Tengoku wa mada tôi   2016   Japan Heaven Is Still Far Away
Heaven Is Still Far Away Image Cover
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Director:Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
Studio:Kobe Workshop Cinema Project
Writer:Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
IMDb Rating:7.2 (33 votes)
Genre:Short, Drama
Duration:38 min
Languages:Japanese
IMDb:8334322
Search:NetflixYouTube
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi  ...  (Director)
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi  ...  (Writer)
 
Nao Okabe  ...  
Anne Ogawa  ...  
Hyunri  ...  
Haru Wada  ...  Composer
Yoshio Kitagawa  ...  Cinematographer
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi  ...  Editor
Comments: Before diving into this Asako I&II director's 5 1/2 hour flick I found this 1/2 hour flick. I usually don't like short films but this was very pleasant, interesting.

I don't think it's a spoiler to describe what it's about, what goes on, because I think it's supposed to be obvious but it completely escaped me. Not because it's subtle but because I'm stupid. lol

A 30 something man and a much younger girl live together. The relationship is weird. They don't appear to be lovers or relatives. My best guess was she was the daughter of one of his relatives or friends.

Another girl shows up who wants to interview the guy about her dead sister, who the guy knew, sort of, for a documentary she's making.

The majority of the film is said interview.

There are some nicely biting, smart, psychological bits of dialog.

After the interview the guy and the younger housemate girl are walking home in the rain and the girl describes how she can see it and hear it, but can't feel it or smell it.

I didn't understand who the first girl was until they were walking home in the rain. I didn't have a clue what her relationship to the guy was. When she got right in the second girl's face at the coffee shop and looked her over I just thought it was weird. Having the same name as the dead girl complicated it.

If you see this short film you're welcome to a laugh at my expense.

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This is such an interesting, well-executed-from-every-angle movie. I laugh at myself now for brainfarting my first watch.

I hereby declare that more film makers should make 30 minute films. And not call them "shorts". I'm not really a fan of "shorts", but 30 minutes, give or take, isn't really short, and I dare say that a number of film makers who can't do 90 minutes very well should stick to 30. Make it a new genre.

Then there are film makers like Lav Diaz and Sion Sono who shouldn't do anything under 4 hours, but I digress ....



Summary: Yuzo, a mosaic engineer for porn videos, lives under the same roof as Mitsuki, a high school student with whom he leads a peculiar life. One day, Yuzo receives a phone call from Mitsuki's sister.


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