Under the Open Sky

Despite moments of unnecessary melodrama, director Miwa Nishikawa has made a fine movie about an aged, ex-Yakuza trying to find his way "under the open sky". The plot of ex-prisoners attempting to reintegrate into our society (which doesn't care for them) has been repeatedly rehashed. Nevertheless, the main character, well performed by Yakusho Koji, kept me absorbed and ensured that I followed this movie with two more Nishikawa movies, 'Sway' and 'The Long Excuses'. I recommend you spent your next free (and rainy day) with that triple viewing. In context, the theme is redemption.

I would rate it 3.5 and I rounded down. The main actor is great in his role, but the story is not only basic, nearly every scene is less a flowing part of the story, and more a blunt storytelling block. This in part is the reason why the forced melodrama doesn't work, and you don't feel any emotions in the dramatic scenes, because it's so blandly and sparsely built up. It's unfortunate that the scenes end up as building blocks to the ridiculously overdone finale. If they remade it with a competent writer/director, this would be a great film, because the cast/scenery/cinematography/music is fine, it's that the story is both not good, and to compound it, the way that is told is also not good.

TIFF 2020 08 Under the Open Sky This film is a story about an ex-con Yakuza member from Japan who after getting out of prison for about 13 years, tries and really struggles to find his place in the normal society. fir me personally, everything in this film worked perfectly until the last 10 minutes or so which was completely unnecessary in my opinion and left a sour taste in my mouth. the film is very handsome, it has some beautiful takes and a textured story. The lead actor Koji Yakusho gives a convincing and powerful performance. I think this can be a much better film with some tweaks and some changes in the editing department.