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REVIEW: Miss Hokusai




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Levitz9



Joined: 06 Feb 2007
Posts: 1022
Location: Puerto Rico
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2016 3:30 pm Reply with quote
Thanks for the review, Mike.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested in this film, but I'd also be lying if the review made it seem like this movie suffers from Studio Ghibli's patented "Gee, ain't this movie pretty?! Just don't mind the plot holes..." style of filmmaking.
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Merida



Joined: 21 Feb 2012
Posts: 1945
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2016 3:47 pm Reply with quote
I enjoyed this movie mostly for providing us a glimpse into the Japan of this time period and the lives of (female) artists back then.

O-ei's personal life didn't interest me all that much, i was actually glad the the romance with her father's assistant never went anywhere. Her relationship with her little sister was pretty touching, though and provided just enough emotional depths to the story.
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Fronzel



Joined: 11 Sep 2003
Posts: 1906
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2016 7:26 pm Reply with quote
The film suffers from an unimaginative adaptation of a serialization; it just put together several chapters of the manga on screen and called it a day. A single film is a different beast and without anything tying those several stories together it certainly does feel aimless.
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Angel M Cazares



Joined: 23 Sep 2010
Posts: 5406
Location: Iscandar
PostPosted: Sun Oct 16, 2016 1:03 pm Reply with quote
I am surprised with the overall grade. I agree that story telling is a weak aspect, but I don't think the intent of this movie was to offer a complete story and biography of the main characters. To me Miss Hokusai is a spiritual movie about unique and intimate moments.

I am very happy that GKids was able to license this fantastic movie. And I look forward to buying their BD release.
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Jayhosh



Joined: 24 May 2013
Posts: 972
Location: Millmont, Pennsylvania
PostPosted: Sun Oct 16, 2016 10:57 pm Reply with quote
Levitz9 wrote:
The review made it seem like this movie suffers from Studio Ghibli's patented "Gee, ain't this movie pretty?! Just don't mind the plot holes..." style of filmmaking.


I feel like that attitude kind of diminishes the actual effort and purpose that's behind that "pretty" art and insinuates that the art's only there to distract the viewer when it's actual purpose is often to enhance and deepen the story itself. Also, what plot holes, exactly?
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trilaan



Joined: 17 Jan 2009
Posts: 1053
Location: Texas
PostPosted: Mon Oct 24, 2016 3:54 am Reply with quote
I saw the movie yesterday evening and I thought it was really good. It was bittersweet in a way I really enjoy and a fun glimpse into the life of an early 19th century Japanese artist's family. I would buy it on Blu-ray for an occasional watch when I feel a need for both laughter and tears.
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suikara



Joined: 25 Oct 2016
Posts: 3
PostPosted: Tue Oct 25, 2016 1:25 am Reply with quote
The scenes with the sister were great, but I felt like the movie ended right where it was starting to get interesting.

Also, I'm not a big fan of melodrama, so the "sick kid" angle didn't appeal to me, as much as I liked the sister as a character.

The writer seemed to like to bring up a theme, dance around it for a while, and then abandon it partway through. I like some ambiguousness, but here it just came off as lazy storytelling. The grade is about right, IMHO.
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kakoishii



Joined: 16 Jul 2008
Posts: 741
PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2016 2:25 pm Reply with quote
Jayhosh wrote:
Levitz9 wrote:
The review made it seem like this movie suffers from Studio Ghibli's patented "Gee, ain't this movie pretty?! Just don't mind the plot holes..." style of filmmaking.


I feel like that attitude kind of diminishes the actual effort and purpose that's behind that "pretty" art and insinuates that the art's only there to distract the viewer when it's actual purpose is often to enhance and deepen the story itself. Also, what plot holes, exactly?

I wouldn't say there are any plot holes per say, but going into this movie I didn't realize it was an adaptation of a manga serial, and now that I know that it makes evident the jumpy narrative. The story plays out as disparate chapters from a book which aren't smoothed together with adequate transitionary notes. I found myself lost at what the over arching narrative was supposed to be and after reading this review it seems like the only way I would've had a clue would have been if I did some required reading and research on who this artist was (had no idea this was based on a real figure). I suppose this may be the pitfall of localizing a film based on a historical figure that's mostly known in his home country but not so much outside of it, but to that point if that's the case and with the sparse storytelling why even localize this? The animation and art were certainly pretty but I found myself bored and frustrated with a lack of narrative to follow. It left my feelings for many of the characters to be mostly hollow.
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Snomaster1
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Joined: 31 Aug 2011
Posts: 2793
PostPosted: Fri Oct 28, 2016 6:18 pm Reply with quote
I gotta admit,this is an interesting movie. It's about a couple of painters that aren't as famous as their European or American counterparts are. I'm not saying this in a bad way but they're not as well-known as Rodin,Van Gogh,Gauguin,and others like them. If this movie does nothing else,it brings two obscure and talented painters the fame,especially in the West,that they've deserved and to be recognized alongside their counterparts in the West.
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