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.

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.