10 Years of Life (2022)

A reason to fear death, a reason to live.

Before meeting each other, both leads have this thing in common: they couldn't dream about the future, getting ready to die was something they couldn't stop thinking about. Matsuri knew she wouldn't live more than 10 years, Kazu had 0 reasons to be alive.

After getting closer, their lives changed, Kazu realized life could be beautiful, his life that until this time was monochrome , finally became colorful, falling in love changed his mindset, and even after getting rejected by the girl he loved so much he couldnt step back, now even if she couldnt accept his feelings, Kazu found another reason to live, he wanted to stay by Matsuri side and help her pass through those hard times, he thought someday she would be cured.

But for Matsuri, it was painful, when she first heard about her ilness she couldn't cry, seeing her family crying made her feel like she needed to be stronger than everyone, so with the thoughts of "there's nothing i can do about it" she denied her feels, denied her pain. But everything changed when she experienced the feeling of falling in love, spending her last
years with the one she loved made her finally realize how much she would be missing when her death time comes.

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Over The Past Ten Hours..

This film is the perfect example of what sets pieces from Japan apart from Westerns, Kdramas, etc. A delicate,heavy story woven by it’s magical Ost, sharp camera language, and effortlessly masterful performances. No where else will you have a similar style in similar executions. The heaviest of topics leading to self reflections that you’re not aware of until it ends.

The Last 10 Years leaves more questions than answers, and not for the film itself. After finishing the film i spent the past 10 hours falling in and out of sleep to the Ost on repeat and tears drawn to the rhythm. Why do such different situations and occurrences hit so close to home? What’s so similar in my own life that has me so empathetic of these characters? Why am I, a grown man, waking up 3 in the morning with puffy eyes over a movie? For fucks sake do i have to check if i wet the bed as well? Are all of these emotions simply the film or realizations from watching it?

I’m usually not a fan of the typical pacing dramas and films from japan, and it’s quite rare to spot one that steps outside of that norm and delivers a deliberate, smooth flow throughout. Especially considering the time restriction of films, taking your time to give more impact towards the climax will always have my upmost respect. Mix that with realistic dialogue,compelling performances, and a subtle melo tone and you got a work from japan at it’s very peak. THIS is what I watch these works for. THIS is what I can’t get anywhere else and feel the same uplifting overtones of a very dark, depressing story.

A slight flaw i find with almost any decent movie, especially ones this good, is that there’s always something more i want to see but not given. Some more fleshed out development instead of the bright, fluffy montages we received of our leads’ bond getting closer would’ve sufficed. Alas, the more you give me and the better it is, the more i want. There’s a very thin line of Perfect between the large margins of “Draggy” and “Not Enough” , this falls in the latter for me.

Films like this, in my opinion, are must watches not only nationally but internationally as well. Such heavy topics delivered in such an impactful way that teaches us things we never considered before needs the recognition. This level of quality is rare to come by. First love is rare to come across. Life itself is such a blessing that is rarely cherished amongst many of us the way it should be. Death is seen too much as this inevitable outcome that some unfortunately succumb to sooner than others. We sometimes empathize for selfish reasons. Some may want to end it all with no concerns of how it effects the people around them. Life can be this seemingly endless journey to a singular destination one wants to rush towards from unfortunate hands dealt, or it could be the journey itself as you cherish a blessing others aren’t given , with those around you through thick and thin that you’ve been lucky to have been dealt.

The Last Ten Years makes use of depressing desires to accentuate the appreciation and beauty of life and finding your own happiness in it. A masterful artwork i hope receives the attention and praise it deserves down the line.

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