Review of Bright Future (2003) by Private U — 31 Jul 2008
Kurosawa Kiyoshi may be the most prolific Japanese filmmaker of the late 20th to early 21st centuries. And when people call his movies splendid works of art, they might forget that he has directed hundreds of movies with widely varying degrees of quality. This is not to say that Bright Future is one of his lesser films (and there have been plenty, considering his early Yakuza exploitation flicks) - it is to say that he has honed his directorial skills far more than any other director I know (including any in Hollywood today).
Bright Future is a subtle film that, like the jellyfish featured prominently in its highly dreamlike plot, has a vicious sting waiting for the viewers enthralled by its beauty.
Kurosawa has in the past delved deeply into questions that have haunted Japanese society, often representing them literally as spooks. Here, he addresses the painful psychological distances that threaten to sap any meaningful relationships between his differently-aged characters. Can an alienated father reach out to his son? Can a well-meaning employer be anything other than a paycheck to a troubled young man? And is authority always based on violence?
The answers Kurosawa gives are not always clear, or bright. But Bright Future may be his most illuminating effort yet. I highly recommend it to any fan of good cinema.
This review of Bright Future (2003) was written by Private U on 31 Jul 2008.
Bright Future has generally received positive reviews.
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