Reviews
Asada-ke! (2020)
A family centered story
The Asadas were a happy family out of the ordinary and the story pivots around them and the main character, Masashi, a young photographer trying to deal with an uncertain future and with his cowardly attitude towards challenges.
It is a good storyline, depicting Japan around the time when the Tsunami happened in 2011.
The director tries to keep the audience always awake, although sometimes scenes flow pretty slowly, almost trying to let you think about it, together with Masashi.
It is very light and there is no serious Japanese drama going on for most of the movie, until it does, but this is always very polite and delicate. It is almost trying to dampen the impact of the dramatic aspects and instead trying to steer moods to the brighter side.
When the earthquake happens, Masashi runs leaving his sick father alone with his brother and mother, to go helping people recover lost pictures, he wasn't taking pictures of the tragedy.
He wanted to help connecting through what he knew best.
In some sense it was a picture of the Japanese society at it's best.
That is the essence that I think this movie is attempting to transmit.
During those attempts it is sometimes corny beyond what I call the "reasonable corn limit". Bummer.
It is a movie for everyone, any age pretty much.
I watched it with my 10 years old daughter and she was happy.
We need more movies like this one, we really do.