Koki Mitani is a director that film critics tend to treasure. Although he hardly deviates away from his warm-hearted and good natured settings, his style is often chaotic but can somehow make all the sense of the world.
The Magic Hour keeps up with this tradition, bringing in many veterans of actors that he has used previously (even if small minor roles), and it really shows how talented Mitani can be not only as a director but as a writer. Blessed from being bred from theatre, his plots move sufficiently at an excellent pace to the point where sometimes you want to freeze time just to appreciate how well tied together a movie can become.
Subtle humour that creates bellyaches from laughter is his greatest weapon and he uses it profoundly in this movie. I felt that all of the actors put their best performances into it, and it seemed like they genuinely had a lot of fun by "camping" it up at times.
If anyone wants to watch a Japanese comedy that isn't over the top then look no further.
The Magic Hour keeps up with this tradition, bringing in many veterans of actors that he has used previously (even if small minor roles), and it really shows how talented Mitani can be not only as a director but as a writer. Blessed from being bred from theatre, his plots move sufficiently at an excellent pace to the point where sometimes you want to freeze time just to appreciate how well tied together a movie can become.
Subtle humour that creates bellyaches from laughter is his greatest weapon and he uses it profoundly in this movie. I felt that all of the actors put their best performances into it, and it seemed like they genuinely had a lot of fun by "camping" it up at times.
If anyone wants to watch a Japanese comedy that isn't over the top then look no further.