in the details

I saw "No Country for Old Men"...it was odd (go figure, Coen bros) but interesting. And being award show season, there are TONS of great films (um, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"!) out there. But what I'm actually reminded of are 2 great movies I recently saw on my good old DVD player. I finally got "Nobody Knows" and (from a friend's rec) "After Life" which are 2 amazing compositions by director and writer, Hirokazu Kore-eda. They are both sad and quirky and beautiful and most of all, honest. "Nobody Knows" is about 4 children who are abandoned by their mother in Tokyo - who are living in their own sheltered world and facing the real world all at the same clashing time. "After Life" takes place in a "location" after death, where people are asked to select only 1 moment from their life to bring to eternity. Different characters have different ways in thinking and dealing with this. Made me wonder what I would choose and I don't think I have the answer..quite yet. But Kore-eda has such a way to tell a story. It's hard to find good writers and directors at the same time, but K has an eye for detail - and I think that's what makes his movies so wonderful. Anyways, "Maborosi" is on my Netflix cue but I highly recommend these other 2 when you have a moment.