It's Only Talk

It's Only Talk
It's Only Talk film poster
Directed byRyūichi Hiroki
Written byAkiko Itoyama (original book)
Haruhiko Arai (screenplay)
Produced byAkira Morishige
StarringShinobu Terajima
Etsushi Toyokawa
Akira Emoto
Shunsuke Matsuoka
Nao Omori
Tomorowo Taguchi
Satoshi Tsumabuki
CinematographyKazuhiro Suzuki
Edited byJunichi Kikuchi
Music byNido
Distributed byGold View Co., Ltd (international)
Release dates
  • November 23, 2005 (2005-11-23) (Tokyo FILMeX)
  • June 10, 2006 (2006-06-10) (Japan)
Running time
126 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

It's Only Talk (やわらかい生活) is a Japanese film, released in 2005 and is based on the prizewinning novel of the same title written by Akiko Itoyama and directed by Ryūichi Hiroki.

Plot summary

"Kamata Town: not an ounce of chic..." "Perhaps I should move there..." So begins Yuko's story.

Yuko, is 35 years old; unemployed, single and is on medication to combat manic depression. There are a number of men in Yuko's life:

  • her college friend, Homma, now a member of parliament;
  • K, a confessed pervert who she meets on the Internet;
  • Yasuda, a manic depressive young gang member;
  • Soichi, Yuko's cousin who separated from his wife and child, and was also dumped by his mistress.

Yuko seems to create a different persona depending on whom she is talking to at the time. By the end of the movie, Yuko knows that she needs more than what Soichi and the other men in her life can give her. We all need a soft life—the literal meaning of "Yawarakai Seikatsu"—once in a while, but as Yuko discovers, there's also something to be said for this hard thing called reality.

Cast

Shinobu Terajima as Yuko.

Etsushi Toyokawa plays Yuko's cousin, Shoichi.

Shunsuke Matsuoka plays Homma, Yuko's old time friend.

Tomorowo Taguchi plays a self-confessed pervert, "K". In normal life "K" is married and works as an architect.

Satoshi Tsumabuki plays Noboru, the manic depressive gang member. Yuko meets him through the Internet.

Production

Producer: Akira Morishige

Cinematographer: Kazuhiro Suzuki

Screenwriter: Haruhiko Arai

Original novel written by: Akiko Itoyama

It's Only Talk's message

It's Only Talk not only highlights the illness of manic depression, it also suggests ways to care for the patient. The film suggests that through tender loving care, and by acknowledging their reality, and seeking help as patients, people suffering from manic depression could get better.

Awards

See also

References