Hakase no aishita sûshiki

Only three reviews of "The Professor and His Beloved Equation"? That must mean that most people have missed seeing this wonderful film. A film with really only about 5 characters, and all set in the same rural town, with essentially no sex, violence or earth-endangering plot may seem like a small film indeed nowadays, but "The Professor..." fills you up with a sense of three people's lives like few other more ambitious movies that I can think of. It develops slowly, organically. Things happen naturally, but not predictably, and you end up not only interested in the characters but utterly believing their motivations and reactions. There was not one false moment throughout. Some Americans may not have the patience or openheartedness to be able to approach "The Professor..." on its own terms, but those who do will be richly rewarded.