As you might have noticed and maybe I have said it myself too: I love stories. Books, movies. I love them. I mean, I don’t have all the time, money, and energy to experience everything in person myself. So I always find it exciting to look into other experiences from others’ stories or in books and movies. By listening to friends’ stories, reading books, and watching movies, I can sort of position myself in different situation and see things from different perspectives. I can also learn from them sometimes. Well, I know sometimes it’s better to experience things ourselves, but not everyone is privileged enough to afford them, no? So, yeah, books and movies can be alternatives for me 😊 And here are some movies that you might learn something from.
- To each his own
This movie is really good. If you feel depressed – or suicidal, you might want to watch this movie. Well, sometimes you think life is so cruel. Sometimes you believe that you’re just no good. Sometimes you think it’s better to die. You believe nobody will resent your death. You’re sure that you’re useless and worthless, that nobody loves you, that nobody appreciates you, your work, and your efforts, that you only bring troubles to others, and that you’re only hurting those who love you. You just can’t see the value of your life and existence. It’s meaningless and you’re tired and exhausted. You’re just sick of it. And this is exactly what the character’s felt and experienced in this movie. I remember crying when watching this movie. The message is just so deep and beautiful. I really love it. So, maybe if you feel down or sad and you want to cry – or maybe need some motivation and are trying to find a reason to hang on and continue living, this movie might be a good choice 😊
- Close Knit (彼らが本気で編むときは、 Karera ga honki de amu toki wa)
Initially, the reason I watched this movie is my favorite actor: Ikuta Toma. But I really love this movie, not only because Toma really did excellent job portraying the character but also because the story itself is really great. This can give us perspectives on LGBT issues, too. (Or maybe not if you’re so anti-LGBT 😐). I mean, it teaches us about love, familyhood, and relationship. Why do I say so? Well, in this movie it is depicted that a kid is “neglected” by her biological mother, but she finds and gets what she wants from a mother in a trans woman, who’s her uncle’s girlfriend. This somehow shows that even if you’re not a trans, it’s not a guarantee that you’ll be a good parent; it’s not a guarantee that you’ll love your children right. And even if someone is a trans, it doesn’t mean that they’re not capable of love or loving. Unfortunately, the society often hates LGBT community blindly thinking they’ll bring bad influence to the kids and society. But, well, when I talk something like this, many often blame me for supporting LGBT. But I don’t think that’s the case. I’m a Muslim. The way I see it, LGBT is “a test.” It’s true that we do not acknowledge LGBT, at least as far as I know and understand, but we’re also taught to love and be compassionate towards other human beings. LGBT is human being, too. And even if I don’t always agree with what they do, it doesn’t mean I have the right to disrespect them, let alone treating them badly. No, we mustn’t deny their human rights. So, well, I love this movie. I love Ikuta Toma’s acting skills. And I love the story 😊
- Shoplifters
This movie is also about love in familyhood. It tells a story about a family who’s financially struggling with their life that they have to shoplift and even teach the kids to “shoplift” 😐 Well, you might want to say or judge that it’s wrong. I’m not saying it’s right either. But if you watch the movie, maybe you’ll understand and you can also focus on other things that this movie is trying to convey. At least from what I get: sometimes the family you’re born into is not the kind of family you want. You’re often obliged to love them just because they are your “biological” family, even though you didn’t get to choose to be born in that family. And often times, they are not the ones who give the love that you want and need. And sometimes, you find the love from people who are not even blood-related to you, even if they are poor. And this is what this movie is about. I guess it kinda teaches parents to love their “biological” children right and not take them for granted. It’s not always about money. It’s not always about blood relation. A warning, though: there is an “adult” scene that might not be appropriate for children 😐🙈 If you know what I mean🙊🙈 So, well, maybe watch with caution? 🙈😅✌🙏🙇♀️
- Silver Spoon
It tells a story about a city boy who decided to go to a high school in an urban area. Apparently, this boy is not appreciated enough where he’s from. That’s why he’s trying to “escape” into the urban school. He thinks that life is hard for him and that life for his classmates in the urban school is much easier since they can just take over their parents’ farm and that they do not have to worry about finding a job. He seemed “anti-social” at first as he “looked down” on the people there. However, as he’s studying there, he comes to understand that everyone has their own struggle. He finds that overtaking parents’ farm is not always easy and sometimes they have something else they want to do but trapped between their own dream and their obligation to succeed the family’s business. One of his classmates even has to drop out of school because his family cannot afford the tuition and he has to be the backbone of the family. At the end, the city boy learns to work hard and get the appreciation he wants and deserves. He learns to respect everyone and eventually learn to respect himself 😊 I love this movie. It might be kinda “exaggerating” in some scenes, but I guess it can teach us some values and lessons in life 😊
- Aozora Yell
This is kinda a “romantic” but “not lovey-dovey” movie set in a Japanese high school (well, it’s a Japanese movie after all 🙈😅✌️). I mean, it’s not a love story per se but it’s about working hard and supporting each other to achieve one’s dream. Both the girl and the boy in this movie have their ambitions. They find motivation from each other’s hard work in attempting to realize their dreams. Actually, as they are fighting for their dream and finding how difficult it is, they slowly come to love each other as they encourage each other not to give up. But they kinda resist their feelings so that they can focus on working hard for their dreams and not bring trouble for each other, and maybe that’s why I love it. I mean, I often watch movies where love is glorified that everything else is put aside and neglected. But in real life, it’s not always like that, right? Love is one thing but it’s not everything there’s to life. So I love it when I find movies where they depict love so beautifully; it’s still important, it’s not neglected, but it’s more realistic. And in this movie, after both can reach their dreams, they can finally express their love for each other at the end. So, I love it. I love happy endings 😊
Whoa, just how many movies – and dramas – have I watched and reviewed? Haha Well, it’s not that I have nothing better to do. But you know, I’m not so good with people. So I kinda get to master the art of enjoying myself – alone at home. And watching movies and dramas is one of the things I do to get by. So, well, will you watch these movies?
