Kikujirô no natsu

This is a film about a young child (Masao) accompanied on a journey to meet his mother. He's accompanied by a rather angry and grumpy man (Kikujiro), who barely knows the child by all accounts. It's a bit random and certainly pretty quirky but I also thought it had quite a dreamlike feel to it, with soft lighting at times and some scenes depicting what appear to be dream type sequences, with symbolic figures from, I assume, Japanese culture doing choreographed moves and the like. It definitely has an arty feel to it at times. I found the grumpy old man quite amusing, even though most people likely wouldn't - he isn't someone you'd want to annoy, or you'd never hear the end of it, that's for sure. The two main characters seem very much like fish out of the proverbial water, given their clothes and looks. The music played helps to add to the emotional feel of some scenes - it adds a feeling of affection to the two main characters - Kikujiro may be mostly unlikeable but there's something appealing about the way the two of them muddle on somehow. I liked seeing the lighter side of the mans character, when he attempts to 'entertain'. It was surprisingly funny at times, although also somewhat sad too. Yes, I'd recommend this film.

If you are finding something hilarious, with some point of Japanese-flavour nonsenses, and at the same time you don´t mind emotional chapters, this is a very good choice

Warm and funny, and even sad at parts, Kikujiro is just a simple, lighthearted movie with absolutley beautiful music. And honestly wouldn't be near as good without it.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]