Be With You/ Initial D

listening to jay chou's 'Yi Lu Xiang Bei'...
Managed to catch two films recently, namely "Be With You" and "Initial D".
Both adapted from print, but the similarity ends here.


Be With You

Story Plot:

Mom dies, but promises to return during the rainy season a year after her passing.
Dad and Boy go on with lives as normal, yet there are subtle hints to indicate their wordless sorrows. The father and son bond is touching, especially when they try to accomodate each other as much as they can.
I mean, would you mask blackened eggs with ketup and eat them up so Dad will not feel guilty? And would you try to overcome claustrophobia so Son can go to a funfair?

Rain comes. Mom suddenly reappears, minus her memories. She has no recollection of the past and can't remember either of them. The story unfolds as the family tries to rebuild itself, once again forging the ties that have been broken. How the male and female leads fell in love was so puppy-love sweet and touching, I almost believed in love again.

Kay's Verdict:

Great weepy show, best watched with other gal pals and remember to share the tissue. Being the jaded person, I managed to sit through the show unscathed, though I did offer my Kleenax to the loud sniffing Japanese lady beside me.
Oh, don't worry about the scene where Mom returns. Nothing like 'Ghost' or some silly supernatural flicks. The explanation is plausible. Reminds me of the book 'Time Traveller's wife'.


Initial D

Story Plot:

Throw in some car chase scenes, pieces of BGR, glimmers of love-hate ties between father and son. Top it off with popular Asian male actors and flashy sets of wheels. Voila! A top grossing film. Who cares about plots? What plot?

Kay's Verdict:

Jay Chou is passable when required to brood, but he couldn't handle emotional scenes too well. And if you're hoping to recapture the essence of the anime on big screen, I pray you give up the idea. Tim was grousing non-stop at the end of the movie that it was a letdown. But then again, Tim's confessed that he can be quite a bitch.