Hirokazu Koreeda-Maboroshi no hikari ('Illusory Light') (1995)

Acclaimed as one of the finest Japanese films of the decade, Maborosi is a story of great love, inexplicable loss, and at last, hope and regeneration. Haunted by the mysterious loss of her grandmother, a beautiful young mother (Makiko Esumi as Yumiko) inextricably fears her eternal devotion brought forth the disheartening fate of her true love. Seeking serenity, Yumiko remarries and with her young son moves to her new husband's home in a remote village on the wild, untamed sea of Japan. There, with time, she awakens to find love, understanding, happiness and an enlightening sense of peace. New Yorker




Hirokazu Kore-eda's haunting, graceful Japanese film features a concentrated and powerfully reserved performance by Makiko Esumi as Yumiko, a young woman whose life is defined by the death and disappearance of her loved ones. As a child, she witnessed her grandmother's walking away from her family; as an adult, she must face the fact that her husband has committed suicide. (--Dave Kehr - Editorial Reviews - Amazon.com)




Impeccably lit and framed, this self-consciously classical first feature blends characteristics of two of the great Japanese masters: a sensitive portrait of a woman's suffering is reminiscent of Mikio Naruse and a serene, minimalist style is suggestive of Yasujiro Ozu. At times, Kore-eda seems to be trudging too dutifully in the path of his illustrious predecessors, and there is little in the film that could be qualified as original. Yet Maborosi remains convincing in its subtle, sustained moods and the quiet confidence of its approach. (--Dave Kehr - Editorial Reviews - Amazon.com)




A young woman's husband apparently commits suicide without warning or reason, leaving behind his wife and infant. Yumiko remarries and moves from Osaka to a small fishing village, yet continues to search for meaning in a lonely world. (http://imdb.com/title/tt0113725/plotsummary)




Japanese documentarian Hirokazu Kore-eda made his first dramatic feature with this austere drama, which recalls the visual and narrative style of Yasujiro Ozu. dvdasian