Mother: Mazâ

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.

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.

I'll preface it now for all of you the movie itself is just miserable from start to finish. Every second of it makes you angry that such a woman can be such an irredeemable person. Now I'm not saying that this is a bad movie, in fact its misery and its ability to fire me up is what makes it such a recommended viewing. The actress who plays the mother is so good at just being the most scummy, despicable person. You feel for these kids that she totally uses as props to further her own agenda. I think the hardest part to watch is that her son takes it and keeps taking it time after time as if under some sort of spell. It's so hard to watch a child's innocence being ripped apart by the very person that gave them life and is suppose to protect them and cherish them. It just hurts to watch.

Not an easy watch by any measure, but this Japanese drama inspired by true stories is uncompromising and raw in so many levels. It explores toxic relationship between a single mother and her young son. At the core, it questions the rights and responsibilities of motherhood and how it can effect an innocent life. The story seems so extreme at times and it's hard to believe that it's based on real events. Even though the whole journey is very depressing but it reaches a somewhat satisfying conclusion.

A very troubled mother travels around Japan with her son and later her new daughter gambling, drinking, sleeping with bad men and avoiding debt collectors. All the time her son seeks stability and education his mother derails his hopes at every turn. A depressing look at co dependency and the spiral of descent which will eventually lead to an unimaginable crime.