There’s shitting, pissing, jerking off, crying, fighting, loving of cinema, some of the most sensitive bromancing ever committed to film and a freakin side-loading slot portable 45 player, which is something that in my 45 plus years of existence I’ve never seen before.
This glorious road film literally has it all.
My favorite thing about this film is not the delicate handling of PTSD in a crushed post-war Japan, the patience and absolute restraint to not pack this with endless action, the costuming, set design and general recreation of the time… no, my favorite thing above it all was Professor Noda’s incredible hair. I will pray every night to be blessed with those lovely locks as I age.
I watch this every few years and I’ve probably seen it 25-30 times. It’s one of my earliest movie theater memories (my mom took me for a theatrical run sometime in the mid 80s). It’s part of the fabric of my being and it’s older than my own father. It’s incredible that animators made this work of art 5 years before Hiroshima and for my money, it looks richer and warmer than any animation today. It’s a main reason why I can’t quit Disney and why I love the Tam O’Shanter.
