[#065] Paco and The Magical Picture Book
Get the movie here. [Subbed]
Summary: (from ourhour) After losing both her parents and her memory in a car accident, young girl Paco (Ayaka Wilson) ends up in a hospital full of strange and wacky types including biker-chick nurse Tamako (Tsuchiya Anna), hysterical former child star Muromachi (Tsumabuki Satoshi), and tyrannical grump Onuki (Yakusho Koji). Everyday Paco wakes up with no memory of the day before, and everyday she runs to Onuki asking him to read aloud her pop-up picture book about a frog king and a crayfish wizard. Onuki, however, has no patience for little girls, and sends her flying. But as the days pass, even an old grouch like Onuki begins to show a soft side. And so, he decides to bring the picture book to life for the hospital's annual play.
Guys, GUYS. I didn't have any real expectations of this movie--hell, I thought it'd be an okay watch, something I'd mention in passing as being good, but otherwise, whatever. BUT. I got so caught up in the story that by the end, I was crying. And if you know me, I NEVER CRY. (I will admit here that I only picked up this movie for TSUMABUKI SATOSHI.)
First of all, the summary, in my opinion, is a little misleading, because it seems like Paco is the protagonist in the story (well, that and the title), but I think if we're going to label anyone as the protagonist, it'd be Onuki because he's the main character that changes from what he was at the beginning of the movie to the end. Paco is just the catalyst that sets off these events that makes him go from this absolutely horrible, cranky old man to someone who only strives to be remembered. You see, Paco got into a car accident as a kid (the day of her 7th birthday) and while her parents died, she managed to survive. BUT from then on, her short memory is shot and she can never remember what happened the day before. If you've ever seen 50 First Dates with Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler, it's the same issue there.
At the start of the movie, all you see is Onuki bitching at everyone--telling them how they're all shit, this hospital is shit, how it's only filled with crazy people. And then there's this little girl with this picture book that she reads every day because it was (is) a gift from her mother. And since she wakes up thinking it's her 7th birthday every day, she reads it every day. At first, Onuki thinks that Paco's just a normal girl--annoying because she's just a child, but he does end up reading for her on the first day they meet. Somehow he drops his lighter and she picks it up, only to show it to him the next day when he's been freaking out about it and he HITS her, thinking she's a thief. Also doesn't help when she asks him who he is even though they'd met the day before? But Onuki doesn't know her memory problems so... XD Lovely second meeting, right?
Onuki does find out about her memory problems and he feels so guilty about it, but of course, rough tycoon who had to work for his money doesn't really apologize. What ends up happening is that Paco REMEMBERS his touch. For some reason, she remembers his hand against her cheek and asks him, "oh hey, you touched my cheek yesterday, right?" And that's unheard of! So this warms Paco to Onuki and sets off this goal of his to be remembered in her heart even if her memory's faulty. And in doing this, he kinda sweetens up through this connection between them.
That's basically the main storyline. I mean, there's so much more stories within, but really the main driving force is Onuki and Paco. I loved how gradual the relationship grew--I've never seen Ayaka Wilson or Koji Yakusho in anything (I'm pretty sure) but this mutual relationship between them...oh mygod, I was so moved. I will have to admit, guys, the first half of the movie was kinda confusing to me that I was a little turned off by it. When you start the movie, it's like a bombardment of vibrant colors and people dancing and weird old men with moustaches and faulty memories.
Then we get into Horigome (the old man at the start of the movie) narrating the story of Onuki and Paco, and in setting up the stage, we have to meet all these bizarre characters--seriously, they're all so fucking strange and quirky and it's a little too much all at once. I mean, there's Tsumabuki's character who I totally didn't recognize at first glance. The two nurses--one who seems to be a vampire and the other gothic nurse who has something for Tsumabuki's Muromachi. There's the doctor who likes to dress up and make other people join him. Etc. Seriously. All at once and it's so confusing and trying to piece together who is who and what is up gets a little too much. Plus the first half is kinda... slow in terms of moving the story along. They're just establishing Onuki and Paco, establishing all the backstories (what little they had) of the other characters, and showing everyone's feelings towards Onuki.
Then, THEN there's the second half. As few faults as there were in the first half, the second half knocked any worry away. Oh my god. Onuki ends up deciding to put on a play for Paco using the story that they'd always read--The Frog Prince vs. The Crayfish Demon. (What was a lovely touch too was the fact that the story is a total echo of Onuki's own story.) He casts all the people in the hospital to act in this elaborate play and Paco would be the audience. Guys, when they said put on a play, they MEANT put on a play. The set was so elaborate and so beautiful and the coloring that the director uses throughout the movie just pops out, especially during this part. And what I haven't mentioned yet, but will now because it's so important to this part is that the director randomly put a bit of CG at the start of the movie. Mainly to do with random inserts of The Frog Prince here and there, but it was always fitting. In this part with the play? They switched back and forth between the real people acting and then the story ANIMATED. It was fucking amazing. I can't really write it down properly but I was blown away by how elaborate the drawings were and then how they were "recreated" in the real world. Oh god. Just thinking about it again makes me go flaily.
Paco was the only audience member but she was basically like a PART of the story. That's how in-depth this play got, it was so brilliant. (There was this side-story with Muromachi and the nurse that I won't get into, but will leave a side note saying that I totally shipped them and hope they ended up happy together with babies.) By the end of the play, the frog prince is actually meant to die in defeating the crayfish demon and Onuki, who has to replace the actor he originally casted for the Frog Prince, collapses at this scene, hinting that perhaps he may die too. And God, when I saw Onuki struggling to finish the end of the play because he SO wanted to be remembered, I got so wibbly. I think this is when I started to get teary and twittering like mad about how MOVING this movie is. Muromachi ends up reading out the rest of the book because the nurse couldn't and then we see Onuki kinda close his eyes and well, you know...
EXCEPT NOT. Because the movie does a whole fake-out! Onuki doesn't die--although when we go back to "present time" I loved how the guy Hirogome's telling the story to is like. What?! It would've been more moving if he died, and I laughed because it's true. But then the watcher wonders what's going on because a few scenes before the doctor and goth!nurse have this scene talking about how a patient doesn't have any more time, and that they should die soon. We find out a second later that the one dying? Is Paco. Oh god. By this point, I was bawling because I didn't want Paco to die and there's Onuki trying to touch her cheek one more time because he doesn't think he's remembered in her heart, but when she opens her eyes and looks up, what she sees is not their real life figures, but the characters they acted out. So I think that was the movie's way of saying that she does remember them--not exactly who they were but who they mean to her and since this book was so close to her, it worked.
Just a hint at how VIBRANT this movie is. But I do have to say, they balance it well. It's not ALWAYS bright.
The dark scenes are DARK--blacks and blues. The bright scenes are like the above. :D
There was something beautiful about this shot. I really loved all of Tsuchiya Anna's scenes.
Can you believe this is Tsumabuki Satoshi? It took me till THIS POINT to finally recognize him and not just guess his role.
I shipped them hardcore. *____________*
A part of the set. lol
The animated scenes were just as awesome as the RL ones.
lolol In case you were wondering, yes, that IS Tsumabuki Satoshi in the fruity outfit. lolol You should see the animated version. XD
I just basically told the whole story right there, but really, my words don't come close to how GOOD this movie was. It was different, surprising, moving, funny. All these things in one package. I came into the movie not expecting much of anything and I got more than that. A real solid watch and even now, an hour later, my heart is still kinda wibbling at it. God. It was an amazing movie.
Summary: (from ourhour) After losing both her parents and her memory in a car accident, young girl Paco (Ayaka Wilson) ends up in a hospital full of strange and wacky types including biker-chick nurse Tamako (Tsuchiya Anna), hysterical former child star Muromachi (Tsumabuki Satoshi), and tyrannical grump Onuki (Yakusho Koji). Everyday Paco wakes up with no memory of the day before, and everyday she runs to Onuki asking him to read aloud her pop-up picture book about a frog king and a crayfish wizard. Onuki, however, has no patience for little girls, and sends her flying. But as the days pass, even an old grouch like Onuki begins to show a soft side. And so, he decides to bring the picture book to life for the hospital's annual play.
Guys, GUYS. I didn't have any real expectations of this movie--hell, I thought it'd be an okay watch, something I'd mention in passing as being good, but otherwise, whatever. BUT. I got so caught up in the story that by the end, I was crying. And if you know me, I NEVER CRY. (I will admit here that I only picked up this movie for TSUMABUKI SATOSHI.)
First of all, the summary, in my opinion, is a little misleading, because it seems like Paco is the protagonist in the story (well, that and the title), but I think if we're going to label anyone as the protagonist, it'd be Onuki because he's the main character that changes from what he was at the beginning of the movie to the end. Paco is just the catalyst that sets off these events that makes him go from this absolutely horrible, cranky old man to someone who only strives to be remembered. You see, Paco got into a car accident as a kid (the day of her 7th birthday) and while her parents died, she managed to survive. BUT from then on, her short memory is shot and she can never remember what happened the day before. If you've ever seen 50 First Dates with Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler, it's the same issue there.
At the start of the movie, all you see is Onuki bitching at everyone--telling them how they're all shit, this hospital is shit, how it's only filled with crazy people. And then there's this little girl with this picture book that she reads every day because it was (is) a gift from her mother. And since she wakes up thinking it's her 7th birthday every day, she reads it every day. At first, Onuki thinks that Paco's just a normal girl--annoying because she's just a child, but he does end up reading for her on the first day they meet. Somehow he drops his lighter and she picks it up, only to show it to him the next day when he's been freaking out about it and he HITS her, thinking she's a thief. Also doesn't help when she asks him who he is even though they'd met the day before? But Onuki doesn't know her memory problems so... XD Lovely second meeting, right?
Onuki does find out about her memory problems and he feels so guilty about it, but of course, rough tycoon who had to work for his money doesn't really apologize. What ends up happening is that Paco REMEMBERS his touch. For some reason, she remembers his hand against her cheek and asks him, "oh hey, you touched my cheek yesterday, right?" And that's unheard of! So this warms Paco to Onuki and sets off this goal of his to be remembered in her heart even if her memory's faulty. And in doing this, he kinda sweetens up through this connection between them.
That's basically the main storyline. I mean, there's so much more stories within, but really the main driving force is Onuki and Paco. I loved how gradual the relationship grew--I've never seen Ayaka Wilson or Koji Yakusho in anything (I'm pretty sure) but this mutual relationship between them...oh mygod, I was so moved. I will have to admit, guys, the first half of the movie was kinda confusing to me that I was a little turned off by it. When you start the movie, it's like a bombardment of vibrant colors and people dancing and weird old men with moustaches and faulty memories.
Then we get into Horigome (the old man at the start of the movie) narrating the story of Onuki and Paco, and in setting up the stage, we have to meet all these bizarre characters--seriously, they're all so fucking strange and quirky and it's a little too much all at once. I mean, there's Tsumabuki's character who I totally didn't recognize at first glance. The two nurses--one who seems to be a vampire and the other gothic nurse who has something for Tsumabuki's Muromachi. There's the doctor who likes to dress up and make other people join him. Etc. Seriously. All at once and it's so confusing and trying to piece together who is who and what is up gets a little too much. Plus the first half is kinda... slow in terms of moving the story along. They're just establishing Onuki and Paco, establishing all the backstories (what little they had) of the other characters, and showing everyone's feelings towards Onuki.
Then, THEN there's the second half. As few faults as there were in the first half, the second half knocked any worry away. Oh my god. Onuki ends up deciding to put on a play for Paco using the story that they'd always read--The Frog Prince vs. The Crayfish Demon. (What was a lovely touch too was the fact that the story is a total echo of Onuki's own story.) He casts all the people in the hospital to act in this elaborate play and Paco would be the audience. Guys, when they said put on a play, they MEANT put on a play. The set was so elaborate and so beautiful and the coloring that the director uses throughout the movie just pops out, especially during this part. And what I haven't mentioned yet, but will now because it's so important to this part is that the director randomly put a bit of CG at the start of the movie. Mainly to do with random inserts of The Frog Prince here and there, but it was always fitting. In this part with the play? They switched back and forth between the real people acting and then the story ANIMATED. It was fucking amazing. I can't really write it down properly but I was blown away by how elaborate the drawings were and then how they were "recreated" in the real world. Oh god. Just thinking about it again makes me go flaily.
Paco was the only audience member but she was basically like a PART of the story. That's how in-depth this play got, it was so brilliant. (There was this side-story with Muromachi and the nurse that I won't get into, but will leave a side note saying that I totally shipped them and hope they ended up happy together with babies.) By the end of the play, the frog prince is actually meant to die in defeating the crayfish demon and Onuki, who has to replace the actor he originally casted for the Frog Prince, collapses at this scene, hinting that perhaps he may die too. And God, when I saw Onuki struggling to finish the end of the play because he SO wanted to be remembered, I got so wibbly. I think this is when I started to get teary and twittering like mad about how MOVING this movie is. Muromachi ends up reading out the rest of the book because the nurse couldn't and then we see Onuki kinda close his eyes and well, you know...
EXCEPT NOT. Because the movie does a whole fake-out! Onuki doesn't die--although when we go back to "present time" I loved how the guy Hirogome's telling the story to is like. What?! It would've been more moving if he died, and I laughed because it's true. But then the watcher wonders what's going on because a few scenes before the doctor and goth!nurse have this scene talking about how a patient doesn't have any more time, and that they should die soon. We find out a second later that the one dying? Is Paco. Oh god. By this point, I was bawling because I didn't want Paco to die and there's Onuki trying to touch her cheek one more time because he doesn't think he's remembered in her heart, but when she opens her eyes and looks up, what she sees is not their real life figures, but the characters they acted out. So I think that was the movie's way of saying that she does remember them--not exactly who they were but who they mean to her and since this book was so close to her, it worked.
Just a hint at how VIBRANT this movie is. But I do have to say, they balance it well. It's not ALWAYS bright.
The dark scenes are DARK--blacks and blues. The bright scenes are like the above. :D
There was something beautiful about this shot. I really loved all of Tsuchiya Anna's scenes.
Can you believe this is Tsumabuki Satoshi? It took me till THIS POINT to finally recognize him and not just guess his role.
I shipped them hardcore. *____________*
A part of the set. lol
The animated scenes were just as awesome as the RL ones.
lolol In case you were wondering, yes, that IS Tsumabuki Satoshi in the fruity outfit. lolol You should see the animated version. XD
I just basically told the whole story right there, but really, my words don't come close to how GOOD this movie was. It was different, surprising, moving, funny. All these things in one package. I came into the movie not expecting much of anything and I got more than that. A real solid watch and even now, an hour later, my heart is still kinda wibbling at it. God. It was an amazing movie.