Korean(. ) Film Review #8: One million Yen Girl (2008)

Starring: Yu Aoi (Suzuko Sato), Mirai Moriyama (Ryohei Nakajima), andf Ryusei Saito (Takuya Sato). Written and you may led from the Yuki Tanada. Inside the Japanese with English subtitles. 121 moments. Open to glance at on the web right here.

It past few days recently started insanely hectic for me, which have nearest and dearest, employers, and mag editors all conspiring to store me personally off creating here. Therefore, it absolutely was that have a particular envy that we eventually seated down to look at 1 million Yen Girl, on the an effective 21 12 months-dated lady (Suzuko) just who escapes her very own trouble of the randomly swinging across the Japan, preserving one million yen (US$9730) within odd services just before moving forward to another location venue. If only I experienced an equivalent freedom.

The film opens having Suzuko finishing a two-month phrase in prison, on the backstory taking up the initial fifteen minutes. Being employed as a waiter immediately following graduation, and you can managing their parents and you will twelve year-dated aunt Takuya, Suzuko are certain by the an excellent coworker to go away and get a location with her. Once they indication a lease toward a place even in the event, besides really does the brand new coworker reveal that their particular boyfriend are joining their, but she trips with your toward swinging go out, making Suzuko to call home with a complete stranger. She in the future chafes during the his palpable sense of entitlement for the this new preparations.

Already, it’s very easy to fault Suzuko to own their afterwards trouble: she need started more assertive along with her coworker. She need moved aside instantly, and stuff like that. Confrontation-to avoid is actually, after all, among the many layouts of your own movie. It’s stressed repeatedly as the their particular fleeting exposure in almost any venues compels their particular so you’re able to constantly bashful from public items, having Yu Aoi’s waif-such appearance after that leading to her impact away from meekness. (Or perhaps is you to definitely history simply a stereotype out-of mine?)

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However, while doing so, extremely audience may empathize having Suzuko’s vulnerability immediately after leaving house, and their unique intended resistance to go back to their unique

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mothers, hopes for freedom stalled. Also, while it is simple to overlook for the a first viewing, she actually is an amazingly difficult character, indicating their particular mettle towards several choices hours.

The initial, when their flatmate puts out an excellent kitten she will bring home, making they locate run over on the street, that she responds by the instantly venturing out and you will tossing the his possessions out. When he states this 1 million yen try amongst men and women, and you will charge their particular with thieves, she won’t stop jail of the saying which they slept to one another, whereby the fresh new charge could have been dismissed once the good lovers’ quarrel. (Sadly, she looks more resigned than simply defiant here.)

Like most of the film even if, this is very abrupt, and would have gained of some more moments out of enjoying their relationships weaken very first. Although it does allow us to understand their particular spontaneous streak.

Straight back with her members of the family and dealing again (partly to help pay a supplementary 200,000 yen good), the very first loved ones eating together is actually a great jarring world in which her parents in the future initiate screaming at every most other regarding close-situations they’ve been for each with, when you find yourself across them their unique precocious brat out of a sister berates Suzuko getting (supposedly?) destroying his chances of getting into good college or university. No surprise she solves at that moment to depart, albeit perhaps not in advance of beating up specific former class mates who title-phone call their unique on the street, and you see this here may slower home heating to their particular cousin while they come to understand they are going to skip one another. Unbeknown in order to their own, additionally, it is showed that he or she is becoming bullied at school.