[wappydoppy]

Hi - I have several films I'd like to recommend - the first is 'Tokyo Sonata' by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, which tells the story of a family basically falling apart - the salaryman father, wife, and two sons - one older, wanting to join the armed service, the other, younger, wanting to play the piano. I like the whole cast, but it's the father and the way he deals with the situation he's in that makes me think, 'Yeh there are people like that'. Another Kiyoshi Kurosawa film, quite a downbeat drama is 'Bright Future' - about two guys going nowhere - one with a pet jellyfish. I've not seen it in a while, but I remember it as being quite grey (in colour), except for the jellyfish, and I love the music that plays to accompany the jellyfish as the film goes on. I'd like to also mention Hirokazu Kore-Eda's film 'After Life' - which is the title of it in the West, but I think in Japanese it's 'Wonderful Life'. It's about a place where people go after they die, but before they 'move on' to the next life, or heaven, or wherever. Again it's fairly slow paced, but I think the whole idea of it and some of the ideas in it, are great - very imaginative, and a refreshingly different view from films I've seen from other parts of the world.