Call Me Chihiro

I'm not sure what's the point of the movie "Call Me Chihiro" or "Chihiro-san" in Japanese. That doesn't necessarily make it a bad movie - it's not - but it does make it a strange movie - which it definite is. And much of that strangeness is due to the titular main character, Chihiro. I've known only a handful of care-free or free-spirited people like Chihiro. And of those very few choose to live in Japanese if they can help it. The society and culture simply do not encourage or tolerate such people. So it is not at all unbelievable that someone like Chihiro can exist. What's a bit difficult to believe, however, is that a person like Chihiro could maintain her attitude towards life and others for so long without being crushed by the pressure to conform or the very real stigmatization that happens all too often. In Japan, people get ostracized for much less. The other major characters are also very familiar - a shy high schooler, a homeless man, a very young kid whose parents are mostly absent. Then there are the minor characters like a group of working-class guys who are Chihiro's groupies. None of them come off as being mean, broken, or hopeless. So I suppose "Call Me Chihiro" is more like a fantasy. It is what a better society can look it, if we really want it. In that sense, this is a feel-good movie - Japanese style, of course - and as such I think it works.

I like the way how main character try to connect everyone but people say it's slow story, well it is. It's too slow make me want to sleep and lost interest to watch in the first hour. I think they should eliminate character that not necessary to make it more fast story, and some of the scene are not make sense (not realistic, nobody wouldn't do type of conversation in real life), that's the first hour now I'm talking about the half movie until the end, it's great I'm starting to enjoy, the story is getting exciting especially the hug scene, weirdly i feel that togetherness moment, so that's it boring first, good ending.

The movie is about a special person who enters people's lives, connects with them, and changes them for the better. A familiar concept. But in this movie, they overdid it while trying to define the main character through her loneliness. The character of the movie gave me more of a teenage emo feeling. Moreover, in order to preserve this feeling, they did not write any decent dialogue between the main character and many supporting characters, nor did they shoot a scene where we would feel the bond established. When you make a character this elusive, a problem arises: the character and all its relationships remain empty. How do we understand that the main character is a special person and that she is good for people, because people constantly repeat this with their mouths. The director has to do this because there are almost no scenes that will make us feel this.

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This is the rare film that will stop and luxuriate in the beauty of moments. The director and cinematographer exhibit a sheer love of filmmaking in a way that today's Hollywood never would, or could. Deeply atmospheric and intimate, this is a film that captures our senses. We become immersed so subtly and totally that it can seem at times almost voyeuristic, as if we may be privy to too much of the characters' personal lives as we become absorbed in the daily challenges and beauty unfolding around them. "Call Me Chihiro" is a slow burn that is well worth your time. What a pleasure it is to come across this testament that the art of film making is not dead.

Personally, I had no expectations for this film when first switching it on; I was just excited to see the narrative of an ex sex worker become the focus of the story. However, it was much better than expected. With the simple yet deceptive dialogue; how the story glimpses into the lives of various characters who are suffering and the way she lifts them up; to it's very calming pace- this move is really nice to watch. As someone who also feels like an outsider looking in, it's great to see the people Chihiro helps; but also very sad to see that Chihiro herself is also someone who is going through immense sadness and pain. It's like she's being the kidness in the world that is hard to find. Like a silent hero. This movie may not be for everyone but it gives an uplifting voice to anyone going through tough times, as well as those who want to visually relax by the seaside.

I was actually looking forward to sitting down and getting to watch the 2023 Japanese drama "Call Me Chihiro". I liked the movie's synopsis, and I had been told nice things about it. However, writers Rikiya Imaizumi, Kaori Sawai and Hiroyuki Yasuda delivered an insanely slow paced narrative in their script. Running at 131 minutes, and with very little actually happening, sitting through "Call Me Chihiro" was quite an ordeal. I have to admit that I was not particularly entertained by what transpired in the slow and monotonous narrative as the story unfolded on the screen, and I gave up half way through the movie. I just couldn't take any more of the nonsense that was the narrative in the movie. I kid you not, nothing interesting happens in the first half of the movie. The acting performances in "Call Me Chihiro" were good, and leading actress Kasumi Arimura really does perform quite well. Just a real shame that she and the rest of the cast literally had nothing to work with in terms of a proper narrative, interesting characters or much of anything else. While the synopsis for director Rikiya Imaizumi's 2023 movie sounded interesting, the actual movie itself was a slow paced dumpster fire. I have zero intention of returning to attempt finish watching the rest of the movie. With half of the movie to go, I just simply have no interest in watching any more of the monotonous storyline. And this is definitely not a movie that I will recommend to fans of the Japanese cinema to waste their time, money or effort on. My rating of Rikiya Imaizumi's 2023 movie "Call Me Chihiro" lands on a three out of ten stars, and that is based on the production value and the acting performances, and by no means on the storyline whatsoever.