Movie Review: 'Kita Kita' Is Intimate and Endearing

DO NOT CONTINUE READING IF YOU STILL PLAN TO WATCH KITA KITA. I MIGHT INADVERTENTLY GIVE AWAY SOME OF THE IMPORTANT PLOT LINES WHICH MIGHT DESTROY YOUR MOVIE-GOING EXPERIENCE.

There was a sizable audience tonight when we watched a screening of Kita Kita at SM MOA. It is always great news for local cinema when an indie-produced film makes a breakthrough in the box-office through sheer word-of-mouth only.

While I was watching it, it reminded me of the American movie, Lost in Translation, released in 2003, which had a similar thread to this movie - its simplicity, the surprising unaffected chemistry of the two leads, the blossoming of the romantic possibilities, and the way it showcases the beauty and uniqueness of Japan, as seen through the eyes of the female directors (Sofia Coppola, Sigrid Andrea Bernardo) of these movies.

I highly suggest that you watch both movies one after the other, and explore the complexities of human relationships as the directors present isolation and heartbreak.

One is set in the tranquil (well, that's the way it looked to me) city of Sapporo in the lovely island of Hokkaido, in northern Japan, while the other is set in the frenetic city of Tokyo, amidst the sheen of Park Hyatt Tokyo, and the craziness of Shibuya and Shinjuku.

They are both beautifully photographed, with a tender musical score that would make you want to book a trip to Japan, right here, right now, and follow the leads of both movies, as they visit the delightful sites of both cities.

Well, back to the story.

As both leads find each other, we revel at the connection that they make with each other, even though from face value, they may not seem the most likely of couples. Alessandra looks lovely but is depressed, and so is Scarlet's character, maybe not too depressed but is ignored by her husband.

Come to the rescue, Bill Murray and Empoy Marquez, who are both comedians so they don't exactly have matinee idol looks. Surprisingly, there is a bubbling chemistry that you can feel they have with their beautiful leading ladies. There is no corniness in their facial expressions and you can feel their earnestness to connect with the two women.

I saw that kilig in English is to gush (Kita Kita had subtitles - and you can bring a Japanese-speaking friend along since a good percentage of the movie is in Japanese) - and I won't be surprised if many, especially the millennials, would be able to identify with Alessandra and Empoy.

I was wistful as I left the theatre after watching Lost in Translation and you will too, after watching Kita Kita. The circumstances of how both movies end are not the same, but they tap at the same vein of what might have been.

The third movie that you can bookmark with these two movies is Atonement, with Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, but you'd need too much tissue paper already.

Why Marriages Before Between A Homosexual Man and A Woman Probably Worked (When Being Gay Was Still A Crime)

Guys, there's a great movie showing in Trinoma which you should watch - The Imitation Game. It's one of those movies that has many quotable quotes which are still relevant until now - although the movie is set in World War II Britain -

There's a scene in the movie which probably describes why many marriages before worked (when being gay was still a crime) even though the husband was a homosexual. This is probably Keira Knightley's best scene in the movie (she's so good in many!). In this scene, Benedict Cumberbatch who plays the mathematical genius Alan Turing sends her off to leave him because he finally admits to her that he's a homosexual - and she says this great line with such affection -

"So what? I had my suspicions. I always did. But we're not like other people. We love each other in our own way, and we can have the life together that we want. You won't be the perfect husband? I can promise you I harboured no intention of being the perfect wife. I'll not be fixing your lamb all day, while you come home from the office, will I? I'll work. You'll work. And we'll have each other's company. We'll have each other's minds. Sounds like a better marriage than most. Because I care for you. And you care for me. And we understand one another more than anyone else ever has."

The Imitation Game Mixes Cryptography, War and Homosexuality Wonderfully

I like the way how compact the movie The Imitation Game is.  It's interesting that a war movie that doesn't rely on war scenes is as compelling and engrossing as any good war movie like the recent American Sniper.  If the movie were handled by a lesser director, it would be difficult to feel the suspense and the helplessness of the main characters as they race against time to find a solution to decrypt the German message machine called Enigma.

Benedict Cumberbatch gives a great performance here as the legendary mathematician Alan Turing.  Although his character is arrogant and socially inept, he plays with wonderful charm and introvertness that does not make the character irritating.  It's just how he really is.  What you see is what you get.

However, my favorite character in the movie is the one played by Keira Knightley!  Keira plays her character with strength and a little bit of insecurity - as she says - a twenty-five year old with no boyfriend and lives with her parents - an almost old maid.  Her character is so smart as well that it provides the balance that tempers the arrogance of Cumberbatch's Turing.

I like this movie because it makes you care for everyone in the movie.  You want all of them to succeed at all odds and against a strong villain - Hitler's Germany - it's a victory that comes at such a high cost.  

There are many quotable quotes in the movie -

"Sometimes it is the people who no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine."

"So what? I had my suspicions. I always did. But we're not like other people. We love each other in our own way, and we can still live the life together that we want. You won't be the perfect husband? I can promise you I harboured no intention of being the perfect wife. I'll not be fixing your lamb all day awaiting your return from the office, will I? I'll work. You'll work. We'll have each other's company. We'll have each other's minds. Sounds like a better marriage than most. Because I care for you. And you care for me. And we understand one another more than anyone else ever has."

"Do you know why people like violence? It is because it feels good. Humans find violence deeply satisfying. But remove the satisfaction, and the act becomes... hollow."

" Do you know, this morning I was on a train that went through a city that wouldn't exist if it wasn't for you. I bought a ticket from a man who would likely be dead if it wasn't for you. I read up, on my work, a whole field of scientific inquiry that only exists because of you. Now, if you wish you could have been normal... I can promise you I do not. The world is an infinitely better place precisely because you weren't."

I love all of these quotes!  This makes the movie one of the best adapted screenplays of any movie I saw this year!