eureka - review

Eureka (Yûreka), one of my favourite films, is a movie directed by Shinji Aoyama. Interestingly, as I was preparing this review, I have read that it is considered to be THE finest Japanese film of the last decade. It is a sepia-coloured, over 3 hours long, slow-paced film, with little dialogue and soundtrack. It is characterized by documentary - style long - shots and excellent cinematography, composition and editing. And indeed, even though it's long (I watched it in two sessions), there is nothing unnecessary about this movie and every second of it is essential for the entire whole.

The story evolves around the three survivors of a violent bus hijacking: a bus driver and two young siblings. This trauma will eventually mark their lives in various aspects. Two years later, the bus driver leaves his wife, is kicked out of his brother's home and is in search of a place to stay. Interestingly, he manages to find the two children, who had shared the unfortunate hijacking experience with him. But he finds them living alone, abandoned by their mother after the death of their father. These characters then embark on a journey and drive aimlessly in (ironically) a bus across the country. A series of murders complicates the plot and suggests a dark secret that will eventually be revealed towards the end. In short, it is a story about people, who help each other in their spiritual search of something they don't know they were looking for.

It would be too superficial to categorize the film as a draggy, pretentious art - film documentation of three people trying to overcome a deep trauma. In fact, even though slow-paced, this story has elements of a road movie, a drama, a slice - of - life comedy and a psychological thriller. Believe me when I say, it is worth sitting through its entire length and witnessing the characters' rediscovery of life.

I find it amazing how such intensity and complexity of feelings can be conveyed by such simplicity. It achieves what other movies may never be able to, it is moving without being pathetic. It is clean. It is elegant. It is one of the few movies of a very rare and powerful sensibility. And it definetely speaks a different language than anything else you've watched before.

Below is a taster for this wonderful film:

Read an interview with the director on Midnight Eye. Poster source