Opening Day: 15 May 2008

Synopsis:

Adapted from the bestselling novel by Kotaro Isaka “The Accuracy of Death”. Chiba (Takeshi Kaneshiro) appears seven days before a person dies an unexpected death. His job is to observe the person for seven days, and then decide either to ‘execute’ or ‘pass over’. Getting his work quickly out of the way, he goes to the listening booth of a CD shop and indulges in his favorite pastime, listening to ‘humanity’s greatest invention’: music.

He is...a Grim Reaper. Today, again, in the rain, he waits. His subject, her death due in seven days, is Kazue Fujiki (Manami Konishi), 27. She works for a manufacturing company, in the complaints department. Exhausted after her day, she emerges from her office. It’s time for the Reaper to go to work.

Movie Review:

Heartthrob Takeshi Kaneshiro can do no wrong. The Chinese Japanese actor is perfect. This man has got fans everywhere. With his chiseled good looks and his beautiful eyes, he can smear mud all over his pretty face as a warrior in The Warlords (2007), sing love songs and look forlorn as a heartbroken actor in Perhaps Love (2005), or wear expensive shades as a suave gunman in Returner (2002) – he makes these movies good. So we are pretty sure that other than his loyal fans, the handsome actor’s latest Japanese movie will go down well with everyone else. Besides, it’s got a decent storyline too.

Masaya Kakei directs Kaneshiro in a movie adaptation of Kotaro Isaka’s novel, where the actor plays a Grim Reaper (the best looking one ever, we’d say) who appears seven days before someone who is about to die an unexpected death. He will spend this week with them before deciding whether they will die or not. If the messenger of death really looked this good, we are predicting girls wouldn’t mind dying so much.

The 115-minute movie is made up of three interconnected stories which protagonists are targets of the attractive Grim Reaper. There’s a meek girl whose job is to receive complaint calls, a crime committing mafia leader who has a faithful follower and an old hairdresser who lives alone in the countryside.

Being a Japanese production, you can expect everything to be beautifully visualized on screen. The cinematography by Takahide Shibanushi showcases the melancholic showers, the gritty mafia showdowns and the withering sunflowers to great effect. These complement the mood of the romance fantasy movie and will please viewers with a sense of aesthetics greatly. Watch out also for some simple but effective computer generated effects which will make you suspend all beliefs and immerse yourself in the beautiful other world.

With the pretty images in place, the next thing that works well in this movie is its well articulated themes about life. What defines happiness? What does it take to give up on happiness? What makes one faithful in what he believes in? What makes one’s life fulfilling and complete at the end of the day? Sure, these are romanticized notions that some cynics may consider a waste of constructive time, but we’d think that these are the finer details of life which busy urbanites like us should slow down and take note of. These three tales bring together these messages and make you look at the big picture of things in a lyrical manner.

Manami Konishi (Udon) and Sumiko Fuji (Hula Girls) comfortably play their roles of the Grim Reaper’s targets. Konishi is perfect for the docile and submissive girl who gets a new outlook of life when the Grim Reaper pays her a visit. The gorgeous theme song “Sunny Day” performed by the starlet will be on repeat mode on your player. Fuji’s steady performance as the old hairdresser with a secret is one you will not forget easily.

And of course, Kaneshiro is again perfectly cast. Even when the charming actor goes into an unnecessarily silly mode, you forgive him because you know he can carry it off very nicely. The actor can absolutely do no wrong.

Movie Rating:

(You’ll fall in love with this movie)

Review by John Li