I first saw this movie on a flight home from Indonesia, back in 2006. I remember crying at that time and maybe that's why I didn't watch it for some time since, even though I really loved it back then.
So now I finally watched it again, 13 years later (and after visiting Japan 3 times since).
It's nice to see several locations, such as Tokyo stations (didn't change much since then).
Nana to me is a touching and sad movie, even though it has a happy ending. Similar to some Japanese romance movies I watched, one might find certain scenes a bit cheesy (the dramatic train scene for instance), but even though I also felt it did seem a bit cheesy, it was touchy non-the-less.
In the first half of the movie, we deal mostly with cute, girly Nana's love life and her relationship with her boyfriend. She seems to be your traditional Japanese female who dreams of being married and handling the household. It is good that her bf doesn't seem to agree with this as he pushes her to find her own place and job. Ultimately, it proves to make her stronger.
Around half way through the movie, we focus more on the tough Nana's story that is only hinted at in flashbacks. This is where the movie really got to me. I'm not sure why, maybe because it speaks to my own/our own experiences with heartaches and pain that can come with love? The love between Ren and Nana seems so pure, so giving. It makes it all the more sad to see them fail at first, due to being proud people. You just feel that theirs is the kind of love that is really one in a million and hard to find.
Tough Nana isn't your typical Japanese girl. She isn't super cute or overly attractive. But her vulnerable side that shines through makes her very attractive, because you can feel that hers is a love that is as pure as the beautiful snow we often see in the flashbacks.
A scene close to the end where she suggests that they one day grow old together, after they have outgrown their pride and vanity made me cry. I guess that's where film has real life beat. In real life, no beautiful or sad music is playing over those special moments you share with others and no beautiful speeches are addressed at us.
The film might have been stronger if Nana and Ren didn't seemingly get back together in the end, but rather kept their melancholic distance. That's closer to real life, I think.
Still, I think Nana is a beautiful movie, not just for women, but for all of us who ever went through a heartbreaking time or felt they once had true love...
Nana to me is a touching and sad movie, even though it has a happy ending. Similar to some Japanese romance movies I watched, one might find certain scenes a bit cheesy (the dramatic train scene for instance), but even though I also felt it did seem a bit cheesy, it was touchy non-the-less.
In the first half of the movie, we deal mostly with cute, girly Nana's love life and her relationship with her boyfriend. She seems to be your traditional Japanese female who dreams of being married and handling the household. It is good that her bf doesn't seem to agree with this as he pushes her to find her own place and job. Ultimately, it proves to make her stronger.
Around half way through the movie, we focus more on the tough Nana's story that is only hinted at in flashbacks. This is where the movie really got to me. I'm not sure why, maybe because it speaks to my own/our own experiences with heartaches and pain that can come with love? The love between Ren and Nana seems so pure, so giving. It makes it all the more sad to see them fail at first, due to being proud people. You just feel that theirs is the kind of love that is really one in a million and hard to find.
Tough Nana isn't your typical Japanese girl. She isn't super cute or overly attractive. But her vulnerable side that shines through makes her very attractive, because you can feel that hers is a love that is as pure as the beautiful snow we often see in the flashbacks.
A scene close to the end where she suggests that they one day grow old together, after they have outgrown their pride and vanity made me cry. I guess that's where film has real life beat. In real life, no beautiful or sad music is playing over those special moments you share with others and no beautiful speeches are addressed at us.
The film might have been stronger if Nana and Ren didn't seemingly get back together in the end, but rather kept their melancholic distance. That's closer to real life, I think.
Still, I think Nana is a beautiful movie, not just for women, but for all of us who ever went through a heartbreaking time or felt they once had true love...