Sweet Rain: Shinigami no Seido

aikoden

♥DREAMER♥
Staff member
Sweet Rain: Shinigami no Seido aka Accuracy of Death...

(Sorry if this is the wrong place to post.. ^_^..or if there's already a thread..)



credit to The Nihon Review for the summary

Title: Sweet Rain: Shinigami no Seido aka Accuracy of Death
Genre: Drama/Comedy
Director: Kakei Masaya
Format: Movie, 113 minutes.
Dates: 22 Mar 2008

Synopsis: Chiba (Kaneshiro Takeshi) appears seven days before a person is due to die a sudden death. His job is to observe the person for seven days, and then decide either to ‘execute’ or ‘pass over’. When he has free time during a stint, he goes to the listening booth of a CD shop and indulges in his favorite pastime, listening to ‘humanity’s greatest invention’: music. The story follows Chiba along three inter-related cases spanning forty-three years.

The Highlights
Cinematography: Rainy days have never looked this good since Be With You.
Kaneshiro Takeshi: Not just for the fangirls; he is perfectly cast as the bumbling, humourously innocent Grim Reaper.
Story: A heartwarming, interesting take on the “slice-of-life” (or should that be “slice-of-death”?) genre.



The concept of the Grim Reaper taking human form to experience the mortal realm is not something particularly new; parallels can easily be drawn to Brad Pitt’s turn as a Grim Reaper in Meet Joe Black. Both films share several elements in common; they involve the Grim Reaper taking on the suave visage of a pretty boy, they remove the sinister from the concept of Death itself, and they end up as a study of Life instead of Death. However, this is where the similarities end, and Sweet Rain: Shinigami no Seido, based on the bestselling novel by Isaka Kotaro (The Accuracy of Death), turns out to be a great story in its own right.

Shot against a backdrop of rainy days, the motif of rain becomes central to the theme of the story, with every character metaphorically awaiting the end of the rain and the coming of the sunny day in their lives. Be it the gloom of the rainy season, or the wilting sunflowers, the world in which Chiba moves and works in reflects the melancholy that pervades the lives of his subjects; not since the 2004 jun’ai masterpiece Ima, Ai ni Yukimasu (aka Be With You) has rain been used to such great effect. In fact, it might come as no surprise that Shibanushi Takahide, the cinematographer for this film, was also involved in Be With You, and it certainly shows in the similar magical feeling that the rain imparts to the setting of the story.

However, the star of the show is rightfully Kaneshiro Takeshi, who returns to Japanese film after six years of starring in overseas productions. While it is undeniable that this is a Kaneshiro vehicle for the fangirls, there’s also no denying that his cute puppy-dog demeanour makes him a perfect casting for the fish-out-of-water Chiba. He puts his charm to good use as a Grim Reaper so clueless in the workings of society that he endears himself to Fujiki, who terms him an “interesting” man. Although he fully fits the alternate stereotype of the Grim Reaper as a suave gentleman, it certainly works in the context of the otherwordly being who starts off innocent of the meaning behind the lives which he is eventually bound to take, and inevitably learns an important lesson about Life.

As for the story itself, it is quite amusing how funny it can actually be. Most of the gags stem around Chiba, completely innocent of the context in any given situation, acting in a non sequitur manner that throws every mortal being around him, including the subjects of his stint, for a loop. It is this naivety that Kaneshiro pulls off so convincingly, and it is particularly helpful in making Chiba such an endearing character. However, the innocence of Chiba also sets him up for the eventual reception of an important lesson, and while the format may seem episodic at first glance, the threads linking them together slowly becomes apparent, making for an especially meaningful viewing experience revolving around the ordinary, yet important aspects of Life itself. While the theme of the story may seem to revolve around the concept of Death, it is very much a meaningful exercise in the finer details of life. This is what “slice-of-life” is all about.

“What do you think of death?” is the question that Chiba asks three times over the course of the story. However, put aside the death motif, and the intent to appeal to fangirls through the casting of Kaneshiro, and what’s left is still a very worthwhile story about how important life really is for those living them.

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i love this movie ^_^... i also love the song sunny day in here.. i almost forgot takeshi was japanese until i saw this movie hehe.. im in love all over again... ^_^..

i also love Manami Konishi ... she is so pretty...
and has such a nice voice.. she sings "sunny day"... hehe..

overall .. I LOVE THE MOVIE.. ^_^...

HERE'S A LINK TO MANAMI KONISHI MV SINGING "SUNNY DAY" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU6NDfTFT_A

I LOVE THE MOVIE!!!!!!!! ^_^
 

aikoden

♥DREAMER♥
Staff member
^.. i have the movie.. i can try uploadin it on megaupload when i get the chance...
 
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