Hush!

If you like your movies subtle and sweet, then this should be just the ticket. Although the subject matter isn't too out there in the West, it's interesting to see it broached in the Japanese context, where tradition and respect for family are still held in high esteem. The film deals with familial relationships now, and as such presents a refreshing and forward thinking outlook on the nature of the family unit in the 21st century. Hashiguchi lets us watch these intimate relationships as they build up and, in some cases, break down, without feeling intrusive. There are some wonderful scenes of extended dialogue, the sort of meandering conversations that go nowhere, but that are incredibly involving nonetheless. All the performances are spot on, and there's just the right balance between the humour and the heartache. It's a slow, talky film, but still highly rewarding.

There's something off about this movie. I kept wondering if perhaps it was just badly translated. It wasn't that I didn't know what was going on from one moment to the next, but there seemed to be many strange sudden transitions and characters would suddenly seem to be familiar with one another when I'd had the impression they'd never met before. It gave the narrative a jerky, confused feel.

I only made it through about a third of this before I got bored and gave up. It wasn't awful, but it was never absorbing, I wasn't feeling remotely connected to the characters and there just didn't seem to really be much going on, although at the time it stopped it looked like the movie was just deciding it might need to have some sort of plot after all. But that was too little too late.

Although this is a film about a subject which has been covered before (gay couple and then along comes a woman who decides that she would like to have a child by one of them and the fall-outs and tensions that are created by this) it is a really nice and i found genuinely affecting film.

The film also strays into the territory of the changing social circumstances of modern Japan as well as the, nicely handled, scenes where you are shown more about the family relationships that exist in the present day.

Nice performances and a nice soothing sound track (with just a little Japanese twist). Maybe the best recommendation that i can give this film is that i nearly broke my ankle playing football before i went to see it and i had to walk back home in the pouring rain...and i did so with a big smile on my face thanks to this film.

If a movie reflects good human nature and characteristics, why do we need to refuse it and not accept it even it involves gay relationship.

The director really depicts each character as a real person - you trust their existence.

And you will bring a warm smile when going out of the theater.

I've watched this movie several times but last night I watched it again and I just have to say something about it. This is not your normal gay movie with a lot of gratuitous sex scenes, nor is this a gay movie about AIDS, nor does the plot have anything to do with someone being sick. This is a story about how two fine looking young Japanese men meet up, have a relationship and start a life together. The families of these two men are screwed up, like too many are in life, but these two keep on going. Then just to make it even more interesting, two women come into the middle of these two men's lives. One becomes like a third partner (she wants a baby from them) and the other has a typical young girl infatuation. What really caught my attention was how both these guys do things together at home and outside the home. They care about each other, know each other, and do spontaneous things together. I think we could all learn about relationships from watching these two guys interact together. Love the story.