Aoi tori (2008)

Director:

Kenji Nakanishi

Writers:

Kiyoshi Shigematsu (based upon the novel)
Kenzaburô Iida (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

29 November 2008 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Hiroshi Abe	...	Mr. Murauchi
Kanata Hongô	...	Shinichi Sonobe
Ayumi Ito	...	Ms. Shimazaki
Hajime Inoue	...	Mr. Ishino
Osamu Shigematu	...	Mr. Miyazaki
Hiroyuki Kishi	...	Mr. Koizumi
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Shûta Aoki
Moe Arai	...	Hayakawa
Yûko Araki	...	Katayama
Nao Ishizaki
Hiroto Itô
Moe Karasawa
Shôhei Kawakami
Takuya Koizumi
Ryô Minami
Moe Miura
Tomi Nakaho
Tatsuya Suzuki	...	Umeda
Taiga	...	Inoue
Riho Takagi	...	Chiba
Yûki Takagi
Taiga Tanaka
Kazuhiro Yamaga
Kazuya Yamazaki	...	Noguchi

Also Known As:

The Blue Bird (International: English title)

Runtime:

Japan:105 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Company:

Bandai Visual Company

Blue Bird

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

"Aoi Tori" is a movie about bullying in Japan. A student transferred to another school after an attempted suicide due to bullying. The movie starts with a substitute teacher (Abe Hiroshi) arriving to the junior high school, and brings the transfer student's desk back into the classroom. This inevitably causes friction and conflicts between the teacher and students (and their parents).

As I expected, acting was superb. Abe Hiroshi was great as usual in strange roles, this time a stuttering teacher. He successfully depicted the earnest teacher who was eager to teacher what is right and wrong to his students. He spoke very little, but his words had weighed heavily on me. Hongou Kanata, who I believe often fall victim to poor casting, was actually perfect for his role this time. Interactions between Abe and Hongou were wonderful.

Music for this movie, especially the theme song was just simply amazing. Really sets the mood for this movie.

I guess I was a bully in elementary school (I attended in Japan). Just like the kids in this movie, I didn't realize what I was doing was bullying until the guy stopped showing up to school. "Aoi Tori" explored what bullying really was, and how the current standard system in Japan, which involves in writing "letter of repentance" is ineffective corrective action to bullying and other problems.

The message this movie conveyed in the very end really struck my heart. That we should never get over our sins, never forget it and take responsibility in our actions, and live with it for rest of our lives. Tears just wouldn't stop flowing out of my eyes as the theme song started playing in the end. Where "School Days with a Pig" had failed, this film taught an important lesson in life. Easy 10/10.

On a side note, this is my 100th review on IMDb, I'm a little surprised I've written so many reviews, mostly on Japanese movies, in just 2 years. Especially since I only comment on movies that left strong enough impression on me to write at least 10 lines (IMDb requirement). All my reviews are based on my personal opinions and often consist of my personal reflections, but I hope there are people out there who find my reviews helpful, and I hope I can continue to write hundreds more in the future.