Favorite films

Recent reviews

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  Drive My Car 2021

  ★★★★★ Watched 17 Jan 2022

  A space where we can understand, mourn, and accept the fact that we will never be able to completely know the people that we love. An ode to our most genuine connections, and how they can help us keep living. Somewhere along the ride, it’ll be okay. We’ll be okay.

  (also, leave it to Hamaguchi to be able to capture what happens when you’re acting in a play and it all clicks. the text really can yield so much magic!)

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  Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy 2021

  ★★★★★ Watched 15 Jan 2022

  Beautiful. I truly don’t know if I can find the words to capture how this made me feel.

  I’m just so struck by Hamaguchi’s grasp of the complexity of human beings and our relationships with each other, and the way he depicts how unpredictable life can become after the smallest coincidences happen. It just feels so real.

Popular reviews

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  Us and Them 2018

  ★★★★½ Watched 06 Jan 2019

  When Jianqing said that in his game, if the boy could never find the girl, "then the world will be colorless", and then it cut to black and white.

  I am a sobbing mess. My heart is aching, but in a good way. We're going to be fine.

• 

  First Cow 2019

  ★★★★★ Watched 12 Feb 2021

  “I’ve got you.”

  Crying!!!!! My heart is so full because of how tender it is. There’s so much that I love about this!

  When Cookie walks around in the woods, and he’s so gentle with everything he encounters, then the beautiful score kicks in.... yeah.