Rev Head

Friday, November 14, 2008

Accuracy of Death 死神の精度(2008) aka Sweet Rain


On my recent flight I managed to catch a movie starring Takeshi Kaneshiro - Accuracy of Death 死神の精度. I guess I might not have watched the movie if it was titled Sweet Rain ;-) would probably have watched The Incredible Hulk or something else.

The story is based on a best selling novel by Kotaro Isaka, and in the movie Takeshi Kaneshiro plays Chiba - a Grim Reaper (or shinigami) whose work involves him dealing with individuals who are scheduled for unnatural death in 7 days. He is given the task to determine whether they should be given another chance to extend their life or the progression of death should be allowed to "Proceed". He mulls over his decision while shadowing the "candidate" and sounding off his thoughts with his doggy sidekick.

The movie revolves around three mini-encounters with mortals - a meek customer service representative Kazue Fujiki (Manami Konishi), whose job is to receive complaint calls, a ruthless mafia leader who has a faithful follower and an old hairdresser who lives alone in the countryside.

The cinematography by Takahide Shibanushi doesn't disappoint starting with a foreboding withering of a flower presented to Chiba, the gritty sumurai style showdowns in the mafia scenes, and the melancholic showers throughout the movie. The visuals complements the mood of the mini-stories very well which is further enhanced by the Music.

During his time on earth, Chiba takes whatever opportunities he has to listen to music, and he meets other shinigami occasionally where they talk shop and swap stories. These chanced meetings show Chiba as a more reserved Shinigami who does not sample life on earth as much as his compatriots and is rather careful in his dealings with mortals. This however changes as the story progresses. His interactions with the candidates reveals more of his work and personality while the plot twist and turns adds to the story - revealing an additional dimension to his character.

Takeshi plays the role very well and carries the movie:

Takeshi Kaneshiro makes death almost seem like an attractive option; you may be dead, but at least the person judging you really seems to care, and he's a swell, likable dude who you'll trust instinctively. It's hard to believe that anyone could embody such a fantastic and shallow character - but hey, Takeshi Kaneshiro can, and he does it very, very well. The man has skills. (Kozo 2008)

The lovely storyline is further enhanced by a beautiful soundtrack, Manami Konishi's voice links the 3 stories in an unique way.


Links:
IMeeM
Music Video

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