B-grade Japanese movies of recent years have been influenced quite a bit by manga (Japanese comics) and anime (animation), but I hadn't yet seen a Japanese movie that is, in effect, a live-action manga from beginning to end. Himitsu no Hanazono is one such movie.
The manga aspects mean that everything is over-the-top. Sakiko's single-minded obsession with money, her outlandish and relentless efforts in search of a lost suitcase full of bills, leaving flabbergasted observers in her wake--all are straight out of manga, and retain the light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek humor of that medium (the better manga, anyways). And there is a kind of gradual maturation process thrown in as well, as Sakiko comes to realize that she's not drawn to money itself, so much as to the hunt for it.
Not great cinema by any stretch, but this is one of the best Japanese light comedies I've seen, and I've seen a few. Definitely worth a viewing if you like manga/anime or movies in this genre.
The manga aspects mean that everything is over-the-top. Sakiko's single-minded obsession with money, her outlandish and relentless efforts in search of a lost suitcase full of bills, leaving flabbergasted observers in her wake--all are straight out of manga, and retain the light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek humor of that medium (the better manga, anyways). And there is a kind of gradual maturation process thrown in as well, as Sakiko comes to realize that she's not drawn to money itself, so much as to the hunt for it.
Not great cinema by any stretch, but this is one of the best Japanese light comedies I've seen, and I've seen a few. Definitely worth a viewing if you like manga/anime or movies in this genre.