Floating clouds swell, trams pass through the greenery, raindrops beat on hangers, and ensemble odes to autumn.
Just look at these empty mirrors, you have the impression of the Japanese movie taste, fresh, bright, with its own filter.
Looking back at this year's Japanese movies, manga adaptations, theatrical version, heavy taste, theme parks covered one by one, it is indeed aesthetic fatigue.
Fortunately, the film appeared in time at the end of the year, retaining our imagination of the warm side of Japanese cinema – [The Long Goodbye].
[The Long Goodbye] poster
Because it is a solitary product, it is precious.
For those who love Japanese movies, this is a must-see of the year.
The attraction of [The Long Farewell] is from the inside out, first look at Kashi, Yu Aoi partner Yuko Takeuchi, this is the first collaboration between the two goddesses, starring as a pair of sisters, as well as the old drama bones Tomoeko Matsubara and Tsutomu Yamazaki, all the strength of the faction;
Yu Aoi & Yuko Takeuchi
Looking at the content of the movie, on the topic of aging and death, Japanese films in this field are frequently excellent, and there are always unique insights, such as the "entering the mortician master" [walking non-stop] [fruits of life] and [The Fruit of Life] and [the Kagiyama Festival Examination] that we are familiar with, and this time the [long farewell] is no exception;
There is also the director of this film, the promising new generation of director Nakano Mitota, this is his new work three years later, the last work was the 2016 fire [Hot Love].
[Piping Hot Love], Douban 7.9, the film that japan selected and sent the "Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film" that year
[The Long Farewell] was screened at the 22nd Shanghai International Film Festival this year, and it received unanimous praise, with the current Douban score of 8.0 and The Japanese Yahoo rating also having a score of 3.77.
Watching [The Long Goodbye], the good feeling that Japanese movies brought, is all back. Some moments can even make people trance, as if seeing another one is Kore-eda or Yoji Yamada.
▼
The film "The Long Farewell" is based on the novel of the same name by Naoki Award winner Kyoko Nakajima, and tells a story that takes place in a family of four. My elderly father suffered from cognitive disorder (what we commonly call Alzheimer's disease), and his memory gradually faded. Accompanied by his family, the father spent his last seven years, which was a "long goodbye".
Kyoko Nakajima, "The Long Farewell"
In the fall of 2007, his father (Tsutomu Yamazaki) had his 70th birthday. Sensing his strangeness, his mother calls him twice and summons her eldest daughter, Marie (Yuko Takeuchi), who has settled in the United States, and Fumi (Yu Aoi), her second daughter who works in Tokyo.
Yu Aoi as Fumi
Yuko Takeuchi as Mari
At this time, the father's cognitive disorder first appeared, he would forget that it was his birthday, he would confuse the two daughters, eat halfway through the meal, suddenly said that he wanted to give Fumi a very interesting book, and handed over a Chinese dictionary.
This is the initial stage of dementia, followed by a cycle of two years, slowly and cruelly advancing.
By the summer of 2009, my father's condition had worsened. Obviously, he was at home, but his mouth was always saying "I'm ready to go home", his action was getting slower and slower, and his memory was getting worse and worse.
What worries the family even more is that as long as he is not careful, the unattended father will go out alone, always holding three umbrellas in his hand. No one knows where he's going or which home he's going back to.
In 2018, 16,900 people were lost due to cognitive impairment in Japan
It is also in the relationship with her father, all kinds of common problems in family life began to be revealed one by one, Mari often did not handle the relationship with her husband, she would ask her mother, "Have you ever hated your father?" The answer from the mother was, "What is the couple, we must go down together to know."
Fumi is still searching for her career, she opens a mobile canteen, but the business is bleak; her adolescent grandson is also dealing with the relationship between herself and the girl she likes...
They regarded their father as a tree hole, an object of their hearts to pour out, knowing that it did not matter if they did not get a response from his mouth, after all, this was the closest person who could be fully trusted.
In the dialogue again and again, those seemingly dark and sad moments have become less difficult.
Two more years passed, and it came to the spring of 2011.
At this time, the father's cognitive impairment has been so serious that it affects normal life, and he can't recognize anyone, including his mother, who is with him day and night, and every time he talks to him, he has to introduce himself;
Going shopping with my mother at the supermarket, my father would unconsciously stuff something into his pocket, and then the two of them were treated as thieves.
Fortunately, Fumi arrived in time to explain the truth and resolve this misunderstanding. When the three of them walked home with umbrellas and each other, looking at their backs, there was indeed a feeling that Kore-eda [kept walking].
[Non-stop] (Part 2)
But also because of the father's cognitive impairment, there will be some romantic and warm bridges from time to time. For example, he would say to his mother, "It's time to introduce you to my parents, would you like to come back with me?" It's as if it's still in the love stage, and it's time to talk about marriage.
One day, the worst happened, and my father was lost. However, following the positioning of his father's mobile phone, the mother and daughters finally unveiled the mystery of their father, and the "home" he said in his mouth turned out to be an amusement park that the family had visited when they were children.
Mother recalled, "We came once when you were very young, and my father was absent that day. However, in the afternoon, the weather suddenly turned cloudy, and it seemed that it was going to rain heavily, so Dad ran to the amusement park with three umbrellas."
Father forgot everything about everyone, but remembered the amusement park, and still carried three umbrellas. Because a family together is the "home" in his mind.
In 2013, autumn went to winter. The father's cognitive disorder continued to worsen, reading such a small action, the father from the earliest careful reading, and then take the book backwards, until now, he will tear the book off a page when he looks at it, and then swallow it in his mouth.
After my father was hospitalized, they once again celebrated his father's birthday. Even if you are old, even if you can't move in the hospital bed, you still have to wear the most shiny birthday hat for your father.
This is a family routine, once a year, will not be changed by anything, the power of affection is enough to resist all life and death.
They blow candles, eat cakes, and smile on their faces, even if they know that time is running out...
This is probably the charm of the movie [Long Farewell], there is no ups and downs, no strong conflict, as a family image, composed of small and ordinary daily life, it can also stretch out endless emotions, and make a slightly sad parting story humorous and heartwarming.
Laughing at parting is a better consolation.
"Thinking about the meaning of family with movies" is the original intention of director Nakano Mitawa to shoot [The Long Farewell]. What the film wants to convey is what we should do in the face of the aging and departure of our loved ones, and how to continue to face life.
During the seven years that his father suffered from dementia, his memory slowly disappeared and he became farther and farther away from the people around him, so dementia was also called "the long goodbye".
Even if the father lost all his memories, because of the care and companionship of his family, the final farewell was not hasty, but became warm and timeless.
At the end of the film, there is no show of the father's funeral, nor does the family look sad and crying. Regarding the death of his father, only a simple shot is given:
Fumi returned to her father's empty study and returned the dictionary she had lent her earlier, calm, restrained, sadness hidden, and the past was turned over.
Then it goes straight to the family's new life.
Even if your father is gone, you have to face life positively. There is no depression, no decadence, everyone carries the vision of the deceased and lives well.
The body will grow old, the consciousness will be blurred, the memory will disappear, and the love that can be paid will always be felt by the other party and will never disappear.
With the advent of aging, not only in Japan, but also in the elderly, cognitive impairment will be a global problem, and it is not far away from everyone.
As of 2015, the number of people with dementia worldwide has reached 46.8 million, and it is expected to reach 74.7 million by 2030. The prevalence of dementia in people over 65 years old in China is 7.2%, higher than the global average of 6.2%.
In recent years, in order to let more people pay attention to dementia and give patients a better living environment and help, in addition to the [long farewell], more and more related film and television works have appeared in various countries, which not only shows the dilemma that dementia may bring, but also shows the brilliance of humanity in the process of "competing" with the disease for memory.
At the end of the TV series "All Is Well", his father Su Daqiang suffered from dementia, he forgot many things, but did not forget to buy a collection of middle school exam exercises for his daughter, and that love always existed.
On the night of Chinese New Year's Eve, the fireworks bloom behind him, and how much grievance and patience are left in the old year.
In the movie [Lucky Me], Hui Yinghong played Aunt Fen, who suffered from cognitive impairment, and Hui Yinghong said that her mother was also a cognitively impaired patient, "Playing this role, it is not difficult for me to perform, because I play my mother."
In the movie [Return], Feng Wanyu, played by Gong Li, "she can't remember anything, she remembers my bad", in the process of waiting, every tomorrow is the 5th for her, that is the day she is going to pick up her lover Lu Yanzhi.
In the animated film "Dream Quest", the cognitive impairment makes Grandma forget everyone in the family, but love reawakens her memory, because death is not terrible, it is completely forgotten, and that is the final farewell.
The seventh episode of the second season of the documentary "The Human World" also focuses on patients with cognitive impairment in hospitals, saying, "Every three seconds in this world, a person will be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, which is a serious cognitive disorder."
The elderly with this disease will gradually find their beds, sometimes use toothpaste to call their relatives, and some people will organize their lives into twenty-four photo albums, write on the back, look back and forth, afraid that they have forgotten...
The world of cognitively impaired patients is separated from ordinary people by a wall. Their emotional ups and downs, way of thinking, and behavior are different from ordinary people, and they will be abandoned in their own world, becoming chaotic, blank, and lonely.
Without a drug to cure the disease, the best cure is to break down the wall, accompany them, and embrace them.
Just like the variety show "Can't Forget the Restaurant", five elderly people with cognitive impairment are invited to serve as restaurant waiters, encourage them to participate in social activities, maintain an optimistic attitude towards life, and realize the significance of their existence to the people around them, so as to take care of the body and mind to alleviate the disease.
Can't Forget the Restaurant slogan: You can forget the whole world, I don't want to forget you
When these elderly people are accepted by society, those who have low self-esteem and timidity will also disappear, and they can also prevent other harms that cognitive impairment may bring.
Japanese documentary [I'm demented, please pay more attention!] ]
Illness deprives memory, but it does not deprive tenderness and love. The second season of "Strange Life" also said, "The meaning of life and companionship may be more than just saying I love you."
For patients with cognitive impairment, because the memory fades, the passage of time also slows down, so during this period, every moment of companionship will be elongated, and every word of concern will be scattered into countless notes, covering every day in the future. Just wait for them to pick it up by chance one day, and it will echo.
If the final parting is already doomed, then don't let the regret stay in the failure to say goodbye.