Yutaka Yamasaki	...	(Director)
Yutaka Yamasaki, Yûki Satô	...	(Writer)
Makiko Watanabe	...	Horiko
Sakura Andô	...	Mina
Sola Aoi	...
Yûko Nakamura	...
Arata	...
Renji Ishibashi	...
Miyako Yamaguchi	...
Yutaka Yamasaki	...	Cinematographer

Comments: You can't make films like this unless you have good actors.

Makiko Watanabe is so good in roles like this, and Sakura Ando is always good. There are many scenes of watching characters do nothing more than the mundane (or the weird, as in frolicking naked in the sea with a blow-up torso) -- if the actor seems like they are going through a checklist of motions, it will fail. There may be limited appeal but Koreeda's cinematographer does a great job in his directorial debut.

I got the sense I was observing these characters free from any notion a film was being made. Beyond that, Torso transforms itself into a wonderful character study as the torso deflates. Do yourself a favor, forget the odd Torso bit (it symbolizes blah blah, etc.) and watch two of Japan's best actresses play sisters with baggage.

Rewatched Sep 05, 2024

Yutaka Yamazaki

One could read a lot into this about loneliness or isolation and whatnot, and get metaphorical about the torso. But these are just people. Good days and bad days

Makiko Watanabe and Sakura Ando are the people. Sisters. Who could ask for anything more? Conversations in the bathroom with one of them brushing her teeth, the other one on the pot

Watch Makiko wash her vegetables [code for you know what]. But this isn't one of those indie type films that tries your patience. It's very natural, beautifully (non)acted and photographed. If you look at Yamazaki's filmography as cinematographer you can see he's familiar with this kind of pacing. This is a film that lingers all over the place

Sister stuff is great at getting to the quiet poignancy Japanese film makers love. And Makiko Watanabe and Sakura Ando hit this shit out of the park

I think you have to know ahead of time you want to watch something like this. If you're not one of those people, don't watch it. You won't be missing anything. If you are one of those people and haven't seen this you have something to look forward to


Summary: Kore-eda’s longtime cinematographer, Yutaka Yamazaki, made his directoral debut this year with Torso. Following in the footsteps of Air Doll, Yamazaki takes on a story of a human loving a sex toy with a much different outcome than Kore-eda’s opus. Makiko Watanabe aces the role of an alienated woman “in love” with a blow-up male torso. Rising star Sakura Ando, playing her sister adds to the tension when she discovers her secret desire. All in all, a taught and forgiving drama that makes loving an armless, headless, legless torso make sense.