Jaji no Futari
2008 / 93m - Japan
Comedy, Drama
3.0*/5.0*
The Two in Tracksuits poster

Watches

June 06, 2020

3.0*/5.0*

A very pleasant but not so much notable little drama/comedy, the premise of the film makes it sound a little goofier than it actually is. A dad and his some go on a short retreat and dress up in their deceased grandmother's tracksuits, there they can come to their senses and oversee the choices they made in their lives.

It's a somewhat typical "crazy urban to slow rural" setup that is easy to turn into a leisurely drama, luckily Nakamura's execution is quite dry and comedic, so it doesn't get too serious or overly dramatic. On the other hand, the characters could've used a bit more fleshing out, because they remain quite stereotypical.

The actors do a solid job, but none of them really stands out. Nakamura makes good use of the setting to shoot some pretty pictures, though the cinematography itself is pretty basic. And the mix of comedy and drama works, but both genres don't really reinforce each other either. This was more than solid filler, but nothing too memorable.