I have seen a few movies by this director, this one is one of his best. This movie portrays a group of friends and classmates. There is Ito, unfortunate gay in love with his straight friend Yoshida. Kanbara is so called 'funny guy'. Shimizu is Yoshida's insecure girlfriend. Aihara is a rape victim, Yoshida somewhat falls for her. And there are the minor characters, like Ito's divorced parents, male and female bullies among the classmates. Bullying was showed really well, felt very real, especially among the girls. There are no saints among the characters, all main characters are doing stupid or even nasty things. They aren't evil, they are indeed awkward and confused, sometimes it makes you cringe. Movie is a little long and for a moment I was worried it doesn't go anywhere, but in the end all motives were tidyly closed. It felt like real Japan, it felt like real troubled youngsters.
13 Reviews
A Beautiful movie dealing with the confused teenage mind.
kaiserspike16 July 2001
This is a skillfully crafted piece of cinema that deals with a teenage boys confused sexuality.The cut scenes within can be lengthy but the cinematography is beautiful.This film would not appeal to many people, especially those who are queasy about gay teenage relationships, but the more open minded can sympathize with the puzzled protagonist.
Excellent, just excellent
greentree6 December 2006
Watching this movie, I can't help drawing the comparison between it and Wild Reeds, another thoughtful film about teenagers coming of age.
Like Wild Reeds, this movie is slow and the director would not be hurried. So if you want a quick resolution to things, don't watch it. This movie is like a slice of life, beginning imperfectly and ending imperfectly. There's no resolution to anything, no happily ever after for anybody, just like real life.
This movie is as real as it gets. The acting is surprisingly good. The director is fond of long, really long, shots and the actors and actresses excel at showing subtlety and inner thoughts.
I love this movie. I almost didn't watch it but now I'm very glad that I did. It's not a movie for everyone but if you're willing to let it grow on you, you will be rewarded.
10/10
Like Wild Reeds, this movie is slow and the director would not be hurried. So if you want a quick resolution to things, don't watch it. This movie is like a slice of life, beginning imperfectly and ending imperfectly. There's no resolution to anything, no happily ever after for anybody, just like real life.
This movie is as real as it gets. The acting is surprisingly good. The director is fond of long, really long, shots and the actors and actresses excel at showing subtlety and inner thoughts.
I love this movie. I almost didn't watch it but now I'm very glad that I did. It's not a movie for everyone but if you're willing to let it grow on you, you will be rewarded.
10/10
Not your average love story/gay movie
Anna_Screengazer18 September 2005
I think this movie is underrated. To me it felt like a gulp of fresh air. Some people complain about the implausibility of the plot, overlong sequences and lack of sex (the latter being, I believe, the main reason for "implausibility"; and how come there are no drunken teenagers talking dirty?!); but it's just not their thing, and good for them if they can't relate to the story. The performances are great; I'd really like to see more of the actors in other movies. The emotions are genuine. The whole unrequited love thing is presented with uncanny subtlety. And it does give you the tingly feeling you expect to get from a good movie.
Amazingly beautiful and very insightful!
charcoalactivity30 June 2006
Warning: Spoilers
"Nagisa no Shindobaddo" or "Like Grains of Sand" is an amazingly beautiful story about teenage boys and girls dealing with the state of becoming one with who they are. This movie isn't about homosexuality, but it IS about sexuality.
Aihara, an aloof girl, will definitely make the viewers ponder who IS behind the aloof girl. Does she love Yoshida? Or does she love Ito? Or did she somehow turn into a lesbian because of the "incident"? (I doubt it).
And what about Yoshida? Does he realize that he loves Ito in the end? Well, we all know he loves him as a friend. But you'll never know once you see this movie... haha :) In the end, Aihara (along with Ito) delivers an exceptional message to the audience: which is that it does NOT matter if you love a boy or a girl. And I have to tell you, I'm SO dense that I didn't get it at first. ^^;; It's because of the whole no talking scenes... You have to try to understand what the characters are thinking and saying through their actions and NOT by what they say (especially the final part... whew, boy, that was confusing!) It's a confusing story, but it IS beautiful nonetheless. :) This movie is certainly one of the best Japanese movies I have ever seen (and trust me, I've seen plenty).
Aihara, an aloof girl, will definitely make the viewers ponder who IS behind the aloof girl. Does she love Yoshida? Or does she love Ito? Or did she somehow turn into a lesbian because of the "incident"? (I doubt it).
And what about Yoshida? Does he realize that he loves Ito in the end? Well, we all know he loves him as a friend. But you'll never know once you see this movie... haha :) In the end, Aihara (along with Ito) delivers an exceptional message to the audience: which is that it does NOT matter if you love a boy or a girl. And I have to tell you, I'm SO dense that I didn't get it at first. ^^;; It's because of the whole no talking scenes... You have to try to understand what the characters are thinking and saying through their actions and NOT by what they say (especially the final part... whew, boy, that was confusing!) It's a confusing story, but it IS beautiful nonetheless. :) This movie is certainly one of the best Japanese movies I have ever seen (and trust me, I've seen plenty).
Japan's realistic look into young love.
drgnwsh6 September 2008
I just watched this film, and I have to say it surprised me. It was very well done, with good acting and a deep look at high school students from Japan, in adolescent love.
The look and feel is a lot different from many movies, and you can easily get into the film. Much of the emphasis seems to be in the story itself, which is extremely subtle. The main theme and relations with other characters are a bit complex. But the the overall sense of realism and dimensions still pulls you in.
A main draw back is of course, those who like something simple. Which is not here. You have to be open to many things, including a new culture, to get more into the film.
I did enjoy this film though. It is worth watching.
The look and feel is a lot different from many movies, and you can easily get into the film. Much of the emphasis seems to be in the story itself, which is extremely subtle. The main theme and relations with other characters are a bit complex. But the the overall sense of realism and dimensions still pulls you in.
A main draw back is of course, those who like something simple. Which is not here. You have to be open to many things, including a new culture, to get more into the film.
I did enjoy this film though. It is worth watching.
Implausible and too lengthy unnecessary pictorial sequences.
BillyStrannix16 April 2000
I don't think the main idea was so bad, but the plot was completely implausible and awful. Moreover, this movie was merely a lengthy sequence of CM films, a kind of sports drink. The whole movie was too long and dull to continue seeing-should have been much shorter.
The Japanese movies in the last 20 years
AntiFakeReviews4 February 2021
Got a very serious even fatal problem since the manga and the animation cartoons created by lot of people who refused to grow up or grow out of their teenage syndrome, the Japanese movies have been staying in a juvenile bubble that habitually churned out pubic hairs grown ages. So many movies' stories have focused on the puppy love of the young people who wore white socks, back satchels, white shirts, black skirt school uniforms and the scenarios are all about young peoples' romance usually intertwined in I-love-him/her but he/she loves somebody else triangle, or the boy/girl fell for someone with terminal cancer or something else.
The Japanese movies have been going downhill for so long, great productions from 1940 to 1970 never appeared after 2000. All childish kids stuff. It has become so difficult to find a mature enough movie after 2000, nothing but junior high school or high school stories or Japanese style animations that usually also concentrated in teenage love stories. Movies from Taiwan have been heavily influenced by the Japanese formula, lot of them are about teenage romances. The Korean movies, on the contrary, have liberated them from such "refuse to grow up or grow out of it" syndrome, these kind of puppet love crap have become less and less and that's also the reason why Korean movies are the leading sheep in Asian movie industries and even surpassed Hollywood's same-old, same-old standstill status-quo formula. The Japanese movies simply failed to progress but degenerated into a 6 ft. deep hole in the ground.
The Japanese movies have been going downhill for so long, great productions from 1940 to 1970 never appeared after 2000. All childish kids stuff. It has become so difficult to find a mature enough movie after 2000, nothing but junior high school or high school stories or Japanese style animations that usually also concentrated in teenage love stories. Movies from Taiwan have been heavily influenced by the Japanese formula, lot of them are about teenage romances. The Korean movies, on the contrary, have liberated them from such "refuse to grow up or grow out of it" syndrome, these kind of puppet love crap have become less and less and that's also the reason why Korean movies are the leading sheep in Asian movie industries and even surpassed Hollywood's same-old, same-old standstill status-quo formula. The Japanese movies simply failed to progress but degenerated into a 6 ft. deep hole in the ground.
Must have an understanding of Japanese culture/film to enjoy
thefarstrider28 March 2006
A stunning and thoughtful observation on modern life for youngsters in Japan, Like Grains of Sand delves into issues such as rape, homosexuality and pubescent angst in a subtle and significant way. It gives an insight in to the youth culture struggling to define itself outside of the bounds of their parent's generation, with it's strict conformity and facade. Typical to Japanese cinema, often what isn't said is more important that what is, so to those not versed in Japanese film and culture, beware. It can seem dull and minimalistic (pretty much like every film to come out of Japan bar Mangas) if you don't know what to look for. I saw it for the first time when I was 15 and was what originally sparked my interest in Japan, it's culture and language. Considering I'm now 22 and learning Japanese with the intention of living there for 2 years, needless to say it's a powerful film. Enjoy!
quaint, sweet, slow
citronellaa15 February 2015
I was pleasantly surprised by this film, and the complexity of the main female character. her behaviour appears strange to others, and she does have some complexities. But overall she is deeply empathetic, and finds the shortcomings of others disappointing.
The scene where they hug and first kiss is very adorable, and I do wish the writer had given the gay one more of a story line where his very innocent affections were reciprocated, as I have been in a similar position of hopeless teenage heartache in the past, and probably many others have.
The aesthetic of the film is pretty 90s but still very tasteful I would say, overall - for example at the orange orchard, and after the counselling session next to the stairs with the light reflecting off the water. It can seem slow at times, but is ultimately quite a sweet look into high school life and it's confusions.
The scene where they hug and first kiss is very adorable, and I do wish the writer had given the gay one more of a story line where his very innocent affections were reciprocated, as I have been in a similar position of hopeless teenage heartache in the past, and probably many others have.
The aesthetic of the film is pretty 90s but still very tasteful I would say, overall - for example at the orange orchard, and after the counselling session next to the stairs with the light reflecting off the water. It can seem slow at times, but is ultimately quite a sweet look into high school life and it's confusions.
Dreaming in "Nagisa no Shindobaddo"
thiagosentinelas215 July 2007
Writing about something so wonderful is completely hard. Actually, it's almost impossible to describe the peculiarities of this movie. This is a marvelous story about sex and gender, and it's almost unbelievable that we have not to deal with obscene scenes of sex. Feeling, this film was made for people that like to feel, and just to feel, life in all its complexity in a gorgeous simple way. We look at it, and something starts growing inside our minds, even our hearts: it a pure poem. I've watched some "gay" movies, and I almost always got really unsatisfied with unnecessary scenes of sex, not because I don't like scenes of sex, but generally they are so pornographic that I'm forced to think that the director or the producers or the writer of the script thinks that homosexuality means perversion. Nagisa no Shindobaddo is totally different from that ones. Three are the main characters. We have Ito, Yoshida and Aihara, two boys and a girl in a peculiar love triangle. Ito likes his best friend Yoshida, Yoshida likes Aihara and Aihara likes Ito. Imagine what this could turn in unprepared hands? But in the contrary, Hashiguchi makes a magnificent story which goes profoundly in the philosophy of life, adding a question in our mind that made me think, astonished, in the end of the movie: Why? And that why expanded in multiple questions inside of my brain and inside of my heart. The scenes, actually, sometimes tending to be boring, are moments of the most delightful poem which we are able to feel, but totally unable to write down in words. And maybe because of that, we are unable to understand the question in the end of the movie. I'm sure this movie was not made for us to discuss every piece of it
Some people want to understand a film almost dissecting it. Others are so used to common "American gay" movies that can't appreciate the real value of this master-piece. Watch it, close your eyes in the credits and feel, everything, feel yourself, feel the wonderful song. For all this and much, much more, I give a nine. And I just don't give ten, because ten of ten is perfection. But I confess I almost did it.
An unusual love trio story, which takes place in Japanese high school.
sergiobm6 April 2015
This is not a movie for everyone, it has paused scenes and sometimes no dialogs. It is not the kind of Japanese movie overacted, full of topics, or neither an action or commercial film. It's a trip in which you will find different kinds of love, and depending on how you are it will make you think or feel empathetic with one of the three main characters.
Ito is the main character and is in love with his partner and friend Yoshida. At the same time Yoshida thinks he likes a girl called Aihara, and will try to catch her attention. Aihara at the same time is the best friend of Ito and it is kind of in love with him, but she knows his feelings about Yoshida.
The story tells us about how Yoshida gets to know Ito loves him, and treat among other subjects, the love between two man, and the thought of straight boys towards it.
Ito is the main character and is in love with his partner and friend Yoshida. At the same time Yoshida thinks he likes a girl called Aihara, and will try to catch her attention. Aihara at the same time is the best friend of Ito and it is kind of in love with him, but she knows his feelings about Yoshida.
The story tells us about how Yoshida gets to know Ito loves him, and treat among other subjects, the love between two man, and the thought of straight boys towards it.
Masterful late adolescent story
billy_bang16 April 2016
As of now, 2016, no English subtitled DVD print of this film exists. It is Hashiguchi's second feature and has a bigger ensemble cast of young actors all expertly directed with utmost naturalism. It initially centres on Ito, a boy who has a crush of his best friend Yoshida, who himself although polite, is straight, and keen on a girl, Aihara, who in turn seems to detest him and fancies Ito instead!. The script veers from joy to the overwrought: one minute everything is simple, in the next suicidal despair! The film deserves to be a classic- not just pegged as a 'gay' coming of age film which is only one of the many strands in the film (high school coolness and popularity, bullying and jealousy are the others). Parents hardly feature at all. The specifics of family life (an important strand in Hashiguchi's next film HUSH) is completely left out. These are adolescents remember!- they exist everywhere in their own bubble. And unlike HUSH, parts of LIKE GRANIS OF SAND is not easy to watch. There's nothing 'feel good' in it. It is loaded with the pain and confusion of finding out whom you might be, and what choices you will have to make. Choices that in a way determine the rest of your life. Hashiguchi is a director who paces his films beautifully. The long takes never feel forced. It is scandalous no one has bothered to pick this up for distribution with English subtitles. There is a French release with French subtitles only.
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