Last Scene (2002)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Hideo Nakata

Writers:

Takashige Ichise (story)
Yoshihiro Nakamura (writer)

Release Date:

9 November 2002 (Japan)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Cast

Hidetoshi Nishijima	...	Ken Mihara
Yumi Asou	...	Keiko Yoshino
Kumiko Aso
Johny Yoshinaga	...	Mihara
Mayumi Wakamura	...	Chizuru
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hiroshi Ôkôchi

Runtime:

Germany:99 min (Berlin Film Festival)

Country:

Japan | South Korea

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Certification:

South Korea:All

Company:

Digital Nega

5.7 for such a beautiful film?

I cannot understand how 6 people (at the time of this writing) can rate this movie 5 and below. It might be a slow movie but I think it's a quite entertaining and satisfying human drama that should at least bring warmth and hope to the audience's heart after they have watched it. Well, I know people have different opinions; but as it will be a shame if someone got interested in this film and come here to check how people're thinking about it, only to find that 5.7 might be too risky for a rent, so I think I will at least have to make my say.

Last Scene is the latest work from the wonderful Nakata who created The Ring waved which shake the horror world. This time, he has proved that not only he can play with people's fear but he's also capable of delivering heartful piece of film that is itself a letter of complaint to the Japanese movie industry and also a love letter to all movie lovers. Last Scene opened with a very clever scene, a production of a 60's horror film where Nakata show the power of horror (as a proof to what he's capable of) and after that provide us with the sarcastically cheap making of that fear only to serve as a background to the condense dramatic plot between an arrogant actor who is being shed by the studio under the setting of movie industry facing threat from the spread of TV. Nakata utilize this first part of the film very economically; under the first 20 minutes he make us hate this main character while at the same time make us pity of his fate and then wonder what will happen to him. This part serve as a very good short film itself; however, the coming hour and a half only make it shine more gloriously. The present condition of Japanese movie industry is portrayed from the viewpoint of a pure movie lover working heavily under the unchanged hierarchical studio system. Her hard contribution is unnoticed, in contrast to other bigger players in the business's arrogance and negligence. Her fed up with her dream job come to a big break through when she was made to take care and nurse and old actor who came to work as a fill-in for another supporting actor. It is not difficult to guess who this old actor is or how his role in the movie will end, but Nakata orchestrated this cliche plot in such a moving and sarcastic way that we cannot help but only feel for the characters and in the end rewarded with such an incredible dramatic climax that will warm our heart and make us feel the meaning of living for what we love to do.

Last Scene might not be perfect, some of its parts and acting are a little pretentious while others are too melodrama for 21 century but I can guarantee that this is at least a 7+ drama, one of the very well made movies about movie that will make you love movie even more.