User Reviews

The short film, a moment is the story of people who are struggling. People live while they have something like anxiety or distress. The film reminded me of it. At the beginning of the film, I did not find the theme of it, but in the middle of the film, I understood when I saw the clock which shows 2:46 p.m. The theme was the earthquake in March 11th, 2011 which caused a huge damage to the east and north area of Japan. My hometown, Sendai city in Miyagi prefecture also suffered huge damage since the center of the earthquake shock was off the coast of Miyagi. At that time, I was sixth-grade of elementary school. When I was cleaning the gym with my friends, the shock struck us. The gym made a very big noise because of the shock and I thought it was the end of the world. Though I did not lose my family and relatives, I lost landscapes of my familiar places. For example, my mother's hometown, Taro town in Iwate prefecture which has a very long breakwater was hit by tsunami and became a pile of rubbish after the earthquake. I felt a big sense of loss and fully realized the cruelty of natural disaster. Those who in the film seem to have a bigger damage than me. They lost their family, but they overcome the tragedy and advance to their future. I was encouraged by their action.

This film is about a serious earthquake which happened on 11th March in 2011, east of Japan. There're four people who are living normally, but at the moment, the world stops flowing. I like this film for two points. First, there's no dialogue. They express their struggling and sadness by their motion, looks on their faces, and sounds. We can feel their real emotions by these more than verbal expressions. It's a good way to express something non-verbal, but because of it, you might not enjoy this film if you don't know about the earthquake. Second: the moment the time stops. Everyone stops, closes their eyes and starts praying for their loved ones. It sounds like there flowing a holy time. After a few seconds of praying, they start their lives again as if nothing has happened. I like this moment of returning to their anonymities. To sum up, I like this film, but it's a bit difficult for people who don't know the earthquake to understand and enjoy.

When I watched this film, memories of earthguake came back to my mind. Many people witnessed the rage of nature. At first, a man from abroad appeared. And also the stage was Japan, so I am interneted in the film. After that, a woman and two men appeared. Although this film proceeds focusing on those four people, I didn't understand what the film conveys. What I could understand was what everyone was struggling. I finally realized when the date and time "14:46" March 11 appeared on the foreign man's smartphone. This scene gave me a wake-up call. I could understand how deep thier heartache is. In this film, there were no scenes that people were talking. By only using images, we concentrate on character's facial expression and think about people's feeling and situation. As a result, we can understand the meaning of the film more deeply.

A moment is a short film about some people who have experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake.

The music of the film is very beautiful, and tone and color of the film are very dark which clearly and vividly showed how people in the film feels. Every single person in the film looks very sad, lonely and isolated probably because of the loss of someone important to him/her or because of their poor living conditions resulted from the earthquake.

I also thought that the film is trying to show loneliness as a social issue in modern society. Nowadays, more people believe in individualism than they used to, and they try to solve their own problems by themselves. Also, there is less interpersonal relationship between people. People started avoiding involving with other people deeply because it is sometimes troublesome. I sometimes feel very isolated and lonely without a reason, and sometimes feel that I want to give up on building a relationship with people. However, the message I received from this film was that "you are not alone, there is someone who feels the same way with you do, so it's okay, don't be afraid of involving with people around you". I think this is a film which gives a viewer an energy to overcome sadness or loneliness.

When I watched this film, I didn't know at first what it is about because only a man was angry, the other man was walking with a backpack, and a woman was practicing acting for a dream. However, after a while, I could understand that people prayed in silent at the moment it happened the Great East Japan Earthquake, notice that there was a wound in their heart, and feel that there was a message though there was no conversation. Some people may have forgotten about March 11, 2011, but I thought that the victims remember that day and go forward little by little. Also, I think that people sympathize with this film and felt something if they watch it.

A moment is about a 311 serious earthquake in East Japan. First, everyone is living their normal lives. Then, suddenly, they all saw a message in smartphone. Suddenly, they became sad and numb. They couldn't walk out from the pain of losing the people they love, until they saw everyone standing still, closing their eyes, praying for those people. They suddenly understood that they are not alone, not only lots of people shared the same feelings with them but also people stopped their busy life to pay respect and warmth to those who died. And in the end, they found their strength again towards life and move on. There is no dialogue inside the whole film, only music and scenes. I saw perfect visual storytelling skill. I also want to note that the main characters, one of them is not Asian face. It reflects that now in Japan, there are a portion of "foreigners," which are living inside Japan. They are not Asian face, not the original Japanese, but they are deeply bonding with Japan, and also their beloved ones are also Japanese. And they shared the same feelings with original Japanese. As a foreigner, I hope that by watching this short film, Japanese people can understand better that we are human, although we might be born educated, and thinking differently, we are the same with them. There is no need to be afraid of us, or to keep distance with us.

Some people seem to be stuck in their life, but then they realize what they need to do, overcome the struggle and start moving on after "a moment." I like a film strategy that the first scene which is confusing makes a perfect scene at the end of the story. This film is one of the films that use the strategy, and audience will notice what "a moment" means at almost the end of the story. I enjoyed figuring out what will be going on in the film and also could not expect it at all. This film uses a multi-protagonist structure meaning that a movie consists of several people's story. I like this structure because it keeps audience from being bored and makes them keep thinking about each story. However, I couldn't understand a few character's stories. Although there is no dialogue in this film, some people's stories are apparent and easy to understand. I could see the characters' feeling through their facial expression and behavior but not their background. The tone of this film is overall sad and anxious but became hopeful at the end. I liked the transition, and I am sure that it is effective to deliver the message that the writer or director wanted to tell.

In 'a moment', there are people. An American man can't forget his girlfriend. A girl who belongs to a theater company builds an emotional wall. A man who takes over his father's restaurant feels too much responsibility. An office worker has kindness, but he can't be obedient. They don't know each other. However they try to change themselves at the same moment and it was the time when the earthquake occurred. This film shows people's complicated feelings, so it is not easy to understand everything at first, but it is very meaningful and impressive. I can't understand the meaning of some actions, but I can develop an understanding because I discussed with my friends. I think we have to be honest with ourselves. In this film, they started to be honest after the time when earthquake occurred. I think there are many opportunities to face ourselves and our friends, families, colleagues and other people. Time is limited, and I want to enjoy my life, so I will be honest with myself. I want to be a person who is kind to people around me.

This film, "a moment" is a non-dialogue film. In this film, there are four main characters and each of them have different problems. They are suffered from those, and one day overcome them because they met "a moment". I think most of people who are living in Japan or familiar to this country for more than 10 years would recognize what title means when you see the clock and a behavior of people. Even though I was young boy at that time and I just watched what happened on TV, I still remember what happened clearly for 10 years. After that disaster happened, this country changed so much. Many people lost many things. However, while we are living, we have to overcome millions of difficulties, which includes the moment. From this film, I thought those characters could overcome their problems like people who experienced the moment tried to overcome it.

This short film "A moment" was directed by Akira Sasaki. The drama features four international figures in some kind of dissatisfaction. They lead their melancholic life, but 'a moment' makes a change in their mind and life. In my opinion, visual expressions clearly displayed the feelings of the protagonists. Firstly, we can consider the setting of lights. For instance, a Japanese worker looked bothered in his dark room. However, at the end, he was on a brightly lit train, and his face showed his agony was got rid of. This contrast indicates his emotion shifted. Moreover, facial expressions of the protagonists are awesome. Especially, a Taiwanese cook, who mourns his father's death, did a great job. Even without any words, his acting performance showed his suffering and deep sorrow. Throughout this visual approach, I felt emotional, and really impressed. Having said that, I found some unrealistic aspects. After 'the moment', they looked so refreshed. The scene made me wonder why their agony was gone so soon. Some scenes are not plausible for me, but I recommend this film because it is a good reminder of 'the moment'.

This short drama was made in 2012. In this story, there are four main characters who live in different places. They don't know each other, but what they have in common is that they feel lonely. They are inspired by 'a moment'. In my opinion, this story conveys a message that you're not alone no matter how painful things are for you. By noticing they're not alone, they can move forward. In this movie, although this movie has no dialogue, each situation which they are in is expressed by their facial expressions, their belongings like a picture, a ticket, a photograph of a deceased father, two cans of coffee, and so on. Especially, we can read their loneliness in their eyes and the camera is focused on them. Besides, what 'a moment' is doesn't appear directly, but it is implied by a certain time. When it comes to a certain time, some people stop walking and think with their eyes closed. Also, the camera is focused on a certain time displayed on some clocks. The camerawork gives some hints. This movie encourages you to overcome sadness or difficulty, so it is worth seeing.

"A moment" is a short drama film. There are four main characters, and each of them lives in the present while feeling isolated. At 2:46 p.m. On March 11, all people in Japan are reminded of the Great East Japan earthquake and they start to pray silently. After that, how do they take a step forward?

This movie depicts the lives of people in reality. For example, an American man travel around Japan thinking about his girlfriend, a salaried worker gets frustrated because he cannot be kind to his subordinate, a woman suffers from human relations and leaves from a training room, and a Taiwanese man thinks of his late father. In this way, each of them lives differently and every person feels lonely. These things apply to the audience, so we can sympathize. Also, this movie gives us courage. The audience will try to make the most of every moment after seeing the scene in which people think about the day of Great East Japan earthquake, and try to move forward. If you are losing sight of the importance of daily life, it is worth seeing this film.

At the beginning, I didn't get the reason why they cried or shouted like that, but the latest part, the time changed to 2:46, I got that it might mean the big earthquake in 2011. There are no dialogues, so everything felt meaningful. Each character thinks of the person in the pictures and prays for it. I can't believe that it's already years ago. At that time, I was the 6th grade of elementary school and watched that disaster on every TV or newspaper. It reminds me of the date and the feelings. I can get the meaning of 2:46 because I'm also the one who experienced that disaster, but I thought that the people who are younger than me can't understand the meaning, so that's one difficulty of this film.

There isn't any dialogue at any time in the film. Although we could see each character saying something in the film. the background music always covers it. Also, there are so letters either on texts, advertisements or anything. So, this film seems to want the audience to understand its content only visually and aurally. Then, in that way, the message that this film wants to send us, I suppose, is that people who hit bottom can sense or recognize others in the same/similar situation. That is told by the scene where the two pairs of them stand at the same place by chance probably. However, I still don't know why they seem to feel better after bumping to each other as complete strangers.

Review may contain spoilers. A Moment is a very interesting film that leaves the audience in the dark for the majority of the film. Throughout the beginning people are going about their lives struggling in someway or another. The audience is left to wonder why until a bit over halfway through the film. At this point the film focuses on a time and date and the people within the movie stop doing everything, taking a moment to remember what had occurred and those they lost. From there the film goes about having the people within it try to overcome their struggles realizing those they lost would prefer it that way. A Moment is a truly significant film as it is about the aftermath of a tragic event that occurred in Japan; that being the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, which occurred on March 11th. For those not in the know about this event the film may lose some of its impact.

The movie has various characters who are facing difficulties in their life in Japan. Which turned out that they had lost important people in the 3.11 earthquake. There is no dialog at all, although, the beautiful music and how the characters are projected is touching. The actors might not be professional but because the concept of 3.11 I was really moved by their acting. You may have a strong feeling of empathy as a Japanese. The screenwriting is not well articulated, though. There are many scenes that are difficult to understand or simply useless. What people understand from the movie is really abstract and not balanced in how to tell the details. For instance, I never understood why the girl and the salaryman in the movie were suffering while the other characters obviously have lost close people. The scene that amazed me was the scene of people praying for 3.11. It was beautiful. It was a little exaggerated but the atmosphere that creates people closing their eyes in the center of Tokyo express the grief of the earthquake and the story. The smartphone screen shows "3.11, 14:46". It was the only dialog(or information) provided but it was essential and perfect. No more explanation by words or numbers was needed.

I understood the purpose of the movie. But the way it was shot seemed really cliché and kind of cheap to me. The way characters have their own problems, but then meet by coincidence, looking at each others as if they knew they were figures of a film looks, for me, quite clumsy. Of course at the end, as it is always the case in real life - this is well-known -, they all miraculously solve their problems and have a happy ending.

Also, it's really hard to empathise with the characters because some of their issue don't seem very clear and you're just like "Ok, what's the problem with this girl? Why isn't she happy?" Is the salary man secretly in love with his subordinate ? Because it's how interpreted it. The absence of dialogue is not a matter per se but here, the images don't talk enough for themselves, so it just doesn't work...

The image of the American guy who goes on a journey to Japan to forget about a hurtful break-up is not really original and as I said earlier, it's really hard to empathise with him because seeing him looking at a picture of his girlfriend on his (very old) phone - which is once more very original -, with his big backpack just make you think he's the archetype of the "gaijin" (a pejorative word designating foreigners in Japan).

Finally, I don't know if this short film was supposed to be oriented more towards Japanese or Occidental audiences but in my opinion, I don't think it manages to bring the message it wants to convey originally. And it's really a shame...

This short film starts with the scene of four people with serious faces who seem not to be happy. Each has their own job and own life. However, on the important day for them, they all do the same thing, thinking about their loved ones. At the beginning of the film, about for 5 or 6 minutes, I didn't understand what was going on. They suddenly start crying and the images give no information why. The characters seem not to be friends, they are not even acquaintances, which makes me puzzled. However, one important scene which only shows the time and the date makes me realise that it is about the historical incident which we should never forget. I think if this film told us the theme at the very beginning of the film, it would be really boring. The filmmakers must have thought not telling the whole theme and its message for a while should make its impact much stronger. Another distinctive point of this film is an international perspective. They are three different nationalities, American, Taiwanese, and Japanese. The tragedy portrayed was not about only Japan. Even though it happened in Japan, not only Japanese people but also other nationalities have been suffering from the painful incident. There have been so many campaigns, like cheering "Japanese" people and "Japan" just because it happened in Japan, however, it might be a bit beside the point. We might have missed one point; it wasn't a Japanese-thing but a world-thing. I suppose the filmmakers successfully tell us our overlooked point and give us a new perspective, using very effective camerawork and the change of the characters' facial expressions. If you go and see the film at a cinema, this film will definitely convey a very strong impression and message. You should watch the film.