Koitanibashi (2011) Reviews

• Story of Tomoko

  ebiros22012-08-20

  A story that revolves around a young girl who returns home, and finds her life changed by the people surrounding her. The bridge that the title of this movie is based on is shown only briefly, and is not part of the story. Tomoko (Takako Uyehara) is an industrial designer. She thinks she's gotten laid off from her company, and returns home to Tottori where her family runs a Japanese style hotel. But the hotel isn't doing so well financially either. Tomoko has a passion for designing lighting equipment. She's trying to combine LED with Japanese craft paper to design unique lighting fixtures. Her old boss comes to ask for her hand in marriage, but her grand mother has other plans for her at the hotel. The movie seems to be an attempt to portray the micro-cosm of present day Japanese family. This is shown through the life of Tomoko. The scenery this movie is shot is beautiful. Japanese really knows how to capitalize on utilizing their beautiful country as part of their movie. This is something movie makers from other countries can learn from. The story is about Tomoko's life, but the supporting casts puts in good fill to make the story a whole. Japanese has a tradition of movies like this starting with the venerable Tokyo Story. You shouldn't expect a sweeping drama, but more of an every day portrayal of the characters involved. The movie is believed to be made to appeal to the female audience, and the story is made purely out of concerns of people around Tomoko's family. So the ratings will probably vary between its male and female audiences. It'll probably vary between Japanese and the international audiences.