films seen
9
average score
3.56*
nationality
Japan - 52 years old
status
Alive and kicking
more info

Movies


Glasses

Megane
2007 / 106m - Japan
Comedy, Drama
Glasses poster

It relishes the beauty of boredom and shows a glimpse of true bliss, even to people who wouldn't normally want to be caught dead in main character's situation.


Kamome Diner

Kamome Shokudo
2006 / 102m - Japan
Comedy, Drama
Kamome Diner poster

It's a truly pleasant experience from start to finish, but the lack of dramatic events is sure to leave some scratching their heads.

Yoshino's Barber Shop

Barber Yoshino
2004 / 96m - Japan
Comedy, Drama
Yoshino's Barber Shop poster

And while all of that might sound pretty serious and even heavy-handed, it's amazing how light and flirtatious Ogigami manages to keep her debut film.


Ripples

Hamon
2023 / 120m - Japan
Drama
3.5*/5.0*
Ripples poster

The latest Ogigami isn't a true return to form, but at least she regained some of her former quirkiness. In a sense, it's a pretty typical Japanese family drama, only with more bite and a more dry comedy mixed in. That makes it a somewhat peculiar film that may not work for everybody (especially if you don't pick up on the comedy).

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After the Fukushima disaster, a family man freaks out and leaves his family behind. When he finally returns, the grandfather has passed away, his son has moved out of the house, his wife has joined a weird water cult and he is suffering from cancer. Even though his wife is somewhat reluctant to take him back in, her cult doesn't allow her to bear any grudges.

Ogigami finds comedy in the little things, though her signature dryness is given an extra dimension by a darker edge that I don't remember from her other films. The drama is solid, the presentation clean and the performances are on point (with some of her regulars returning). It's not a stand-out in her oeuvre but a step up from her previous films.

Riverside Mukolitta

Kawapperi Mukolitta
2021 / 120m - Japan
Drama
3.5*/5.0*
Riverside Mukolitta poster

This was another fine Ogigami, but it's a little disappointing to see she that has abandoned her former taste for quirkiness in favor of pursuing more traditional drama. Japan has plenty of straightforward dramas already and Ogigami doesn't really do enough to stand out from the crowd.

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Yamada is a young boy who moves to a little rural town, trying to escape his troubled past. He finds a job in a fish factory, his boss hooks him up with a little apartment nearby. Yamada is a bit of a loner, but his neighbor Shimada won't have it and keeps pushing Yamada to socialize.

The performances are decent, Ogigami makes good use of the setting, the drama is light but poignant and the emotional beats don't miss their target. It's just that nothing really stands out too much, and knowing the films Ogigami made before, it feels like she's just not living up to her full potential. It's a good film, I just expect more from her.

Toilet

Toiretto
2010 / 109m - Japan
Drama
3.5*/5.0*
Toilet poster

Ogigami's English-language debut takes a while to get going, but around the halfway point it finally picks up steam. The actors aren't all that, luckily Masako Motai is still around to pull everyone together. Not as good as Ogigami's other work, but still worth checking out.


Close-Knit

Karera ga Honki de Amu Toki Wa
2017 / 127m - Japan
Drama
3.0*/5.0*
Close-Knit poster

Rent-a-Cat

Rentaneko
2012 / 110m - Japan
Comedy, Drama
3.0*/5.0*
Rent-a-Cat poster

Love Is Five, Seven, Five

Koi wa Go-shichi-go!
2005 / 105m - Japan
Comedy
3.0*/5.0*
Love Is Five, Seven, Five poster

I wouldn't be surprised if every traditional Japanese after school club got its own movie during the 00s. It became a pretty popular genre, driven by a rigid narrative structure that didn't seem to leave the directors much freedom to add something of their own. Ogigami struggles too, but overall she did a pretty solid job.

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The 5-7-5 refers to the haiku pattern, which is the main theme of the film. Some familiarity with the Japanese language and haiku dos and don'ts will definitely come in handy, no doubt some of the finer points went right by me, but by the end of the film I did begin to get a feel for the nuances and appeal. That's not to say I became the biggest haiku fan in the world, but at least I got a decent grasp of the directives.

Ogigami's quirkiness is present, but not as much as in her better work. She's too restricted by the classic setup and the predictable direction of the story. The cinematography is decent and performances are nice, though nothing too exceptional. This is just a fun, breezy and pleasant little film, but a bit too by the numbers for my liking.