Continuing his acting/directing career, “Roar”'s director appeared in an episode of “The Naked Director” but also managed to shoot two more films, the mid-length “Meaning of Life” and the feature “ICCHORAI” which will screen in Japan later this year. This review focuses on the former.
“Meaning of Life” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
Shibata is a real-estate agent, who, under his calm and composed demeanor, is hiding a number of suppressed feelings, mostly deriving from the fact that he had to abandon his true calling on photography in order to make more money and take care of his sick father. Not able to handle the pressure, occasionally he sleeps by himself in apartments he is supposed to show to his customers. When a female colleague who seems interested in him starts snooping around, and a past acquaintance reappears, Shibata has to face reality and avoid crumbling.
Ryo Katayama directs a film that focuses on the concept of elderly care, one that seems to be particularly dominant in Japanese indie cinema recently. However, essentially this aspect functions as a base for a series of other comments, regarding loneliness and the disability to connect, and the ways people can “fight” all three by opening up to others. In that fashion, the fact that Shibata has to reach a rather low depth in his psychological status, as we see him breaking down repeatedly through his interactions with his colleague and his old friend, also presents a comment about change, and that people can actually feel better if they acknowledge the hardships their life brings them and adapt to them, instead of trying to hide them, even from themselves. As such, and despite the rather “dark” premises, “Meaning of Life” eventually presents an optimistic message of hope.
As the focus of the movie is rather intent on the protagonist, Katayama's own performance in the role emerges as crucial. In that regard, it has to be said that he is quite good in the calm moments, but goes a bit overboard in the dramatic ones, also because they take such a large part of the 56-minutes film, to the point that it becomes unnecessarily melodramatic on occasion. This aspect somewhat faults the overall quality of the film, but not to a point to ruin the overall sense it leaves, which is definitely above average.
Among the best aspects of the movie is the cinematography, with DPs Yuji Fukaya and Ryo Anraku presenting a number of interior shots that perfectly match Shibata's psychological status, with the introductory one and the final one being the highlights. At the same time, the scenes on the terrace of the office are rather beautiful, also providing a relief from the overall “claustrophobic” visuals
“Meaning of Life” is an interesting movie, which would have been much better, though, if it was less hyperbolic and melodramatic.
