Nihon no higeki (2012) Reviews

• Respect for the elders seems to be the leitmotif of this film directed by Kobayashi Masahiro.

  FilmCriticLalitRao2013-05-25

  If one is familiar with economy of cinema as a means to create good films then it can be deduced that positive story telling is possible even with just two leading actors in a film. Director Kobayashi Masahiro has based his film "Japan's Tragedy" in Tokyo, Japan-a country where deaths through suicides are not merely treated as sociological problems given the fact that a large section of population is aware of the fact that in Japan suicides take more lives than earthquakes. The film is based upon an actual event related to the misuse of money meant for retired people. Masahiro Kobayashi chose static camera in order to capture the stubbornness with which an old Japanese father deals with his young son. This role has been nicely plated by Nakadai Tatsuya, a famous Japanese actor who has worked in as many as five films directed by Kurosawa Sensei. Although it is rather pessimist in tone, Japan's Tragedy but gives an emotional message that there is still some respect in the minds of Japanese people towards elders in Japanese society.