Country:Japan
Runtime:117 min
Released:13 Mar 2010
Plot: Sweet Little Lies 2010 The film sets you thinking from the onset, and youll be wondering whether it is a requisite for couples to share common interests in order to bind them together and sustain a relationship Obviously both Satoshi and Kuriko share very little interests together, which makes it baffling how they managed to hook up in the first place, and staying married without a single quarrel over 3 years and counting Some of us subscribe to that being a little bit fantastical, and are more convinced that arguments are inevitable and sometimes do lead to a better understanding Youll also start to wonder if rising costs of living meant a child is out of the picture now, and whether physical intimacy does play that big a role as the glue, here one being unwilling to initiate, and the other being more interested in video games and music and secretly I think yearning the singlehood life where you have the liberty to do what you want, when you want, without consulting anyone else Both leads Omori and Nakatani present their stark differences in characters really well, having to sit on the fence in preferring the status quo, yet being unable and unwilling to assert for something more as we can observe from their nuanced performance As the film alludes to, no relationship can survive without passion nor truth, which the narrative takes this litmus test on Its different interests in each other in contrast to that of their respective stalkers at the early point when they come into the picture who shower their mark with plenty of much needed attention, like Miura Chizuru Ikewaki planting ideas onto Satochi with lunches every Wednesdays on her off days to meetings at nights, and Haruo Junichi Kobayashi increasingly bumping into Kuriko out of sheer coincidence, attending her bear product show versus her husbands absence which translates to not giving two hoots about supporting his wife, preferring to spend time in a virtual video game world Its a marriage, or any relationship for that matter, doomed to failure with the writing already on the wall Yazakis film challenges you to pass judgement, and it is this challenge thats not easy to do Youll be confronted with a very wide incident base and scenes that knock on your beliefs, deciding how guilty is the guilty, and whos to blame in any expected fallout should it happen On one hand youre provoked to point fingers, yet on the other youre rooting for the couple to somehow work out their differences or face utter destruction in their 3 years of spending their lives together, but despite knowing if it ends it should end, rather than to drag it out With infidelity being cited as a key reason why couples separate, you want to get in on laying the blame, but only through careful thought as its easy to point fingers on either, yet it takes two hands to clap It confronts your fundamental beliefs in the institution of marriage, especially what constitutes cheating the desire, of not telling the other if something is not quite what it seems, or the deed itself Which is more severe, cheating involving the body, mind or both How do you draw the line, especially if Im coming from the husband being quite the selfish chauvinist in not wanting to give up a little bit of time off his pursuits to help or support his wife This in itself could be used as justification why someone will want to stray, then again, if the fundamentals are strong, who would See the dilemma, which Yazaki continues to present throughout the film We even hear a warning shot early in the film given by Kuriko, together with plenty of red herring moments, but we again see the double standards practiced One of the key questions as the film inches its way to the finale, will be whether the couple can maintain status quo as per the title in keeping their sweet little lies to themselves, or as part of matrimony decide to tell each other the truth Will they be better off in doing so and living up to an honest relationship, or will ignorance still continue to provide that bliss We learn guilt has already set in, yet didnt see whether both Satochi and Kuriko will be learning from their lessons The film raises questions, but youre left on your own devices to provide the answer, which is never immediate For those in relationships, this film plants that fear factor into you, questioning how much you know and trust someone else, and for those who are not, well, did this film set in motion that a trustworthy relationship is something of a pipe dreamId like to reckon this film like an anti thesis and companion piece to Wong Kar wais In the Mood for Love, where a couple meets and contemplates a relationship because their spouses are cheating on them with each other In this one, we go over to the other side and observe what happens when both spouses cheat on each other, yet remain quite ambivalent about it all, each keeping their own titular sweet little lies One film is steep in romanticism, while this one presents a frightfully possible reality through its cast performances and composition cinematography under Isao Ishii is beautiful that masks the underlying currents of a troubled relationship Definitely one of the best films Ive seen this year
More Movies on M4ufree.ac
The Detective (1954)
Works of art are disappearing, stolen by a master thief, a master of disguise Father Brown has two goals to catch the thief and to save his soul
Interreflections (2020)
In a quest for a new, more humane society, a counter culture revolution takes the world by storm In the first of the InterReflections Trilogy, we look back to the modern world and wonder how it was we managed to survive as long as w
Pistachio (2018)
Lily thought her summer was ruined until she meets and builds an unbreakable bond with a young horse named Pistachio, proving destiny can be found in places you least expected
The Village (1975)
A quasi docu drama pertaining to the monumental process to bring a performance troupe to a small Japanese village to perform for one night
Gonks Go Beat (1964)
Bizarre sixties fable resembling Romeo and Juliette, but instead of Montagues and Capulets, there are two musical communities, one who like rock and roll and one who like ballads, who
Darkside Witches (2015)
In 1589, six innocent women were accused from the inquisition of witchery in the small ligurian mountain
Space Buddies (2009)
Disneys pups are back and take one small step for dog and one giant leap for dogkind
Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
A scheming widow and her manipulative ex lover make a bet regarding the corruption of a recently married woman
Our Man in L A (2024)
An alien technology dealer struggles to recover a crashed UFO
The Hoax (2006)
In what would cause a fantastic media frenzy, Clifford Irving sells his bogus biography of Howard Hughes to a premiere publishing house in the early 1970s
Shinjuku Maria (1975)
A story about a female reporter investigating sex workers in Shinjuku
Nine (2009)
Famous film director Guido Contini struggles to find harmony in his professional and personal lives, as he engages in dramatic relationships with his wife, his mistress, his muse, his agent, and his mother
Natures Half Acre (1951)
The strange and wonderful world that lies beneath our feet, under leaf, log and rock, peopled by millions of weird and fascinating creatures
I Like to Watch (1982)
Designer Leticia has a house full of action While she has a lover, her worker Kim seduces the plumber and the maid As a client couple seduces nephew Laura, and two models seduce her abstaining boyfriend Michael, they finally unite
Bandidos (1967)
After his hands are mutilated by his former pupil during a train robbery, a performing sharpshooter trains a young man framed for the crime so that they can seek their revenge