Maborosi, known in Japan as Maboroshi no Hikari (Japanese: 幻の光, literally "phantasmic light", but best translated as 'a trick of the light'), is a 1995 Japanese drama film by director Hirokazu Kore-eda starring Makiko Esumi, Tadanobu Asano, and Takashi Naito. It is based on a novel by Teru Miyamoto.

Maboroshi
Directed byHirokazu Kore-eda
Screenplay byYoshihisa Ogita
Based onMaboroshi no Hikari
by Teru Miyamoto
Produced byNaoe Gozu
StarringMakiko Esumi
Tadanobu Asano
Akira Emoto
Sayaka Yoshino
Takashi Naito
CinematographyMasao Nakabori
Edited byTomoyo Ōshima
Music byChen Ming-chang
Distributed byMilestone Films
Release dates
Running time
109 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Maborosi won a Golden Osella Award for Best Cinematography at the 1995 Venice Film Festival.

Plot

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Yumiko (Esumi) and Ikuo (Asano) are a young Osaka couple who have a new baby. One day Ikuo is walking along the railway tracks and is hit and killed by a train. It seems that he may have done this deliberately yet there is no apparent motive. A few years pass. Yumiko agrees to an arranged marriage with a widower, Tamio (Naitō), and she and Yuichi (her son, now played by Gohki Kashima) move to Tamio's house in a rustic village on the Sea of Japan coast.

A drunken spat over a bell Yumiko had given Ikuo just before he died causes Yumiko and Tamio to discuss their strong emotions for their lost loves. Shortly after, Yumiko follows a funeral procession and lingers at the crematorium, until Tamio arrives by car to pick her up, at which point she says she just wants to know why Ikuo killed himself. Tamio suggests that, like the will o' the wisps his father used to see, perhaps something just drew him away from life.

Critical reception

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On Rotten Tomatoes, Maborosi has a perfect approval rating of 100% based on 24 reviews, with an average score of 8.1/10.[1] On Metacritic, the film is scored 92 out of a 100, based on 8 reviews.[2] It garnered a positive reaction from critics upon its American release, and received two thumbs up from Siskel and Ebert on the April 12, 1997 episode of their program.[3] Ebert further praised the film in his review for the Chicago Sun-Times, noting its "astonishing beauty and sadness" and the influence of Japanese filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu.[4] It was later included on Siskel and Ebert's "Best Films of 1997" episode in January 1998.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Maborosi". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  2. ^ "Metaborosi". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  3. ^ Ebert, Roger; Siskel, Gene (12 April 1997). Anaconda/Grosse Point Blank/Paradise Road/Keys to Tulsa/Kissed/Mabarosi. Buena Vista Television.
  4. ^ Ebert, Roger (1997-03-21). "Maborosi". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  5. ^ Ebert, Roger; Siskel, Gene (17 January 1998). "The Best Films of 1997". Buena Vista Television.

Bibliography

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