Wednesday, May 5, 2010

SMILE



SPRING 2009

Since there are so many dramas each year, I usually pick one or two that did well in ratings per season. The viewership for Smile was not so high, but I love Nakai Kiichi and I knew that Matsumoto Jun and Aragaki Yui were popular. I gave this drama a shot and I was honestly surprised by the depth of the story as well as the characters. Hayakawa Vito played by Matsumoto Jun, is a young half Filipino half Japanese man who grew up enduring racism and prejudices. The past always seems to catch up with Vito as he tries to overcome his fears with the help of Mishima Hana (Aragaki Yui) and Ito Kazuma (Nakai Kiichi).

After watching various dramas, I ask myself if I learned anything from the story. I think it was a great idea to show how some people fall into the trap of "judging a book by its cover." I know that Japan is still mostly a homogeneous country and although my parents are Japanese, I was born and raised in the U.S. I felt the pain that Vito experienced when he was misunderstood. I also could empathize with Nakai Kiichi's character of being ashamed of who you are. The experiences that these characters went through hit home and I felt myself wanting to watch what would happen next.

I've watched a few movies with Nakai Kiichi and I always thought he was a versatile actor. In Smile, I think he did a wonderful job of adding a strong persona to his character who was a stubborn and talented lawyer, but also had a painful past. Matsumoto Jun did well to portray Vito as a kind, hard working young man. Aragaki Yui's also did well, although I did remember wishing that she could speak (Mishima Hana lost her voice because of a tragic event in her past).

Recommendation: I highly recommend this drama. It is about people who are haunted by the past, but through hope and love, they try to move forward with their lives. Nakai Kiichi is great, Aragaki Yui is very cute and Matsumoto Jun will definitely leave you with a smile.

STORY: 1
ACTING: 1
DIRECTING: 0.5
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: 1
EMOTIONAL FACTOR: 1

4.5 OUT OF 5 CROWNS

2 comments:

  1. Matsumoto Jun being discriminated against being a half Filipono did not make any sense at all... therefore i thought the whole premise of this drama was pretty weak... He speaks Japanese, has citizenship and looks very Japanese... why the hell is he being discriminated :/ :?
    i left this drama after 1 or 2nd episodes... was not very interesting despite the excellent casting.

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  2. Yeah, that is a little strange now that I think about it because he doesn't look that different from a Japanese person. The story was still pretty good though :)

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