day is pulling this review, and changing the rating to 0. This is the 3d in the trilogy, and though it is somewhat violent, as most of Shintaro's movies are, it wasn't too bad. However, she just got one of the other Hanzo movies, and could not watch it. While Rainy Day doesn't mind a good sword fight, one that is totally non believable, she does mind sexual violence, and the beginning to the new movie was too full of it to watch, and she decided to pull this review. Frankly, Rainy Day was expecting something more along the lines of Zatoichi, who though a blind swordsman, and not averse to some of the fun things of life, is also a man of honor.