I’ve talked about these movies before but I kind of wanted to provide more of an in depth recommendation list for those of you interested…

Memories of Matsuko (2006)

dir. by Tetsuya Nakashima

“While combing through the belongings of his recently deceased aunt, Matsuko, nephew Sho pieces together the crucial events that sank Matsuko’s life into a despairing tragedy.”

This movie is beautiful. In every single aspect a movie could be.

Miki Nakatani (Matsuko) does an astonishing job at playing every single role she has in this movie. Along with Eita Nagayama (Sho), they both do an excellent job of creating an upbeat ambience for the much more sinister dark undertone of the movie.

Memories of Matsuko is a comedic, devastating, and fascinating film. I will say, if you can’t watch movies that depict domestic violence this isn’t the movie for you. it’s truly a tragic story of life and the ends people will go to try to feel loved.

What stood out most in this movie was the editing style and music. It was very bright and in your face, although the movie subject was so dark. I don’t know what conditions have to be met for a movie to be considered a musical, but there is a fair amount of singing in this film that I didn’t expect when I first watched it. So I guess its kind of half of a musical…? I don’t know.

One of the greatest last 10 minutes of cinema I’ve ever seen. I sob everytime, even on rewatching multiple times.

Confessions (2010)

dir. by Tetsuya Nakashima

“Devastated by the death of her four-year-old daughter, a grieving middle school teacher is horrified to discover that her students aren’t as innocent as she thinks.”

This movie will forever be a 5/5 for me.

Surprise!! Another Tetsuya Nakashima film makes it into my top 4…

Although I don’t want to give away too much about this movie, this is truly one of the only movies I can watch endlessly over and over and over again. I’ve noticed that one of the key components of all of my favorite movies is the music that is used in the film.

Confessions opens with a 30 minute dialogue from actress Takako Matsu (Yuko Moriguchi) with music from Boris, a “doom rock” Japanese band. The song continuously plays on a loop throughout her introduction. Boris, mixed with other artists such as Radiohead, Cokiyu, and Yakushimaru Etsuko, create an atmosphere that envelopes you entirely into the film. It grasps you by the neck and pulls you in closer. I found that on my first watch, I was leaning closer and closer into the screen.

I recommend going in as blind as possible. If you choose to watch any movies on this list, please let it be this one.

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

dir. by Valerie Faris, Jonathan Dayton

“A family loaded with quirky, colorful characters piles into an old van and road trips to California for little Olive to compete in a beauty pageant”.

Little Miss Sunshine is what I would call a comfort movie of mine. This movie is definitely more talked about than any of the others on my list. All I can say is, what a special and smart movie.

Every human being has their vices and plights in their day to day lives.

Little Miss Sunshine opens with Richard, (Greg Kinnear) giving a speech to a seemingly uninterested crowd of how there’s two different people in the world – winners, and losers. Everyone in this film fits Richard’s standards of a “loser.”

A beautiful story about family and accepting one’s flaws. This movie is a feel good adventure filled with important lessons you can take away from it.

After viewing for the first time, I watched a video that goes a bit more in depth about the world of Little Miss Sunshine, and I recommend checking that out as well.

Im a Cyborg, But Thats Ok

dir. by  Park Chan-wook

“Young-goon, mentally deranged and frequently electro-charging herself with a transistor radio, has been admitted into a mental institution. Firmly believing herself to be a cyborg, she refuses to consume like a human being. Il-soon is another patient, who catches the eye of Young-goon and soon becomes a close friend. Il-soon is now confronted with the biggest task: to cure Young-goon’s mental problem and have her eat real food.”

I’ve talked about this movie before on this blog, and you can read that entry here: https://luckyfuturegirl.blog/2024/06/10/cool-electronic-humming/

This was a very fun and enticing movie. A fresh new take on a regularly done genre of “crazy people living in a crazy house”. Park Chan Wook strays from his regularly dark and outlandishly tragic film style to give us a quirky love story between a mentally ill girl and boy.

I’ve already said my thoughts about this movie, so I’ll keep this short. Along with Little Miss Sunshine, this movie is definitely more lighthearted and sweet than the other two I’ve talked about. If you are in the mood to feel good, I definitely recommend!

With all of that being said, I hope whoever takes the time to check this out can find something fun and interesting to watch!

Take care 𓍢🌷͙˚｡⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡⋆˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡ ˚⋆˚✿˖°❀˖°