« Movies of the Year: 4...3...2... | Main | A Song for Sunday »

December 09, 2011

Movies of the Year: Number 1

Quite simply one of the most uplifting movies I have ever seen. Annoyingly, it is not on general release as of yet, has no trailer with English subtitles and isn't available on DVD anywhere.

You'll just have to trust me. Or speak Japanese, Or Spanish (for some reason the YouTube trailer I have found has Spanish subtitles).

I saw I Wish (Kiseki is its original Japanese title) at the London Film Festival and it put me in a good mood that lasted for weeks. Two young brothers are separated following their parents' divorce - one lives with mum, the other lives with dad. The older brother wants more than anything else for his family to get back together and when he hears a classmate claim that if you stand by the railway tracks while two bullet trains pass each other then any wish you make will come true he decides to go on a pilgrimage to do just that.

He enlists the help of a bunch of mates and brings his brother, and lots of his friends, in on the plan as well. They arrange to meet at the place they believe the trains will cross, and each of them has a wish they want granting.

Which is all very sweet and charming but the movie is never too saccharine. It is quirky with dark edges and is happy to leave certain threads untied. You also realise that every adult in the movie also has a longing, a wish that they would want to come true, but they are older and more cynical and don't believe in such things.

This particular grown up left the cinema with a smile on his face that didn't leave it for some time. And, I will confess, I even made a wish.

It didn't come true but, fuck it, that's not the point. The fact that it made me want to is quite something in itself.

The movie went straight into my all-time top ten and is my favourite of 2011 by a mile.

I hope you get a chance to see it soon.

And, having put up with my picks for most of this week, do please tell me what your favourite movies were this year, I am always on the lookout for good recommendations.

Posted at 06:00 AM in Movies |

|

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341d299153ef0162fd3a7ac2970d

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Movies of the Year: Number 1:

Comments

Perfecto! - yo hablo español!

Posted by: Rob | December 09, 2011 at 07:27 AM

Ooh, thank you so much Jo, have ordered!

x

Posted by: Scott Pack | December 10, 2011 at 12:40 PM

I say this every time you mention this film, but for the love of god, watch the beautiful Still Walking by the same director. Far and away the best film I've seen this year (not seen Kiseki yet...)

Posted by: Dan | December 10, 2011 at 09:24 PM

Verify your Comment

Previewing your Comment

Posted by:  | 

This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.

Working...
Your comment could not be posted. Error type:
Your comment has been posted. Post another comment

The letters and numbers you entered did not match the image. Please try again.

As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.

Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.

Working...

Post a comment

Books Read: 2013

  • Miss Read: Winter in Thrush Green

    Miss Read: Winter in Thrush Green
    Comfort reading? Perhaps, but there is nothing wrong with that. Miss Read revisits Thrush Green for the first time in this novel from 1961. Some wonderful lines but not as much of the barbed sentiment of her previous work. (***)

  • J M Coetzee: The Childhood of Jesus

    J M Coetzee: The Childhood of Jesus
    When this isn't being allegorical it is being philosophical. Neither approach really goes anywhere. (***)

  • Marc Leverton: Glastonbury Festival Myths and Legends

    Marc Leverton: Glastonbury Festival Myths and Legends
    Fun little pocket book with snippets of stories from across the many years of the festival. To be honest, it could have all been covered in a magazine article but might be a nice memento of your visit. (***)

  • Miss Read: Fresh from the Country

    Miss Read: Fresh from the Country
    A standalone novel, outside her two main series, about a young teacher's first job in a big school in a large town. Good story, lots of great characters. Surprised she didn't follow this up with any more. A shame. (****)

  • Brian Aldiss: Frankenstein Unbound

    Brian Aldiss: Frankenstein Unbound
    A somewhat bonkers sequel which is hugely more entertaining than the original. (****)

  • Mary Shelley: Frankenstein

    Mary Shelley: Frankenstein
    God, what a disappointment. Plot holes the monster could walk through without having to bend down. Ridiculous. (**)

  • Will le Fleming: Central Reservation

    Will le Fleming: Central Reservation
    A remarkably measured and accomplished debut. A story about loss, families, survival and that awkward transition into adulthood. A writer to watch. (****)

  • Kerry Hudson: Tony Hogan Bought Me an Ice-cream Float Before He Stole My Ma

    Kerry Hudson: Tony Hogan Bought Me an Ice-cream Float Before He Stole My Ma
    Best first line I've read this year: 'Get out, you cunting, shitting, little fucking fucker!' were the first words I ever heard. And the rest of it is just as good. (****)

  • Jen Campbell: More Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops

    Jen Campbell: More Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops
    It arrived in the mail, I opened it up to dip in, next thing I knew I had finished the whole thing. (****)

  • Peter F. Hamilton: Misspent Youth

    Peter F. Hamilton: Misspent Youth
    What a science fiction novel would be like if written by Judith Krantz. Utterly ridiculous but actually quite good fun. (***)

  • Miss Read: Thrush Green

    Miss Read: Thrush Green
    Part of my Reading Miss Read challenge. The first in a parallel series to the Fairacre books and of an equally high standard. Looking forward to finding out what happens next. (****)

  • Miss Read: Storm in the Village

    Miss Read: Storm in the Village
    Latest instalment in my quest to read all the Miss Read books this year. This one moved away from the school setting somewhat and focused more on goings on in the village. A bit more gossipy and less social commentary as a result. Enjoyable comfort reading. (***)

  • Angela S. Choi: Hello Kitty Must Die

    Angela S. Choi: Hello Kitty Must Die
    A novel about traditional Chinese families in modern America with a bit of hymen reconstruction surgery and serial killing thrown in for good measure. (****)

  • Carlene Bauer: Frances and Bernard

    Carlene Bauer: Frances and Bernard
    An epistolary novel based on the friendship between Robert Lowell and Flannery O'Connor. I picked it up and found it hard to put back down again. Polished it off in three short sittings. Excellent stuff. (****)

  • Jeremy Paxman: The Political Animal: An Anatomy

    Jeremy Paxman: The Political Animal: An Anatomy
    Genuinely enlightening study of politicians in the this country. Why they do it, what makes them tick, what their jobs entail and what happens when they are booted out. (****)

  • Richard Cowper: A Dream of Kinship

    Richard Cowper: A Dream of Kinship
    Second in an almost forgotten fantasy trilogy. Not quite as good as the first but still a cracking tale. Looking forward to the final part. (****)

  • Gilbert Adair: The Death of the Author

    Gilbert Adair: The Death of the Author
    A murder mystery which doubles up as a satire on the world of literary criticism. A niche market, perhaps, but I really enjoyed this. (****)

  • Fiona Maddocks: Hildegard of Bingen

    Fiona Maddocks: Hildegard of Bingen
    Fascinating biography of a 12th Century abbess who is recognised as one of the first composers as well as being a visionary, naturalist and feminist. (****)

  • Miss Read: Village Diary

    Miss Read: Village Diary
    Book two in my reading challenge and every bit as entertaining as the first. (****)

  • JMR Higgs: KLF: Chaos Magic Music Money

    JMR Higgs: KLF: Chaos Magic Music Money
    Witty, thought-provoking, jaw-dropping at times, this is one of the best books about the music industry you will ever read. (****)

  • Jennifer Egan: A Visit From the Goon Squad

    Jennifer Egan: A Visit From the Goon Squad
    I had no idea what to expect when I started reading this, I didn't even know what it was about, but was most pleasantly surprised. An original piece of storytelling which never forgets it is trying to tell a story. (****)

  • Miss Read: Village School

    Miss Read: Village School
    A year in the life of a fictional village school during the 1950s. A much misunderstood modern classic and a fascinating slice of social history. (****)

  • Stephan Mendel-Enk: Oh Sweden! Oh Israel!

    Stephan Mendel-Enk: Oh Sweden! Oh Israel!
    One of the most accessible Jewish novels (for me as a non-Jewish reader) that I have come across. A quirky family story. Very short. Not amazing but some impressive stuff in there. Thought the £12.99 RRP for a book coming in at under 150 pages was a bit steep. (***)

  • Apostolos Doxiadis: Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth

    Apostolos Doxiadis: Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth
    A graphic novel about Bertrand Russell. I shit you not. And it is proper fascinating and everything. (****)

  • Guy Delisle: Burma Chronicles

    Guy Delisle: Burma Chronicles
    An account of a year the author spent living in Burma told in comic book form. Genuinely interesting and engaging if not particularly earth shattering but well worth a read if you want to find out a bit about the country and its people. (****)

  • Junichiro Tanizaki: Some Prefer Nettles

    Junichiro Tanizaki: Some Prefer Nettles
    A somewhat restrained novel about the breakdown of a marriage in 1920s Japan. Offers considerable insight into Japanese society at the time. (***)

  • Kent Haruf: Benediction

    Kent Haruf: Benediction
    A quiet masterpiece. (*****)

  • Alison Moore: The Lighthouse

    Alison Moore: The Lighthouse
    Simple, unpretentious prose. Beautifully observed. Slightly off-kilter story. Really rather splendid. (****)

  • Brian Aldiss: Bury My Heart At W. H. Smith's

    Brian Aldiss: Bury My Heart At W. H. Smith's
    A memoir, of sorts. A glimpse at a writer's life. Full of great anecdotes and shameless namedropping. (****)

  • Brian Aldiss: The Brightfount Diaries

    Brian Aldiss: The Brightfount Diaries
    The diary of a fictional bookseller. Brian's first published book started out as a series of columns in The Bookseller magazine in the 1950s and is a delightfully amusing portrait of bookselling in the middle of the last century, much of which hasn't really changed a great deal. (****)

My Books

Free Ebooks

Twittering

Dipping Into

Kindle Sampled

  • Simon Gough: The White Goddess: An Encounter

    Simon Gough: The White Goddess: An Encounter
    Awful cover, especially for an ebook, but the contents are really rather interesting. The author grew up in the 40s and 50s, his parents were actors and his great-uncle was Robert Graves. In later years he became a book dealer and battled with serious illness. Like what I have read so far. (****)

  • David Harvey: Rebel Cities: From the Right to the City to the Urban Revolution

    David Harvey: Rebel Cities: From the Right to the City to the Urban Revolution
    An introduction which proves to be dense and impenetrable - unless you have an extensive knowledge of philosophy, town planning and the history of Paris - means I won't be reading this one any further. (**)

Categories

Now Playing

Quick Flicks

  • Various: Adventure Rocketship

    Various: Adventure Rocketship
    Great concept, brilliantly executed: a paperback anthology of SF writing including essays, stories and interviews themed around the subject of music. One for all SF fans and musos. Lots to enjoy here. (****)

  • Samantha Shannon: The Bone Season

    Samantha Shannon: The Bone Season
    The first in a much-hyped new YA series which bombards you with so many concepts and so much made-up technology in the opening pages that you almost miss the fact that the writing is pretty ordinary. (**)

  • Rayya Elias: Harley Loco

    Rayya Elias: Harley Loco
    Not sure how well this New York post-punk memoir of sex, drugs and hairdressing will travel, and it will be massively reliant on publicity if it is going to work at all, but it has some remarkable episodes and it is an entertaining read. (***)

  • M. Jonathan Lee: The Radio

    M. Jonathan Lee: The Radio
    The author seems like a nice chap on Twitter but I have to be honest, this has a terrible cover, including a typo on in the blurb, and it is perhaps one or two drafts away from being able to punch its weight alongside more professionally published fare. (**)

  • Marianne Levy: Ellie May is Totally Happy to Share Her Place in the Spotlight

    Marianne Levy: Ellie May is Totally Happy to Share Her Place in the Spotlight
    The latest in this very funny series. Perfect reading for daughters, precocious or otherwise. Sons might like them too. (****)

  • Jessica Soffer: Tomorrow There Will be Apricots

    Jessica Soffer: Tomorrow There Will be Apricots
    Pitched as the new Elegance of the Hedgehog, this tale of the unlikely friendship between an elderly widow and the troubled teenager she teaches to cook definitely has a similar charm. A book that mothers will buy for their daughters and vice-versa. (***)

  • Kenneth Harris: Attlee

    Kenneth Harris: Attlee
    I know nothing about him, really, so when his name started popping up everywhere after Maggie shuffled off I ordered this. On first inspection it is proving to be a most interesting biography. (****)

  • Angela Jackson: The Emergence of Judy Taylor

    Angela Jackson: The Emergence of Judy Taylor
    As honest a portrait of a marriage as I have read in a long time. This one could be a bit special. (****)

  • Thomas Wright: Circulation: William Harvey's Revolutionary Idea

    Thomas Wright: Circulation: William Harvey's Revolutionary Idea
    This book beat one of mine to the Wellcome Trust Book Prize. Despite my deep-seated and understandable resentment I must confess that this is really rather good - accessible and fascinating. (****)

  • Tim Willocks: The Religion

    Tim Willocks: The Religion
    Big, solid, earthy historical fiction. Need to see where the plot goes before knowing for sure but pretty good so far. (***)

  • John Fuller: Who Is Ozymandias?: And other Puzzles in Poetry

    John Fuller: Who Is Ozymandias?: And other Puzzles in Poetry
    A challenging look at the art of reading a poem. I do not agree with the author's central premise - that the best poetry is a puzzle that needs solving - but am prepared to go with it for now as he makes some interesting points. (***)

  • Jasper Gibson: A Bright Moon for Fools

    Jasper Gibson: A Bright Moon for Fools
    A novel written by one of the founders of The Poke. It is very funny and reminded me of the Mortdecai trilogy. (****)

  • Peter F. Hamilton: Great North Road

    Peter F. Hamilton: Great North Road
    I found Hamilton's frankly daft Misspent Youth oddly entertaining. This 1000-page novel is a different beast entirely by the looks of it. More Science Fiction and less Shopping and Fucking. (***)

  • Adam Thorpe: Flight

    Adam Thorpe: Flight
    The Times quote 'A breakneck, knuckle-whitening thriller' could be rendered more accurate by adding the words 'This is not' at the beginning. (**)

  • David Vann: Dirt

    David Vann: Dirt
    The problem with novels that feature New Age characters is that they are often as annoying as New Age people are in real life. (**)

  • Tim Parks: Sex is Forbidden

    Tim Parks: Sex is Forbidden
    Chaste commune fiction lacks any real punch. (***)

  • Diana Souhami: Coconut Chaos

    Diana Souhami: Coconut Chaos
    A hybrid novel/history/biography concerning the Bounty and the fate of its mutineers and their descendants. (****)

  • Ciarán Collins: The Gamal

    Ciarán Collins: The Gamal
    So far this is a really quite exciting debut. Original. Different. I like it a lot. (****)

  • Various: London Fictions

    Various: London Fictions
    If you can get past the terrible cover then this is an interesting book in which various Londoners write about books set in London. (***)

  • Philip Sington: The Valley of Unknowing

    Philip Sington: The Valley of Unknowing
    A novel about an East German novelist. Really lovely font used in this. The actual words are pretty good too. (****)

  • Ben Marcus: The Age of Wire and String

    Ben Marcus: The Age of Wire and String
    The most pointless and pretentious collection of so-called stories it has ever been my misfortune to read. (*)

  • Charles Rangeley-Wilson: Silt Road: The Story of a Lost River

    Charles Rangeley-Wilson: Silt Road: The Story of a Lost River
    There is a real resurgence in natural history writing at the moment, especially examples written in a high literary style. This is a bit too high for my tastes but if you are part of the New Wave of British Natural History then this will be right up your dyke. (***)

New Arrivals

Coming Soon From The Friday Project

Statcounter


Currently Reading

Big Mouth at the Movies

  • : Moneyball

    Moneyball
    I know very little about baseball but found this fascinating. (****)

  • : Crazy, Stupid, Love

    Crazy, Stupid, Love
    A cut above your usual romantic comedy courtesy of some fine actors putting in good performances and a clever script with a couple of nice twists. (****)

  • : The Place Beyond The Pines

    The Place Beyond The Pines
    From the director of Blue Valentine. It's a mighty fine piece of film-making. (****)

  • : Land of Plenty

    Land of Plenty
    A Wim Wenders film that had passed me by. Two excellent central performances. A bit bleak but good. (****)

  • : A Late Quartet

    A Late Quartet
    A beautifully crafted piece of work. Quiet, subtle, splendid. (****)

  • : Confessions of a Pop Performer

    Confessions of a Pop Performer
    This one actually has a lot less sex than the first, although it is still basically a 70s sit-com with added tits. (***)

  • : Confessions of a Window Cleaner

    Confessions of a Window Cleaner
    Watched this on YouTube as I have republished the ebooks. Was not without some charm. (***)

  • : Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

    Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
    Quietly bonkers art movie which fails to be anything more than an oddity really. Some bits were great though. (***)

  • : Withnail and I

    Withnail and I
    It is probably best to watch this with a room full of people who have seen it hundreds of times. But it is good to watch it in your front room at the weekend as well. (****)