| HUSH! |
 2001 –
Japan
Director: Ryosuke Hashiguchi - Reviewed by Linda
Well, actually, it's not so simple. When Asako tracks the kind man down to return his umbrella, she abruptly asks him to father a child for her. Sure she knows he's gay, and that he has his boyfriend Nayoya (Seiichi Tanabe), but she expects nothing from them in return, other than, well, the initial "deposit". This is indeed a baffling request from a stranger, but Katsuhiro is such a kind-hearted man, that he kind of feels sorry for Asako, and finds himself considering the proposition, much to the shock of Nayoya. Some viewers may find Hush! slow-paced—which it is. But I found it unusual in that the film took its time to introduce the three main characters to us. We see each of them on storyline tangents where the others aren't necessarily involved. These people all had, and still have, lives independent of each other (whether it just be at their workplaces, or going home to visit their families). As they slowly come together to make an odd sort of makeshift family of their own, it is then much more believable. Whether or not they choose to have a baby together slowly becomes an afterthought, as it becomes clear that they've all adopted each other anyway. Hush! is a sweet film, and a gentle drama—rewarding for those with the patience to enjoy the casual pace of the storytelling. |
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Asako
(Reiko Kataoka) is a lonely professional single woman who is tired of her
affairs with loser men. What she really wants is to have a child, but there are
no decent suitors in sight. One depressingly dismal and rainy day, she finds
herself eating alone in a noodle restaurant sitting near two discreetly gay men
trying to meet for a nice lunch away from work. When they all leave the
restaurant, sweet-natured engineer Katsuhiro (Kazuya Takahashi) notices the
distressed woman and loans her his umbrella. Thus begins a beautiful
friendship....
