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Memories of Matsuko (2006)

Director: Tetsuya Nakashima

Time Out rating

Average user rating

3 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

Applying the tartrazine-fuelled pop-cultural aesthetics of Japanese TV to the overblown narratives of the Depression-era Hollywood weepie sounds like a dreadful idea on paper, a recipe for glitzy postmodern style-over-substance. Which only serves to make ‘Memories of Matsuko’ all the more astounding: yes, it’s vibrantly, often toe-curlingly, bright. But it’s also stunningly inventive, crammed with ideas and emotional truth, high on the possibilities of cinema.

The central device is magnificently simple: slacker student Shou is asked to clear out his mysterious, recently deceased aunt Matsuko’s apartment and in the process travels back through the five decades of her wild and tragic life. We witness her passage from open-hearted schoolgirl to overzealous teacher, to stripper, abused yakuza moll, murderess, housewife, jailbird and bag lady, culminating in her meaningless, rapturous death. Every stage of the journey is differently designed – from the chocolate-box fairyland of childhood to the gritty hip-hop-musical prison sequences – but the whole is expertly tied together by Shou’s quest for a deeper understanding of his family, and his own humanity.

And this is Nakashima’s most impressive achievement– for all its stylistic intensity and dizzying narrative overdrive, this is a profoundly compassionate, humanist work. In surprisingly sober fashion, the film covers an array of vital issues, from the mistreatment of women in Japanese society to the emptiness of celebrity obsession, from the trap of brutal relationships to the inescapable, agonising truth that those most open to the world are also those most likely to be crushed by it.

Author: Tom Huddleston

Time Out London Issue 1973 June 10-18, 2008

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User reviews of this film

Simon said...

Posted on Jan 10 2010 14:38 The TO Review is spot on. This is a surprisingly captivating film. I actually quite like the wackiness of this film as it portrays life in a way which could only really be done on film and really takes advantage of that whilst not distracting from the plot.
An excellent, must see film.

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Shaun said...

Posted on Nov 28 2008 14:43 Beautiful, moving, original movie making. Not necessarily a film everyone will like, but a film everyone should see. The performances by the star-studded cast were amazing and I was captivated for every second of the film.

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Milan said...

Posted on Jun 22 2008 00:44 As stated in the TO review, it is wackey but at the same time touching and deep. Loved the film. A+

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