Megane / Glasses [Naoko Ogigami, 2007] H264-AC3

Megane [Glasses], a film by Naoko Ogigami (2007)

Megane tells the story of Taeko (Satomi Kobayashi), an uptight city woman, vacationing on a quaint Japanese island (later identified by the director as Yoron Island, Okinawa). Upon arriving at the Hamada inn, she meets the eccentric inhabitants of the island: Sakura (Masako Motai), a mysterious older woman who runs a shave ice stand on the island during the spring season, but accepts no money; Haruna (Mikako Ichikawa), a biology teacher who sighs about the lack of cute boys in her class; and Yuji the innkeeper (Ken Mitsuishi) who draws confusing maps and boasts the lack of cell phone reception at his hotel.

A major theme of the movie is the importance of taking one's time and appreciating life, contrasted to Taeko's normal urban lifestyle and mindset. Many scenes of the movie quietly depict simple moments of life like eating, watching the ocean, or playing a mandolin. Henry Stewart of The L Magazine described Megane as "an ode to the pleasures of unhurried living." Another critic said of the film, "On this paradisical island little else matters beyond the recharging of spiritual batteries and the enjoyment of eating." Sakura is the epitome of this ideal - waiting intently in front of a cooking bean pot in order to turn off the heat at exactly the right moment or painstakingly preparing her special shaved ice.

The film's plot is purposely slow-paced, a fact which Ogigami acknowledged at the San Francisco festival screening when she issued a sleep warning to the audience, all the while implying that such an act was in accordance with the spirit of the movie.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megane_%28film%29

http://asianwiki.com/Naoko_Ogigami

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DVD-Rip (FairUse Wizard 2.11b)
Format: MKV
Video codec: H264 @ 1337 Kbps / 672x368 / 23.976 fps
Audio codec: AC3 @ 448 Kbps / 48 KHz
Duration: 1:47:16
Language: Japanese
Subtitles: English + French (srt)
File size: 1.34 Gb

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