Plum Rain (2007)
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Boring
It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.
Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?
One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.
A well known French playwright, Francois, has come to Tokyo as rehearsals for the staging of his play will begin shortly. He has brought his ailing grandmother, Tina, with him. After being introduced to the cast, Francois has not much to do, but he sits watching the progress in a language he cannot understand.His grandmother, a woman who does not talk much, has no problems adapting to the new surroundings. In a way, the trip has served as a renewal of the bond between two generations. We watch them going through the city, eating, sharing the tiny apartment where they are staying. If anything, the film as a serene beauty about the love these two have for one another. While Francois is at a loss being in a strange place, he begins taking notice of a woman whose unselfish love for a grandson has never stopped.Frederic Fisbach directed this French film made for television, and co-wrote the scenario with Anne-Louise Trividic. It is a story with its heart in the right place beautifully realized. There is a contrast between the hectic pace of Tokyo and the quiet atmosphere of the living quarters where Tina and Francois are staying. Eventually Tina opens up to Francois in ways that surprise the viewer.Gilbert Melki and Adriana Asti are perfect as Francois and Tina. Both actors show an understanding for the material they were asked to play. Laurent Brunet photographed the production with style. Barre Phillips music score plays well in the background.