Shizukana seikatsu (1995)

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Things that fly right past me in Juzo Itami's A Quiet Life: His family and friendship connection between Itami and Kenzaburô Oe, the author of the novel adapted and his other works. It doesn't impair enjoyment, even if it makes for a slightly different Itami film, more novelistic and pastoral. Maa-chan is a young woman coming of age and left to take care of her older, but neuro-atypical brother Iiyo (who the English subtitles insist on calling Eeyore, which is rather odd and distracting) for a parentless 8 months. Both siblings are touchingly rendered and have a great relationship. At the heart of the picture is Maa-chan being confronted with what I will call the paranoia of guardianship, worrying perhaps too much about her brother, though in a world where sexual assault is frankly portrayed (trigger warnings in effect), is she wrong to do so? These shocking moments break up the "quiet life" of the title and lightly comic tone, but the title remains and acts as a sign of the characters' resilience. Now if only the dad could deal with the plumbing with such aplomb. 1 year 9 months ago