37 Seconds

The film touches on a lot of issues concerning disability, but does very little with each of them before jumping to the next one. And then, towards the second half, the movie changes direction to focus on Yuma's complicated family history rather than her personal struggles; it feels as a contrived pretext to not really answer the questions of the first half about love and sex, but just say "she reconciled with her mom, so everything is fine".

Annoyingly, most of the conflict in the film is resolved by the fact that Yuma is a very talented artist, kind of wealthy, pretty, kind, and well-adjusted to be independent. So the moment she makes some good friends, it seems like all her troubles disappear. It's one of those cases where the story looks as if it's centered around social issues, but in reality it's more about the character dealing with mental barriers, and once those are overcome the film forgets about all the systemic problems which are still there.

And then, the friends she gets sort of fall out of the sky, and immediately decide to take care of her for no apparent reason; they are the nicest, most supportive, and least judgemental people in the world. So again, the film takes the easy way out and avoids dealing with any of the problems people with disabilities encounter in more realistic, flawed friendships.

First I want to say that this and "The forest of love" are Netflix productions and are impressive good. This movie is simple and straightforward but powerful. All is treated so good; that I think is to promote the great spirit of the main character You have great scenes were the camera work just let the action rolls very subtle; good color palette and good acting; very natural. The light; plenty of light and brightness in all the film. You also have couple of underground well known actors doing small gigs. The pace of the story is right and in any moment you feel that a given scene is too long.

This is a tough watch, but if you don't mind human (and humane) stories, this will float your boat (and/or rock it). This really is about struggles and what life can be about. A girl between family and her dreams/goals. And others who may or may not be taken advantage of her situation.

This is real or at least it feels as real as it can. Which makes it either appealing or appaling to viewers. If you want fancy, you won't get this here. If a bit of exciting themes, but fighting ones demons (and other demons metaphorically speaking) is the main issue here.

I've reviewed 41 movies for IMDB over the space of 10 years...this is my only 10.

37 seconds is a beautiful, emotional movie, a wonderful story of a determined girl to do things she wanted to do, breaking out of her comfort zone, and how she deals with the challenges of the life she lives. Its a wonderful story of the challenges of parenthood, and dealing a daughter with special needs. Absolutlely incredible movie... probably cried in this movie more than any other. Completely underated, one of Japan's best.

It's hard for me to write a review with a lot of details because I am also disabled and it takes me a lot of time and energy to do so. That being said, it is not hard for me to sympathize with the struggle Yuma is facing, because I, myself, have to go through a similar experience.

This movie is the definition of why I love Japanese cinema - Their movies are about people, people who actually exist in the real world and no one is talking about them. Families that the majority of us would never get to experience their story otherwise or through another culture.

This movie is about real life, and how a person with disabilities slowly starts to become independent and be a part of the outside world. Obviously, it's not easy for these people, and it's certainly not something they can do by themselves, but the last thing anyone wants in this life is to be treated like a stranger and to be reminded of their "weaknesses".

Disabled people might not have the physical capabilities of a non-disabled person, and they definitely need some support and physical assistance, but apart from that, they're just like everyone else - they need friends, relationships, jobs, education, self-esteem, confidence and most importantly, to be treated like a normal human being. This movie addresses all of that perfectly and I would love to see more like this.