Favorite Dramas and Movies Watched in 2021

A sensitively written drama about really listening and really looking at things that are in front of you.

I'd say the embodiment of this drama is the character Takarako-san, played by Nagasaku Hiromi--always sympathetic, always curious, always ready to question your (and her own) assumptions but never condescending about it. And for once we have a new kid on the block--basically the viewers' proxy--who might be relatively inexperienced but not naive or stupid; she's quite competent, in fact.

I think what's most impressive about Hankei 5 Meters is how the screenwriter/director always make it clear where they stand but there's no finger-wagging about it, once again underlining the message of empathy that is at the core of this drama.

Plucky heroines, close-knit communities, optimism and positivity are the main ingredients of asadora. But what makes Okaeri Mone so good is that it takes seriously the struggles faced by the main character and people around her. You can't just chase away trauma and survivor's guilt with positivity, and sometimes even continual support from family and friends is still not enough. And no matter how much you love a person, no matter how happy you are when they're excitedly chasing their dreams, it doesn't lessen the sadness that you feel for having to part with them.

The screenwriter understood all of that, and I'm grateful for that.

From Dictatorship to (Nominal) Collectivism: Social Dynamics Among Primary Schoolers in Rural Japan During World War II, As Seen and Experienced by a Tokyo Evacuee

A truly relatable drama if you've ever encountered deadlines and the dreaded writer's block.

This is an episodic slice of life sets in what seems to be a minimum security prison. In lieu of gang fights and people being shivved to death, you get an inmate being laughed at behind his back because he's a "teacher's pet" and people constantly obsessing over food.

The inmates are completely institutionalized, however, what with being subjected to strictly regimented schedule and rigid discipline bordering on infantilization. But even this is a source of humor, like when a character badly needs to use the toilet. (Yes, this movie isn't above toilet humor. And humor about, ah, body parts.)

I expected ennui, but what I got instead was unusual workplace drama, complete with camaraderie (and friendship). Surprisingly touching, too.

There's a lot of shaky camera movements in the beginning, but either it becomes less as the movie progresses or I just stopped feeling annoyed about it, because after some point I just didn't notice it anymore.

We see life as the main character, Koen, sees it. Her lack of guile and self-awareness means that nothing seems like a big deal. She's not unhappy; she doesn't have parasitic relatives asking for money; her youth and beauty and cheerful disposition bring her a steady stream of customers; and she never meets weird customers along the way, so everything is fine.

The Japanese title of this movie means "women are born twice", and her moment of reborn isn't due to some big, traumatic event. If she did go through something traumatic--the death of loved ones, something that to our modern sensibilities looks suspiciously like a sexual assault--she never pondered them. But the "little" things do accumulate, and a symbolic act at the end of the movie shows us that she really has changed--reborn, if you will.

Two women of different socioeconomic backgrounds got to meet because one of them is engaged to be married to the other's sort-of-boyfriend. Don't worry, they're not fighting over a guy; on the contrary, ex-hostess, Keio dropout Miki made such a great impression on posh Hanako that their encounter became the catalyst that made Hanako rethink her life.

This movie shows how their gender and class constrain them but also provide them with possibilities, possibilities that are ironically unthinkable to their man Koichiro, despite/because of his privileged status.

When the main characters' roommate mentioned how Singapore was a totally safe place and that it's like Disneyland, there's nothing disparaging in that statement--it's just a matter-of-fact observation about how some people like their travel destination to be.

It's striking to see the contrast between Nina's relaxed, assured demeanor as she walked the glitzier, more touristy parts of Singapore, and her confused look when circumstances forced her to roam the more down-to-earth haunts of locals.