Yurîka   2000   Japan, France Eureka
Eureka Image Cover
Additional Images
Director:Shinji Aoyama
Studio:DENTSU Music And Entertainment
Writer:Shinji Aoyama
IMDb Rating:7.8 (1,731 votes)
Awards:4 wins & 2 nominations
Genre:Drama
Duration:217 min
Languages:Japanese
IMDb:0243889
Search:NetflixYouTube
Shinji Aoyama  ...  (Director)
Shinji Aoyama  ...  (Writer)
 
Kôji Yakusho  ...  Makoto Sawai
Aoi Miyazaki  ...  Kozue Tamura
Masaru Miyazaki  ...  Naoki Tamura
Yoichiro Saito  ...  Akihiko
Sayuri Kokusho  ...  Yumiko
Ken Mitsuishi  ...  Shigeo
Gô Rijû  ...  Busjack Man
Yutaka Matsushige  ...  Matsuoka
Sansei Shiomi  ...  Yoshiyuki Sawai
Kimie Shingyoji  ...  Mother
Eihi Shiina  ...  Keiko Kono
Machiko Ono  ...  Mikiko
Masaki Tamura  ...  Cinematographer
Yôichirô Saitô  ...  Akihiko
Sayuri Kokushô  ...  Yumiko
Kimie Shingyôji  ...  Mother
Denden  ...  
Yûji Nakamura  ...  
Eimei Esumi  ...  
Yôko Noma  ...  
Shinji Aoyama  ...  Composer
Isao Yamada  ...  Composer
Comments: Something this long, this slow, and this quiet is not for everyone. Can't imagine my mom liking it. For me it's a dream come true. So beautiful to look at. My only (minor) quibble with it is when "story" enters. An off base complaint when I consider it's what the film is about. But I'm not a big story guy

The saddest moment of the film is when that slipper floats up to the lake shore and stops near the beer can. kiri kiri kiri :(

A dry heave moment when tears just burst out of my eyeballs is after Koji does the double knock on the outside of the bus, waits for a response and ... oh dear

Another shout out to Miyazaki Aoi. I've always considered plain old walking to be one of the hardest things for an actor to pull off without looking like they are "acting" it. At fourteen years old Aoi nails it

My third viewing of Eureka and my first watch of 2024

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After three and a half slow paced, sepia toned hours experiencing emotional pain and anguish I still watched the credits roll. This film starts off with a man hijacking a bus and killing most everyone on it for no apparent reason. The driver and two middle school kids survive, and we spend the rest of the film watching them live with it. We watch them fall asleep watching television and other mundane matters but there is not a wasted frame in this film. There are a remarkable number of plot points to keep things moving forward but it still feels like suspended animation, like time is moving inward instead of along. Koji Yakusho is sublime and Aoi Miyazaki, at like twelve years old--and without saying a word for nearly the entire runtime--is mesmerizing. This film is a masterpiece, a journey exploring the myriad layers of trauma, of metaphorical death, and what three people endure on a path to renewal and emergence from a world of silent suffering. It will take your breath away.

★★★★★

Summary: In Kyushu, southwest Japan, one hot summer morning, a municipal bus is hijacked. In the carnage only three people survive: the driver, a school girl, and her older brother. Suffering from trauma, the driver disappears. The children withdraw in silence. Two years later, their mother has divorced and their father dies at the wheel of his car. They now live alone in the family home. The driver returns to town and takes up household with the children, who are soon joined by their cousin, a college student on vacation. The body of a murdered woman is discovered on the river bank; and the police suspect the driver. Soon after, he buys an old bus; fits it with beds; and invites the three young people to leave on a trip.


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