Maborosi

Maborosi, known in Japan as Maboroshi no Hikari (Japanese: 幻の光, literally "phantasmic light", but best translated as 'a trick of the light'), is a 1995 Japanese drama film by director Hirokazu Kore-eda starring Makiko Esumi, Tadanobu Asano, and Takashi Naito. It is based on a novel by Teru Miyamoto.

Maborosi won a Golden Osella Award for Best Cinematography at the 1995 Venice Film Festival.

Plot

Yumiko (Esumi) and Ikuo (Asano) are a young Osaka couple who have a new baby. One day Ikuo is walking along the railway tracks and is hit and killed by a train. It seems that he may have done this deliberately yet there is no apparent motive. A few years pass. Yumiko agrees to an arranged marriage with a widower, Tamio (Naitō), and she and Yuichi (her son, now played by Gohki Kashima) move to Tamio's house in a rustic village on the Sea of Japan coast.

A drunken spat over a bell Yumiko had given Ikuo just before he died causes Yumiko and Tamio to discuss their strong emotions for their lost loves. Shortly after, Yumiko follows a funeral procession and lingers at the crematorium, until Tamio arrives by car to pick her up, at which point she says she just wants to know why Ikuo killed himself. Tamio suggests that, like the will o' the wisps his father used to see, perhaps something just drew him away from life.

Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, Maborosi has a perfect approval rating of 100% based on 24 reviews, with an average score of 8.1/10. On Metacritic, the film is scored 92 out of a 100, based on 8 reviews. It garnered a positive reaction from critics upon its American release, and received two thumbs up from Siskel and Ebert on the April 12, 1997 episode of their program. Ebert further praised the film in his review for the Chicago Sun-Times, noting its "astonishing beauty and sadness" and the influence of Japanese filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu. It was later included on Siskel and Ebert's "Best Films of 1997" episode in January 1998.

See also

• List of films with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a film review aggregator website

References

Bibliography

• Guthmann, Edward (1996-11-29). "FILM REVIEW -- The Delicate House of 'Maborosi': Japanese film a lovely meditation on meaning of life". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2009-09-15.
• Thomas, Kevin (1996-10-26). "Maborosi: 'Maborosi' Takes Powerful Journey of Spirit". The Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on 2011-06-12. Retrieved 2009-09-15.
• Thompson, Nathaniel (2006) [2002]. DVD Delirium: The International Guide to Weird and Wonderful Films on DVD; Volume 1 Redux. Godalming, England: FAB Press. pp. 453–454. ISBN 1-903254-39-6.

External links

• Maborosi at IMDb
• Maborosi at the Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese)
• Maborosi at AllMovie
• Maborosi at Box Office Mojo (2016, 2019 reissues)