Le lien du sang

A movie about codependency, neglect, toxic cicles and learned hopelessness. It does a very good job at portraying the ugly side of society, it's so heartbreaking that it makes you want to look away (the same way many characters do during the film). But it's quite slow paced, and because it does show the endless cicles of bad decisions and abuse in a realistic way, by the end of it it felt like I was watching the same scene on a loop.

The director is sensitive enough to show a family of outcasts (if we can call that human gathering a family), a situation that, although it exists in any society, no country likes to show them in the cinema. Very good performance in general, notably the boy Shuhei. Today's Japanese cinema has succeeded the Italian's in the art of unraveling the complicated life of those forgotten by society.

Some women are not fit to be a mother (same goes for some men and not being fit to be a father of course, which can also be witnessed here). It is easy to dismiss the main character here. She makes it easy to not like her. At least at the beginning ... though I'm not sure how much the viewers feelings will change during the duration of the movie.

Her son of course has a different point of view. Always hanging by her side or at least covering for her (no pun intended). This is a tough drama - especially when you consider what the kid has to go through. But the love of ones own mother can be quite strong. At least that is what the movie suggest, there are other cases too and this could easily at any moment go a different way - again no pun intended. Slow paced and dramatic and also as real as it can get - does that sound like something you would like to watch? Be sure beforehand, as to not waste your time (just sayin)

Do you remember Rousseaou's phrase that the Child is good by nature but it is society that corrupts it? Well here the mother applies and not all of society. A Japanese drama. It is about a woman who drags her son to live outside the social norms, spoiling him, while living in a street situation and does everything, except work to survive. A mother who believes that because they are her children she can do with them and raise them outside of social norms. Heartbreaking. Suffocating. Raw Zero romanticized. At times it becomes untenable, you want to enter the screen and save the creatures. You suffer most of the movie along with the characters. The everyday life of a well-led life. The performances to what is expected. It shows emotional blackmail and the antithesis of what maternal love is. The end, although it is consistent, leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

Though this movie may or may not be based on true incidents or real life characters, it is indeed a dark tale, not just dark but pitch black. The titular character Maza or Akkio, played to perfection by Masami Nagasawa left my head spinning and reeling for hours, from the fatal blow I received while watching maza. A deadly and disturbing combination of utter Waywardness, irresponsibility, selfishness, laziness, lies and deceit all rolled into one, sums up the character Akkio. Masa can definitely be a case study for social workers across the world, who work for the betterment of the civil society. Director Tatsushi Ohmori's painstakingly put together tale, definitely makes a bold and rather disturbing impression.

Cinematography is perfect, the ground level camera shots, the steady cam shots and the scenes shot in small and confined spaces, just shows the mettle of the cinematographer. Screenplay is terrific on many levels, it intrigues with the viewer's minds while keeping things interesting. Editing is good and keeps up the necessary pace for the movie lasting 125 minutes. Production design, costumes and makeup are good. Music is sublime and soft. On the acting front Masami Nagasawa steals the show outright, and is ably supported by by a host of decent performances around her.

Overall, I am sure that the judges at Cannes film festival and other top film festivals will be mighty impressed with Masa. But for the average joe like me, I would recommend this movie for viewers who like dark tales or for viewers who would like to try something bizarre and different for the day, instead of regular mundane stuff on tv. Not recommended for family audiences and young impressionable minds. 6.9 stars out of 10 for a dark tale that borders horror, on many occasions, without involving ghosts or vampires. Actually they are in fact nothing in comparison to Akkio.