GurlyIamBeach Instant Favorite.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

tenshi_ippikiookami "After the Storm" is another great Hirokazu Koreeda movie. It is touching, it gives time to the characters and the plot to breathe and develop, and it gives food for thought. And all in a movie that doesn't try to over-complicate things.Ryôta is a failure. He started as a writer, published a book that got an award, and married and had a child. However, nowadays he just believes he writes, he's divorced, with a non-existent relationship with his son. He also tries to steal money from his mother. On top of that, he uses his 'job' in a detective's agency to extort people and to stalk his ex-wife. And all the money he gets he loses on bets or pachinko.What we get from here is Ryôta and his relationships with the people that surround him. And Koreeda does a great job in creating great moments from little moments. It helps that the plot keeps things straightforward but non-stop and that he has surrounded himself with great actors, from the always amazing Hiroshi Abe to funny and ironic Kirin Kiki. Just having the actors delivering the lines and their banter make for a great time. And it doesn't forget the more serious moments, as Ryôta's problems with gambling or his inability to deliver on the responsibilities and decisions he takes.Totally worth checking out.

Eduardo Melnik I read some reviews and with a 7.5 score I went to see this movie. The movie was terrible, one of slowest, most meaningless movies I have ever seen in my life. No dialogue, no emotion, no plot of any kind. Just a bunch of meaningless conversations that last for hours and hours. I didn't get anything away from this movie, just 2 hours of complete boredom.

writers_reign A few months ago serendipity brokered a meeting between me and an exquisite film from Japan entitled Our Little Sister. I was totally captivated so much so that I watched it again within days and bought the DVD as soon as it appeared. This week another film by the same director - who also, it appears, works on the screenplays of his movies - was released in London. I found it had already been written about in glowing terms here on IMDb and I noted with interest that the comments came from several different countries around the world, testifying to the universal appeal of this minimalist filmmaker. It's difficult to conceive that this virtually invisible style of acting co-exists in the world of, say, Robert de Niro, Dennis Hopper, etc, where the goal seems to be last one to be sectioned is a sissy. After The Storm is yet another sublime essay about ordinary people coping with everyday traumas or not, as the case may be. Though it's churlish to single out any one actor it's equally hard not to wallow in the beautiful performance of Kirin Kiri as the mother/grandmother coping with the dysfunctional son and his fractured family. A true gem.

sanjayduff After The Storm is an absolutely brilliant film, as it deals with the trials and tribulations of a father & perceived loser in the face of challenging life circumstances. Hiroshi Abe plays the role of Shinoda Ryota, a detective that is financially broke, divorced and living in the illusion of his past glory as an award winning author. He struggles to make ends meet and often resorts to gambling, stealing and backhand deals that involves extortion in order to support himself and to pay child support for his only son, Shingo.Another eye-catching performance to look put for is by Ryota's mom, Yoshiko, played by Kirin Kiki. She absolutely nails the role of a bewildered, lonely and regretful single grandmother, often dwelling on the unfortunate circumstances of the past and blaming her late husband for how her son turned out. She provides most of the comedic moments in the movie, as her tendency to be over-bearing and cheapskate at times, will make you giggle in the very least. She also seems obsessed and resigned to the idea that she will die alone, hence she keeps requesting her son & daughter to keep her company as much as possible. On top of that, she also harbors the faint hope that her son can be re-united with his ex-wife, and tries to set them up to sleep together during a night of storm.Overall, the theme of After the Storm is dealing with the present circumstances in the face of unrealized dreams and broken hopes. This theme is strong in the characters of Ryota and Yoshiko. Additionally, Ryota's ex-wife, Kyoko (played by Yoko Maki) also plays an important role as she embodies the person whom manages to focus her life solely in the present times. Whilst Ryota still perceives himself as the father responsible for Shingo's journey through his current childhood phase, Kyoko has moved on and has accepted the fact that Ryota was never cut out to be a responsible father. She has even found a new boyfriend and except for the monthly visit, would rather Shingo not be spending time with his actual dad.What really catches the eye about this movie, is that even in a fully developed country like Japan, with is high standards of living and apparent high-culture, there exists people like Ryota; someone who is left behind by the fast-moving economy and rebels against the norm of participating in the corporate rat-race to succeed career-wise. He can be pictured as someone who is very defensive whenever questioned on his life choices and habits. However, just like a starry-eyed young graduate, Ryota had dreams of his own for a stable government job, which somehow never came to be. However, the pride in him never dissolves, as the once Award-winning author still feels he deserves recognition for his past work.