The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme: A Banana? At This Time of Night? (Konna yofuke ni banana kayo: Kanashiki jitsuwa)
The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme ©2018 A Banana? At This Time of Night?
Tetsu Maeda's A Banana? At This Time of Night? is a compelling melodramatic drama with a strong hint of romance and comedy. Wonderfully chaotic throughout, it all but flounders with the excessive running time, turbulent characters and romance sub-plot.
Maeda's film is undoubtedly compelling, with its sporadically uplifting and harrowing subject matter of living with Muscular Dystrophy. However, it is not particularly informative on the disease itself, an overall lacking and underwhelming aspect of this feature. With the lack of education on such a complex disease involved, what takes over the screen is the romantic subplot and character arcs that don't quite liven this feature up enough.
The romance is continuously turbulent and melodramatic, almost to the point of oblivion. The film never dives deep into the relationship or background of Misaki Ando and Hisashi Tanaka, played by Mitsuki Takahata and Haruma Miura respectively. Thus the engagement value is frequently wavering and, before long, loiters on being somewhat insufferable.
The character arcs create a slight issue with the feature. At one hundred and twenty minutes, there is a lack of intrigue or growth. The film is consistently made up of the same thematic scene played and then replayed again. Not only does it slowly but surely become dull, it undeniably weakens the emotional connection to Yô Ôizumi's Yasuaki Kano, who puts forward a significant turn with decent range.
Nevertheless, Ôizumi's character is written in such a manner that the audience actively dislikes his character from the get-go, an attribute the film never wants to rectify. The first act, in particular, showcases the character in a negative, almost abusive light, and with such a turn, the filmmakers have to continually try and convince the audience they are rooting for a protagonist and not an antagonist.
Tetsu Maeda's A Banana? At This Time of Night? is a fine and content melodrama but could have been so much more — not only in regards to depth and emotional weight but to highlight the plight of the care system in Japan. Made more disappointing, the central performance is non-disabled and not, in fact, an accurate representation of the disease showcased on screen.
This review is brought to you with the help from Dave Garratt and The Square Chapel of Arts Centre in Halifax. Who without their kind generosity could not have made this review possible
