DVD Corner

The Harimaya Bridge Blu-ray/DVD Combo Review

“The Harimaya Bridge” feels like a low budget movie of the week.

The plot: After his artist son Mickey tragically dies in an acident, the ignorant, bigoted,  impatient, and insensitive Daniel travels to Japan to selfishly collect his son’s paintings that he actually gave away to others. While there, Daniel learns some surprising secrets about his son that may wind up changing his life as well as his views.

Under more capable hands, “The Harimaya Bridge” could have been an emotional, deep drama about redemption, love, and connections. Instead, it comes off as an awkward low budget indie in desparate need of rewrites and better editing to shave off the extraneous dialogue free scenes that cause the film to move at a deathly slow pace.

Luckily, the movie isn’t a complete waste thanks to the talented Japanese actresses Misono (as the cheerful Saita), Saki Takaoka (Noriko), and Misa Shimizu who carries the film as Yuiko (Daniel’s guide of sorts). All three of these actresses have the most likeable and well developed characters in the film. There’s not a bad note in any of their performances.

Summary: There’s a good film somewhere in here. As is, it’s just flat-out mediocre.

Video/Audio:

The widescreen 1080p picture quality is arguably the best thing about this two-disc set. Despite a few grainy shots, the cinematography featuring Japan locals is stunning to look out in hi-def. 

The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio track features Japanese and English languages since there are American and Japanese actors and actresses in the film. While a solid track, the dialogue sounds a bit low at times which forces the viewer to adjust audio levels.

Extras:
* DVD copy.
* Trailers for “The Legend Is Born: IP Man,” “Mushi-Shi,” “Daytime Drinking,” “Love And Honor,” “Tajomaru: Avenging Blade,” “The Sword With No Name,” “The Treasure Hunter,” “Goemon,” and Hong Kong Connection series.
* Cast interviews with Ben Guillory, Saki Takaoka, Misa Shimizu, and Danny Glover. The four chat about acting experiences, Japan, characters, etc.
* Staff interviews with Aaron Woolfolk and Masao Nakabori in which they discuss themes, characters, Japan, and more.

* A 21 minute making of that contains cast and crew interviews and set footage.
* A not so exciting commentary by Aaron Woolfolk. While there are a few interesting behind the scenes stories, there are also lots of silent spots and chatter about scenes that are happening (as if we didn’t know what was going on screen).

November 9, 2011 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review, DVD review | Danny Glover, Funimation, The Harimaya Bridge Blu-ray Review, The Harimaya Bridge DVD Review