Melancholic (2018)

Melancholic: Directed by Seiji Tanaka. With Yôji Minagawa, Yoshitomo Isozaki, Mebuki Yoshida, Makoto Hada. Kazuhiko, a graduate of a prestigious university, wasn’t enjoying his life, until he takes a job at a bathhouse. Then he discovers that the baths are used as a space for killing people after closing hours.

“The ingredients for a good movie are all there: interesting and fresh ideas, compelling story. The movie mixes comedy, action and drama efficiently. The charactersu0026#39; evolution is believable and it is easy to root for them, because we really get to know them: who they are, which is their story, which are their emotions. The pace may be slow for some, but I liked that the director took his time to tell his story. I was hooked from the beginning. Acting is overall good, nothing extraordinary, but the cast did the job properly, even though some interactions felt very forced, especially between Kazuhiko and Yuri.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWith all these positive elements, I wondered how the director could wrap the movie so roughly, without a proper climax. The ending is extremely disappointing and generic. I was expecting a big plot twist or a scene that would leave me speechless, but unfortunately this does not happen. The movie is very raw and unpolished, especially in the editing department. There are cuts that interrupt a scene abruptly, creating a lot of confusion. I had to come back a couple of times in order to understand the link between one sequence and another. Not a big deal, but it is still an issue, because in some parts the story does not flow at all. The shaky camera technique in my opinion is used way too much, even during some dialogues.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Melancholicu0026quot; is not a bad movie, but needed more work to be completed. Well, this is the very first film of Seiji Tanaka, and I am pretty sure that if he keeps working on his craft, he will improve both as a writer and director.”