Tag: review

ウォーターボーイズ – The Best Japanese Movie

Recently in class, we watched a swimming movie called ウォーターボーイズ (Water boys) about 5 high school students who have to put together a synchronized swimming show in time for the Tandano  Festival. They face challenges along the way such as basketball bullies, a pool full of fish, and no one willing to buy the tickets. At first, I really didn’t want to watch the movie because it looked really bad and I don’t like swimming. How will I be able to sit through watching a swimming movie? However, this turned out to be probably one of the best movies I’ve ever watched in terms of plot. The acting and the camera work was not phenomenal, but it’s all part of the movie’s charm. It’s definitely not like your normal movie, where someone falls in love with someone else and they have a happy ending. In fact, it’s quite the opposite! This movie is able to incorporate so many themes into an hour and a half; humor, romance, friendship, unification, etc. However, the main thing that separates this movie from the others is the fact that there are so many plot twists. This movie takes the traditional movie and completely changes it up. There are many times where I thought the story was going to go one way, and then it completely went a different direction, which was a nice change for once (Ex: At the aquarium., I thought Suzuki wasn’t going to leave the girl because people don’t normally just abandon someone on the bleachers, but then he runs off without saying anything to her). The movie just takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions. You think you like someone, but then you keep watching and then realize you actually hate them. Then later on, they do something to make you like them again, so you don’t know how you feel anymore. There are also so many different storylines going on at once that just fit so well together. At first you follow the story of Suzuki who just wants to swim and have a memorable last year of high school, you’re introduced to his friends, who also have lives, personalities, and feelings of their own. You get a glimpse into their personal lives, their past, and what led them to join synchro. You can’t really pinpoint an exact point in time where you realize you care about these 5 guys and care whether or not they succeed, but then at the end of the movie, when they execute their act, you feel so proud of them and how far they’ve come. Now that I’ve finished the movie, I’ve realised how a movie that’s not well shot or well acted out can still become a masterpiece in its plot and how the movie was written.