I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
Four-year-old Kun (the voice of Moka Kamishiraishi) has a new baby sister, and he is not at all happy about it: Mirai has distracted his parents to the point where they barely seem to pay any attention to him anymore! This tenderly animated Japanese film is lovely with its fantasy: Kun gets magical visits from teenaged Mirai (the voice of Haru Kuroki) — her name means “future”! — as well as other family members, past and present, and even a human embodiment of his dog (who is unhappy to have been replaced in the affections of Kun’s parents by the boy’s own arrival), all of whom teach him small, gentle lessons about what it means to be a big brother, and what it means to be a part of a family with a long history. There’s sweet compassion, too, in writer-director Mamoru Hosoda’s (The Boy and the Beast) portrait of a household gone topsy-turvy with a tantrum-prone toddler and demanding newborn taking center stage; Kun is particularly realistically well-drawn, no pun intended, and charmingly so: his little-boy obsession with trains is pointedly deployed.
Still, if it’s all a bit It’s a Wonderful Life meets A Christmas Carol, the perspective is that of a very small child whose own consciousness is only just beginning to dawn, and hence the lessons his supernatural visitors impart are very slight and far too mundane to compel much beyond the mildest of interest in those of us who’ve already learned the value of not throwing a fit in order to get our way. And yet it’s probably too convoluted and confusing for a viewer Kun’s own age. I’m not sure who the audience is here, but it wasn’t me.
I watched the film in the original Japanese with subtitles. An English-dubbed version is also available, featuring the voices of John Cho, Rebecca Hall, and Daniel Dae Kim.
‘Mirai’ is a great movie. And this is not a positive review, but that’s alright. I’m glad that you at least owned to the fact that this movie just wasn’t really meant for you… as opposed to other critics out there who simply didn’t grasp the true nature of this movie and simply called it “garbage”.
What particular aspects of the movie did you enjoy? Without giving away any spoilers, what is this “true nature” that people fail to grasp? How does the quality of the story and/or character development compare to something like Wolf Children or Your Name? Please tell us why you loved the movie.
Without saying much, it’s more or less at the same level as those movies. I just think that it’s a good quality family movie with a lot of heart in it. Why anyone would dislike it or find it mediocre, I don’t know. Similar to previous movies from Hosoda, his signature art style is still present, the world he’s built, the characters he’s developed, and just the overall story he was trying to tell, it’s all still there. I know I’m being quite vague here, but I’m just trying to say that if you’re a fan of Hosoda, I’m sure you can find it in you to appreciate ‘Mirai’ as well. If not at the first go, then perhaps by watching it a second time. It’s a fun and heart-warming tale, so how is it even possible to dislike something like that?
Hmm… still not enough information to go on. After being impressed by the simplicity of Wolf Children, I found Summer Wars underwhelming. Although it was well animated, the character development was spotty, and the real world/virtual world split felt dated and poorly explored even in 2009.
I agree that Hosada’s movies are difficult to dislike – but some are so bland, they’re also difficult to love. The characters are distinct from a visual design standpoint, but reliance on stock trope personalities and situations sands away any peculiar bumps when it comes to dialogue and plot structure. To be fair, this is a flaw in most anime and reflects the more conformist, typecast culture of Japan. Most mainstream asian cinema is also susceptible to unearned melodrama that I find forced and cheesy.
On the other hand, I was pleasantly surprised by the emotional authenticity and quieter moments of Your Name. Although the characters are also somewhat bland tropes, the weirdness of the plot, universality of the star-crossed lovers theme, and grounded, authentic dialogue was enough to hold my interest.
Hosada’s movies are gentle and pleasant, but they often aren’t really about anything – they introduce a weird fantasy core, then fail to use them to explore any fresh ideas. Contrast his approach with that of something like a good episode of Mushishi, which, while similarly slow paced and gentle, uses its fantasy elements to explore fundamental human relationships in an ambiguous, curious way. Some people enjoy being challenged and asked open-ended questions, and the inoffensive, warm pillow approach of Hosada doesn’t scratch that itch. I’m happy that their innocent, coming of age, Totoronicity brings you joy though. At the end of the day, that’s much more important than being able to rationalize exactly why you like them.
Well said. I do enjoy movies that challenge me from time to time, but when it comes to movies like Hosoda’s, I always prepare my mind by not thinking at all and just sit back and relax. I’m not saying it’s a dumb movie or anything, but like you said, it’s “innocent” and “brings you joy”, and at the end of the day, that’s what matters the most about these movies, and that’s how you end up enjoying them.
Can you point to critics who have said this? The film is currently at 91% at Rotten Tomatoes and has only 5 negative reviews. Who has actually called it “garbage”?
I’ve liked Hosoda’s previous films, so I’ll probably check this one out at some point. But here’s the thing: no movie has a “true nature” that can be objectively proven. Your opinion is valid FOR YOU, but it doesn’t mean everyone else has to share it. No matter how strongly you feel a certain way about a film, there will always be other people who feel differently. It doesn’t mean they’re all wrong, and only you can see the “truth.” It means you just have to get used to people having different opinions.
“Garbage” is just a way to combine and paraphrase what negative reviews have been saying. I believe it illustrates their negativity quite well. But anyways… what people think and feel about this movie, whether it’s good or bad, they have the right to do so. If they think the movie’s bad, so be it. But I can tell that for some people, the magic just wasn’t there for them, but what I’m trying to say is that it’s not that it wasn’t there, because it was, but that those people just couldn’t see it, or weren’t invested enough in the movie to even bother to see it. And the whole, “your opinion is yours and you gotta learn to respect others’ opinions” is completely invalid here, because I do respect them, and you should to. Trying to understand negative reviews and finding justification for them IS my way of respecting them. So please take your condescending remarks elsewhere if you’d wish to continue further with this discussion.
See, you’ve just proven my point about you. And shown that you haven’t really understood it. Oh well.
You’re going to have to point to some of these reviews that you feel confident characterizing like this, because none of the rotten reviews at RT come anything close to calling the film “garbage.” Not even if you’re paraphrasing.
You clearly have a long way to go when it comes to understanding that your opinion of a movie is not subjective fact.
Every review or opinion is subjective and does contain a certain amount of fact in it, otherwise, why do we even say or write the things we do? But I do admit that I may have exaggerated a bit with the term “garbage” that we keep circling back to. But sometimes I just don’t get it how a movie so innocent could even get mediocre or negative ratings. It’s like those heartfelt videos you’d see on YouTube with kids being reunited with their parents or dogs being rescued, or other videos that obviously show a positive moment in life… but yet, there are still dislikes. I’m not even gonna attempt to understand why people think the way they do when they press that “dislike” button for such an innocent video, and perhaps I shouldn’t try to do the same for these movies either, but I love these movies so passionately that seeing them reach an almost perfect rating on Rotten Tomatoes (which I do know isn’t the pinnacle of movie reviews and ratings but still quite relevant), but ends up being brought down by a few “rotten” reviews. It’s a shame really. But so be it. I shouldn’t really be bothered by any of these reviews anyways, right? No matter how positive or negative they may be, as long as I enjoyed the movie, that’s what matters.
So any movie that is “innocent” is automatically a good movie? That’s not how this works. You also appear to be conflating criticism of the movie with criticism of innocence. That’s also not how this works.
Nothing is being “brought down.”
100% to 91%… brought down by 9% with five “rotten’ reviews. But I believe that there’s no point going any further with this discussion. We’re both biased with our respective points of view, especially when it comes down to what criticism is (I didn’t bring it up though), but whatever.
But the movie is not “brought down”! The movie still exists, and you still get precisely the same enjoyment from it.
I agree, I merely meant it in the sense of the movie’s rating being brought down. I didn’t phrase it as such, but it must’ve seemed obvious when I said “brought down by 9%”. But what may seem obvious for some may not be the same for others, so I wouldn’t blame you for not catching on with what I was referring to.
When the Net is full of people who seriously believe that a movie and their response to it are actually damaged by a certain RT rating, it’s not I who has a problem catching on to things.
“damaged”, that might’ve been a tad bit exaggerated, but whatever. I can spot egos (including myself of course) floating around and bouncing off the walls like ping-pong balls… and they’ll never stop. What’s funny is that from the very start, I wasn’t against your review at all, but despite my stance… this discussion unfolded, and in quite a strange way. So let’s not bicker any further, shall we? And yes, Bluejay, I’m back once more, but hopefully this could be the last time if we can finally come to terms with whatever this is, but if not… at least there’s always the possibility to agree to disagree, and finally be done with it. Plain and simple.
You seem to be arguing with Humpty Dumpty.
That’s cute. We’ve had differences in opinions but still remained somewhat civilized the entire time without any need for name-calling. But I’m done with it all anyways, so please do whatever suits you. This level of immaturity is just boring, and I don’t want any part in it. Good day to you.
Whatever misguided point you may have about me, you can keep that for yourself, stranger whom I’ve never met before. And you do understand that your opinion about my own opinion could also be viewed as something disrespectful towards my own view on things. But whatever, I’m not gonna act up on it like you did. We’re two sides of a coin that will obviously never meet, so… I liked the movie and you didn’t. Let’s just leave it at that.
Ah, so you still haven’t understood it. That’s okay. Maybe someday you will. And you thinking I’m “misguided” just proves my point further.
But I’m not attacking your opinion of the movie. I’m challenging something else. Let’s see if you can get it.
Heh. Projection.
I didn’t? You haven’t read my comments.
As I said: oh, well.
If you actually did like the movie, why the heck would you even try to pick a verbal fight with me? I’m sure you’ve seen the ratings online for the movie, so this was just me trying to understand why the ones in the minority were being so negative about it. So if I liked the movie and so did you, shouldn’t we be on the same team or whatever? But from the way you were talking to me, you do admit that from the first impression, it didn’t seem like you liked the movie at all.
The “rotten” reviews are not really all that negative. Maybe you need to ease off a bit.
As I’ve mentioned in my previous response, I’m quite passionate about these movies. But I’ll try to ease off a bit. Although, it’s still such a shame that a movie so innocent and with so much heart in it couldn’t get a higher rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Almost at that perfect 100% like ‘Paddington 2’, but not quite there. But whatever… it is what it is. At least you guys are much more reasonable than those negative reviews for that ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ movie. Those really brought down the movie’s overall rating for the dumbest of reasons. But hey… it’s all subjective, right? lol. Anyways, I’m gonna leave you guys. Despite these odd discussions we’ve been having, as well as with that Bluejay fellow, I do appreciate your review.
You’re still not reading my comments. :-)
I would say the same about you. I liked the movie. I just pointed out that some didn’t… which is a fact by the way. So why this discussion, or whatever you’d like to call it, is even needed, I have no idea. But once, the way you’ve approached me… THAT’S what gave me the impression you didn’t like the movie. And just a word of advice… you should probably read your own comments first before replying to others.
That’s not all you did.
Clearly you don’t.
When someone asks for further explanations, more is given. Which is why I said more than what I initially did. If you’re not pleased with it, that’s your problem. But considering your response as “Clearly”, you also believe this discussion to be pointless. So let’s just call it a day and move on to other things. Good day to you.
Well, unless you’re a telepath, you’re never really going to be certain why anyone likes or dislikes anything. At best, you can only speculate about the reasons why they might like or dislike something and hope you get some clue that “proves” your theory is correct.
You can be only certain about what you like or dislike and even then there’s no guarantee that you’ll be completely honest about that. After all, it’s not unusual for people in the real world to pretend that they like something they don’t really like just to be polite. Or to fit in. Or to not make waves. Etc….
And of course, the same is true vice versa.
True. In most cases I’d agree. But to be honest, it’s like I’ve mentioned earlier on another comment. If it had a rating of 80% on Rotten Tomatoes, I’d be sort of fine with it. It’s the almost perfect rating that just isn’t quite there yet that kinda bothers me a little. But that’s just the perfectionist in me.
That’s… not what perfectionism is.
It is. And we’re all different as human beings, so if we’re perfectionists, it all depends on what that perfectionism is aimed towards. Some aim at perfection for almost everything they encounter in life, others for exam scores, or trivia games, etc (quite similar to being competitive), others on many other things that are personal to them, and then there are others who are passionate about something (I’m throwing in that word again, but it’s true), recognize its good quality, and hope that it would get the recognition it deserves… even though it may never happen, since, as I’ve mentioned earlier… we’re all different, and we all have different opinions. Opinions on movies, as well as opinions on what “perfectionism” means. Because we all live different lives, so its meaning could slightly vary from one person to another. So you can’t really say “what is” and “what isn’t” for some people… it kinda goes against your advice towards me, which is kinda ironic if you think about it (and my gods, don’t you dare correct me on the word “ironic” as well, otherwise this will never end lol). Anyways, I hope this concludes our discussion (finally). Despite all of this, I do respect your view on the movie, and I hope you’d do the same for me too. Have a good day. Bye.
Words can indeed have many shades of meaning, but the way you’re using the word “perfectionism” is absolutely not one of them. Perfectionism is about one’s own behavior. You cannot be “perfectionist” about things outside your control, like what other people think about a movie.
Come on. None of this discussion has the slightest bit to do with whether or not I “respect” your opinion.
Perfectionism can also be in a matter of perspective, by observation, not just actions or whatever we deem to have control over in our lives. But anyways, I’m just gonna move on to other things and be courteous enough to let you have the last word in this odd little discussion we’ve been having. So for the very last time, I bid you farewell, and I wish you the best of luck with future reviews.
As long as we’re speculating why some people like the movie and some people don’t, I can’t help wondering how much of it is due to sibling status — older siblings being more comfortable with it than younger siblings and so forth. I’m the oldest sibling of four children so I have an obvious bias in that area but still…
I’m the eldest of three. Obviously this did not help me with this movie. :-)
Oh, well. It was just a theory. :-)
You’ve said “good day to you” or “bye” or “I’m gonna leave you” several times by now, but you keep coming back for more. You just can’t seem to quit us, or maybe you have a compulsive need to get in the last word. Interesting.
This is what you said to MaryAnn two days ago:
Obviously, the only one here who has a problem “coming to terms” with things is you.
You’re probably itching to reply to this. Resist it.
“You’re probably itching to reply to this. Resist it.”… the same could be said for you. But I get it, no matter what I say, the majority rules on this website, so why even bother, right? You guys clearly share some sort of bond (which is good), so when there’s someone who has the slightest difference in opinion, you all simultaneously jump on him/her like hyenas on an antelope. So I’m just gonna do my best to forget it all and perhaps try to enjoy ‘Mirai’ a second time if it’s still available somewhere.
Oh, fuck off with your victim mentality.
Speaking of “mentality”, thank you for finally showing me the state of yours. And I’d be glad to finally “fuck off”. This website is just too full of negativity anyways.
And yet.
And yet, here I am. ^^ I did say “I’d be glad”, didn’t I? Nothing official, but whatever. Feel free to respond with whatever comes to mind, I know that the urge is there. But if I’m wrong, then that’s fine too.
No one is jumping on you because of your opinion on the movie. I’m sure we’re all amused by your martyr complex, though.
Ah, but I never made grand public promises to leave the conversation. YOU did, several times. And yet here you are, again. Your lack of self-restraint is delicious.
It’s true that it’d be nice to finally leave this crazy little situation we have here, and I should, and so should you guys… but with so many absurd remarks you all have been making, I’m rather curious to see how far this can go on until everyone finally realizes that all of this is pointless… because I sure do.
Why would he quit when he’s so close to winning the Bingo game?
Ha! Have you been keeping track? What squares does he have?
Not sure which squares I have, but I am chatting with a bunch of squares right now. It’s a play with words, in case you didn’t notice.
So does this mean that all this time I’ve been discussing on a website that’s meant for elderly women playing Bingo? I guess I came to the wrong party after all. My apologies.