The Long Excuse

2016 [JAPANESE]

Action / Drama

7
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 87% · 6 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 87%
IMDb Rating 7.2/10 10 1379 1.4K

marriage loss grief bereavement family widower

Plot summary

A recently widowed writer whose wife died in a bus crash comes to terms with his grief—or lack of it—in caring for the children of a working man who also lost his wife in the same accident.

Director

Miwa Nishikawa Photo
Miwa Nishikawa

Top cast

Izumi Matsuoka Photo
Izumi Matsuoka
Pistol Takehara Photo
Pistol Takehara as Yoichi Omiya
Tamaki Shiratori Photo
Tamaki Shiratori as Akari Omiya
Maho Yamada Photo
Maho Yamada as Teacher
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
1.11 GB
1280*682
Japanese 2.0
NR
Subtitles cn  
23.976 fps
2 hr 4 min
Seeds ...
2.29 GB
1920*1024
Japanese 5.1
NR
Subtitles cn  
23.976 fps
2 hr 4 min
Seeds 3

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by xmm-98128 6 / 10

A good film but lacks a few more moves

I really liked this film because it met my expectations: the typically Japanese sensibility, the representation of life as one could live it. The story as a whole is interesting and the initial idea quite powerful. On the other hand, I thought it would touch me more deeply. While the whole thing is pleasant to watch, thanks to the quality of the framing and the acting, it nevertheless tends to drag without being overwhelming emotions. I do, however, recognize the quality of the screenplay, where "the circle is complete," an appreciable trait of good Japanese cinema. In summary, it is a film to see, without reaching the heights of certain other films dealing with these subjects (family, adoption, etc.), such as the films of Kore-Eda.
Reviewed by net_orders 8 / 10

Riveting

There is an old expression that may go something like: "You can't really miss me 'til I'm gone" to which this film might add: "forever, unexpectedly, and seemingly in a flash." The movie provides an emotionally powerful examination of the lingering impact of sudden death on those who live on by focusing on a philandering husband who was in a childless marriage, a hardworking absentee father, and this dad's two estranged young children. Both men (who were initially strangers) lose their wives (who were close friends) in a ski holiday bus accident. The tale is filled with regret, sadness, fear, and humor as well as many life-wise philosophical points of view and suggestions for the viewer to entertain. A tour de force by Director Miwa Nishikawa who also wrote the screenplay. The cast is excellent and principal characters are richly delineated under the guidance of the Director who also elicits very realistic performances from the two child actors (no easy task to pull off!) who steal every scene they are in (which is most of the movie!). Actresses Tamaki Shiratori (playing a precocious preschooler) delivers many of the best lines. Cinematography and lighting are fine. Music is a bit heavy on violins at the beginning. Subtitles can be inadequate with humorous line readings truncated or skipped entirely. Text on computer screens and cell phones is usually not translated leaving the viewer wondering what is going on and why. Some closing credits are translated. Highly recommended. Viewed at Japan Society (NY) Flash Forward Film Event (2021) and JAS CineMatsuri (2017). WILLIAM FLANIGAN.
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