Having watched the 2020 Anime version of this story and the 2020 South Korean version of this story already, I have to admit that I was already rather familiar with the plot and the story. But for some reason the original 2003 Japanese movie had eluded me up until 2020. So when I had the chance to sit down and watch "Joze to tora to sakana tachi" (aka "Josee, The Tiger and the Fish") of course I did so.
I have to say, first and foremost that I really enjoyed the 2020 Japanese Anime version of this story, but found the 2020 South Korean movie to be somewhat mediocre. But I had hopes for the 2003 Japanese movie as I sat down to watch what writer Aya Watanabe and director Isshin Inudô had in store for me.
The story was adequate, but then again I was already well-familiar with how it would play out, so there wasn't really much of anything new here. However, in this 2003 Japanese version director Isshin Inudô had a bit of nudity here and there, and that felt rather unnecessary to drive the movie forward, and it was something that the movie could have been without.
The acting performances by Chizuru Ikewaki (playing Joze/Kumiko) and Satoshi Tsumabuki (playing Tsuneo) was good and they definitely carried the movie quite well individually and together on the screen.
If you haven't already seen "Josee, The Tiger and the Fish", you should do so if you have the chance, because it is a good movie.
My rating of the 2003 Japanese version lands on a five out of ten stars though, as it just wasn't as emotional or riveting as the 2020 Anime version was.
