Boku to tsuma no 1778 no monogatari (2011) Reviews

• Great MovieThe Ultimate Tear Jerker

  mh20202011-06-15

  I caught this film on a United flight to Asia 6/14/2011. The movie Brian Song about a friendship between Chicago Bears Gale Sayers and Brian Piccolo, whom lost his battle with cancer (A REAL TEAR JERKER) has nothing on this one. I Thought this was going to be a funny happy robot kind of film. NOT! I found myself mesmerized by this film. This movie broke my heart in a million pieces. Tears, outright crying, a love story of love stories. A bit drawn out in the last half hour or so, however overall, Absolutely Grand. Don't forget your handkerchief. The ultimate tear jerker.

• Heart-breaking

  Angelus22011-08-25

  A author decides to write a short story every day for his wife after he finds out she has cancer. It is a very sad and moving film, done just wonderfully; I do not cry in films but I shed a few tears watching this, the eccentric writer has a perfect wife, one who adores his 'difficult' mannerisms and loves him for it. Course then you have the journey that both characters go through as cancers tears his wife apart and destroys his world, only finding solitude in his stories that are designed with one simple objective...Make her laugh! The film has some very odd moments...like the 'Octopus' which I just loved and the robot war, quite sad but all that just helps make this film all the more powerful. Beautifully acted, written and directed...A real heart-breaker!

• Amazing mix of love and grief

  lawrencejohny2011-06-18

  I saw this film on a flight recently. I usually prefer comedy or science fiction. As this film is drama, I was reluctant at first. However, after watching the first 30 minutes, I was compelled to see the entire movie. Sakutaro's thought of one story a day to keep his wife alive extended her life by another 4 years, though the doctors said the statistical probability of survival for cancer patients such as Mrs. Sakutaro at such critical stage is zero. Later, though intended to keep his wife alive, Sakutaro understands that, writing the stories helped him to cope up with the bereavement. He learned to live by himself at the end of 4 years. The film is an amazing mix of love and grief. I would have given the film a rating of 9. However, there are some scenes which, I felt, were redundant and irrelevant. So I stand by my rating of 8 on 10 for this movie. However, it is worth watching one time. A must see.

• Charming but bleak film about love

  rwmj2011-05-07

  I caught this film on a flight over from the states. After watching Mike Leigh's latest and rather depressing film, I was in the mood for something more fun, and this was a Japanese film with robots ... fun right? Sakutaro is an aimless dreamer and unsuccessful science fiction writer, who happens by luck to be married to the one woman, Setsuko, who can look after him. He sits in the park or in his study all day surrounded by toy robots, dreaming and writing. When Setsuko is diagnosed with cancer and given a year to live, Sakutaro writes a story every day to keep her spirits up. The film thankfully doesn't try to tell every one of these stories; most are just amusing or interesting titles. For a few the film cuts to Sakutaro's imagination as he battles robots or has a hallucinogenic experience with a giant squid. These parts work very well and the stories themselves are poignant and funny. For these alone it's certainly worth watching the film. As to the underlying story, I'll just say that it's bleak. If there's a message it's not too deep. That's why I give this 7/10.