Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

BlazeLime Strong and Moving!

Konterr Brilliant and touching

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

q_leo_rahman In 1974, manga writer Ryohei Saigan created a comic called "San Chome no Yuhi" ("Sunset on Third Street"). The comic revolved around the day-to-day adventures in a Tokyo neighborhood in the period of 1955-1964. The manga is now one of the longest-running comics in Japan, and created an animated series and a trilogy of live-action films, of which this is the first film. The film works best as a period piece. No expense was spared to recreate the era of 1958 Japan. The people of Japan are most proud of that era: it was after World War 2, when they had been broken and defeated; like a slow-burning phoenix, with hard work, ambitious dreams and their own indomitable will, they rise up to stand tall and proud. The film is filled with this spirit: whatever tragedies they may suffer, they will never give up but keep pushing onwards, filled with the hope of things getting better. The story and acting is good and solid. The great appeal of this film are its universal and optimistic cast; these are characters you feel you know your whole life: the man of the house who works to feed his family, the kindhearted housewife, the smart but innocent children, and so many others. This film gives a little more detail and background to the whole cast, while the next two films has two main families to focus on (which rather takes away from the ensemble story).The only real flaw with this film is that it's too intimate and anthological for a motion picture: it works better in a serial format, like a comic or a TV show (which it already was). Also unless you have an interest/knowledge of Japanese culture, it's not really anything interesting (I myself came across this only because of the reputation of the manga it was based on). The film ends with a sunset on the residents of Third Street, which both signifies the end of an experience and the promise of a new day and new experiences. That is, pretty much, the core of a slice of life work: it's all in a day's work, compiling of both the usual and unusual, the magical and the mundane, but always a day full of incident and adventure.

MRockwell219 As a Japanese, I enjoyed this movie very much. I think this movie means so much to Japanese audience (I'm not saying that only Japanese can enjoy the movie). If I saw a movie about rebuilding a foreign country, I would not that get touched, because I don't know about the country very much.But I know that people in that age did take the biggest part in rebuilding Japan, living in a very hard time. They were Japan's most energetic, hopeful and strong people in my opinion. Having experienced the war, they believed that they can get better and richer, if only they made great efforts. They believed in the future.But how about the real today? Are we still able to keep the sunset that the Suzuki family saw? Do we smile innocently like them? I thought of the real world, and felt very sorry for the people in the movie.I know that this movie does not portrait the "real" Japan. Many people aren't so innocent or good, and Japan became richer because they sold weapons to the US at the Korean War. This movie is, in a sense, fantasy. I regard this movie as a theme park; When you're in a theme park, you probably forget to criticize it and just get fooled by the "lies" the theme park shows on purpose, in order to enjoy. I first thought this movie was a tear-jerker, but at the next moment I thought it's too nonsense to say that it's just a tear-jerker, because this movie IS a tear-jerker on purpose. This movie is a emotion-stirrer for Japanese people who have forgotten to show emotions.I got fooled by the cute lies of the movie, and I cried when Hiromi receives the invisible ring by Chagawa, when Roku finds that her mother loved her staring the letters she got, and when Junnosuke comes back to Chagawa.I could hear "cry! cry!" from the screen which I usually hate. But this time, I was feeling so gentle and tender-hearted that I forget to criticize. Not only me but everyone in the theater felt the same thing. We felt like we were in the 1950s, and watching our neighbors. We laughed and cried so loud like in older ages (in Japan today, when you make a tiny single noise in the theater someone will stare at you angrily). No one scolded kids speaking or older people eating something, because I think we became gentle while watching people in old days. Indeed, I could feel gentler than usual even finished watching the movie. And at the same time, I felt very sad at that there is no such energy in Japan anymore.But I just want to say thank you to the directors for making a movie that I can talk with grandfathers about their youth.

peerah This piece of great film work took Japan by storm, and once I saw it realized why it had turned out that way. The film is immensely nostalgic and filled with bits of memorable moments that would send you bursting out with laughter while tears are still continuing to fill up your eyes.The plot is austerely simple, yet the characters are smartly introduced and thoroughly elaborated. It's ultimately easy for us to believe that the Third Street community and those characters are real. The relationships between them are reasonably developed and eventually leads to a powerful and heart-wrenching-yet-warmly ending.This is not a regular tear-jerker. Emotional scenes are not forced in as in any other movies, but effectively and strategically put into the right places, resulting in a gradual and natural emotional building.The music and photography are flawless, and tremendously help with the holistic ambiance of the film. Acting is also impeccable.Truly a worth-seeing gem for movie lovers. Another delicate Asian craft which has all the qualities that Hollywood mainstream movies still lack of.

django-27 This movie is based on 2 things, technology and nostalgia.Computer graphics reappear the scenery of Tokyo 40 years before,it's so wonderful and filled with humanity.Current Tokyo city might be not so beautiful and humanity lost anywhere,so almost scenery evokes nostalgia.Although the story is not so rich, fine episodes are often planned. The character of the doctor who lost wife and a child in war is excellent.The figure of the Japanese who were gazing at the future being captured in the past for a while, calls sympathy.If you have never been to Tokyo City in 1960's,you can go now by seeing this movie.