I make it a point to attend the annual Japanese film festival (Eiga Sai), a very much anticipated event especially by otakus and film buffs. I for one, am much more a fan of Japanese films than Hollywood ones because I just can't get enough of samurai films (and am also a fan of Chinese wuxia films). I also love the subtle and surreal Japanese movies, those that will really move you to tears because of the characters' display of strong will, determination challenges, and well, everything seems slow but never boring.
Last July, I only got to watch two because of my busy schedule and also because it's the start of the rainy season. I love the rain but I hate the floods and I don't want to get stranded anywhere. Anyway, one Saturday, I agreed to meet up with a friend I met in archaeology. She didn't make it to the first film though because she didn't expect traffic would be bad on her way to EDSA Shangrila Mall.
The first movie I watched is Symphony in August, a very touching autobiographical movie about Japanese singer Ai Kawashima whose early foray in the music industry was full of challenges. In her bid to get the attention of music companies, she decided to sing 1000 times in the subway. Her efforts paid off when a group of marketing people took notice of her and helped her. That part, where her newfound friends trusted in her and invested time, effort, and money in her was very touching. In today's busy world, we seldom come across people who would be willing to lend us a helping hand.
The most touching part was towards the end however, when Ai finally had her concert and she let the people knew of her story. Her mother just passed away. But aside from that, it was also revealed in the end that her biological parents died when she was young. Despite going through a lot of life's sorrows and difficulties, she still persevered, which really made me cry nonstop, so much so that my eyes were puffy when I came out of the theater.
The second film is a light drama about a young woman who married a wolf man and gave birth to wolf children. When her husband suddenly died, Hana took the responsibility of rearing their children, moving out to the countryside so that her children can choose whether to grow up as humans or as wolves.
We see the transformation of Hana's children through time. In their younger days, Yuki the elder sister was very aggressive and courageous whereas Ame the younger brother was always afraid of the littlest things. When they grew up, the roles reversed and Yuki eventually chose to be human while Ame went off choosing the path of a wolf.
Last July, I only got to watch two because of my busy schedule and also because it's the start of the rainy season. I love the rain but I hate the floods and I don't want to get stranded anywhere. Anyway, one Saturday, I agreed to meet up with a friend I met in archaeology. She didn't make it to the first film though because she didn't expect traffic would be bad on her way to EDSA Shangrila Mall.
The first movie I watched is Symphony in August, a very touching autobiographical movie about Japanese singer Ai Kawashima whose early foray in the music industry was full of challenges. In her bid to get the attention of music companies, she decided to sing 1000 times in the subway. Her efforts paid off when a group of marketing people took notice of her and helped her. That part, where her newfound friends trusted in her and invested time, effort, and money in her was very touching. In today's busy world, we seldom come across people who would be willing to lend us a helping hand.
The most touching part was towards the end however, when Ai finally had her concert and she let the people knew of her story. Her mother just passed away. But aside from that, it was also revealed in the end that her biological parents died when she was young. Despite going through a lot of life's sorrows and difficulties, she still persevered, which really made me cry nonstop, so much so that my eyes were puffy when I came out of the theater.
The second film is a light drama about a young woman who married a wolf man and gave birth to wolf children. When her husband suddenly died, Hana took the responsibility of rearing their children, moving out to the countryside so that her children can choose whether to grow up as humans or as wolves.
We see the transformation of Hana's children through time. In their younger days, Yuki the elder sister was very aggressive and courageous whereas Ame the younger brother was always afraid of the littlest things. When they grew up, the roles reversed and Yuki eventually chose to be human while Ame went off choosing the path of a wolf.
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