Oh Lucy! (2017 film)

Last updated
Oh Lucy!
Oh Lucy! (2017 film).jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Atsuko Hirayanagi
Screenplay by
Based on Oh Lucy!
by Atsuko Hirayanagi
Produced byHan West
Yukie Kito
Jessica Elbaum
Atsuko Hirayanagi
Starring
CinematographyPaula Huidobro
Edited byKate Hickey
Music by Erik Friedlander
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • May 22, 2017 (2017-05-22)(Cannes)
  • March 2, 2018 (2018-03-02)(United States)
  • April 28, 2018 (2018-04-28)(Japan)
Running time
95 minutes
CountriesUnited States
Japan
Languages
  • English
  • Japanese
Box office$600,145 [1]

Oh Lucy! is a 2017 comedy-drama film directed, produced, and co-written by Atsuko Hirayanagi, based on her 2014 short film of the same name. It follows a lonely chain-smoking office drudge living in Tokyo who develops a crush on her English teacher and decides to follow him to Los Angeles when he disappears. However, she ends up in the United States with her sister and her niece, as well as her English teacher.

Contents

The film premiered in the Critics' Week section of the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, and was released theatrically in the United States on March 2, 2018. [2] [3]

Plot

Setsuko Kawashima is a lonely, chain-smoking office worker in Tokyo who is unmarried. When her niece Mika contacts her, Setsuko goes to see her despite warnings from her sister Ayako, not to get involved. Mika tells Setsuko that she signed up for a year of English classes but can no longer afford to go as she needs to save up money and keep working. Mika asks Setsuko to buy her out and sends her to the school for a free first class.

At the school Setsuko meets John, an American teacher who hugs her warmly, gives her the American name of Lucy and a bright blonde wig so she can adopt an American persona. She meets Takeshi Komori, a classmate in the English class who goes by the name Tom. Setsuko is quickly charmed by John and decides to keep attending classes. At their next session she learns that John has abruptly quit to go back to America. Leaving the school she sees John and Mika kissing and getting into a cab. Her sister informs her that Mika moved to America.

Setsuko tries to return to English class, but finds she can't continue. Instead, when she receives a postcard from Mika with her address, Setsuko decides to follow her. Ayako decides to join her. It is revealed that Lucy holds resentment towards Ayako for marrying her boyfriend.

Arriving in L.A. the two are surprised when they arrive and find only John at home, who claims that Mika left him and he has no idea where she is. After raiding his room, however, Ayako discovers a postcard from Mika sent from San Diego. The sisters hire a car and have John drive them to the motel where Mika was last heard from.

While waiting for Mika to reappear, John offers to teach Setsuko how to drive and the two end up having sex. Afterwards Setsuko goes to a tattoo parlour to get the same tattoo as John but when she shows it to him he rebuffs her.

The following morning Ayako confronts John and tells him to take her to Mika. He goes to his house where he introduces Ayako to his wife and daughter who know where Mika is but will not tell him.

Setsuko, left alone at the motel, ends up running into Mika who tells her that she broke up with John after discovering his family. They have a picnic near the beach where Mika teases Setsuko about having a crush on John, and Setsuko, in retaliation, reveals that she slept with John. Mika jumps off a cliff, trying to die by suicide, but lives.

At the hospital, John asks Setsuko if she told Mika about them. She tells John she loves him but he rejects her completely. Ayako tells her to stay out of their lives.

Setsuko returns to Tokyo where she learns she is essentially being fired. At home she tries to commit suicide by ingesting pills following feeling having lost John, her job, and her family. She is found by Takeshi Komori, who makes her vomit the pills. Takeshi reveals that his son killed himself and that he blames himself for being too strict which is why he enjoys slipping in to his Tom persona. He and Setsuko hug, signifying Setsuko starting over her life anew in finding hope.

Cast

Production

Hirayanagi worked on the screenplay for the film at the Noe Valley Branch Library after dropping off her kids at school. Cathay Organisation CEO Meileen Choo funded the film. Hirayanagi has said that it cost less than $1 million dollars to make. [4]

Filming concluded in December 2016. [5]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 98% of 56 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.1/10.The website's consensus reads: "Oh Lucy! roots its narrative quirks in universal themes and deep empathy for its characters, all brought to life by strong performances from a talented cast led by the thoroughly charming Shinobu Terajima." [6] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 69 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [7]

Related Research Articles

<i>Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family</i> 1941 film by Yasujiro Ozu

Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family is a 1941 Japanese drama film directed by Yasujirō Ozu.

<i>Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles</i> 2005 Chinese film

Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles is a 2005 drama film directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Ken Takakura. It premiered at the Tokyo International Film Festival on 22 October 2005 and was released in China on 22 December.

Repast is a 1951 Japanese drama and shōshimin-eiga film directed by Mikio Naruse and starring Setsuko Hara. It is based on the final and unfinished novel by Fumiko Hayashi, and was the first in a series of adaptations of her work by the director.

<i>Honey Honey no Suteki na Bouken</i> Japanese manga series

Honey Honey no Suteki na Bouken is a shōjo manga by Hideko Mizuno first published in 1968 and made into a 29-episode anime television series in 1981 by Kokusai Eiga-sha and animated by Toei Animation. The anime was released in the English language in the United States in 1984 as Honey Honey. It was also broadcast in various European countries and in Latin America.

<i>Late Autumn</i> (1960 film) 1960 Japanese film

Late Autumn is a 1960 Japanese drama film directed by Yasujirō Ozu. It stars Setsuko Hara and Yoko Tsukasa as a mother and daughter, and is based on a story by Ton Satomi.

Tokyo Twilight is a 1957 Japanese drama film by Yasujirō Ozu. It is the story of two sisters who are reunited with a mother who left them as children. The film is considered amongst Ozu's darkest postwar films; it is well received though lesser known. It is his last film shot in black and white.

<i>What Did the Lady Forget?</i> 1937 Japanese film

What Did the Lady Forget? is a 1937 Japanese comedy-drama film directed by Yasujirō Ozu. In 2009 the film was ranked at No. 59 on the list of the Greatest Japanese Films of All Time by Japanese film magazine Kinema Junpo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shinobu Terajima</span> Japanese actress

Shinobu Terajima is a Japanese actress. Her feature films include Akame 48 Waterfalls (2003) and Vibrator (2003). For her role in Caterpillar (2010), Terajima won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 60th Berlin Film Festival while her performance in Oh Lucy! (2017) earned her an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actress.

<i>Death Note 2: The Last Name</i> 2006 film by Shūsuke Kaneko

Death Note 2: The Last Name is a 2006 Japanese supernatural thriller film directed by Shūsuke Kaneko. The film is the second in a series of live-action Japanese films released in 2006 based on the Death Note manga and anime series by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. The film primarily centers on a university student named: Light Yagami, who decides to rid the world of the crime element with the help of an otherworldly notebook that kills anyone whose name is written in it, under the alias of a controversial serial-killer/vigilante: "Kira", while evading capture from a Tokyo police task-force, led by an enigmatic and highly-intelligent criminal profiler: "L", who is determined to find and apprehend Light. The film was produced by Nippon Television, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures Japan. It was licensed by VIZ Pictures. A spin-off, L: Change the World, was released in 2008. A sequel, Death Note: Light Up the New World, was released in 2016.

<i>The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice</i> 1952 Japanese film by Yasujirō Ozu

Tea Over Rice or The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice is a 1952 Japanese film directed by Yasujirō Ozu. The screenplay concerns a wealthy middle-aged couple who have marital difficulties, and their niece who uses the couple's troubles as her excuse for not attending arranged marriage interviews.

<i>Helter Skelter</i> (manga) 1995–96 Japanese psychological horror manga

Helter Skelter is a Japanese psychological horror manga written and illustrated by Kyoko Okazaki. It was serialized in Feel Young magazine from 1995 to 1996 and collected into a single tankōbon volume by Shodensha on April 8, 2003. The story was adapted into a 2012 live-action film directed by Mika Ninagawa and starring Erika Sawajiri. The manga was released in English by Vertical in 2013.

<i>Grave of the Fireflies</i> (2005 film) 2005 Japanese TV series or program

Grave of the Fireflies is a live-action TV drama adaptation of Grave of the Fireflies, made by NTV in Japan. It was produced in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. The drama aired on November 1, 2005. Like the anime, the live-action version of Grave of the Fireflies focuses on two siblings, Seita and Setsuko, struggling to survive the final days of the war in Kobe, Japan. Unlike the animated version, however, it tells the story from the point of view of their cousin and also deals with the issue of how the war-time environment could change a kind lady into a hard-hearted woman. The film stars Nanako Matsushima as the aunt and Mao Inoue in a dual role as the cousin and the cousin's granddaughter.

<i>Hanako to Anne</i> Japanese TV series or program

Hanako to Anne is a Japanese television drama series, the 90th Asadora series broadcast on NHK. It debuted on March 31, 2014, and was broadcast Monday through Saturday mornings, ending on September 27, 2014. It is based on the novel An no Yurikago Muraoka Hanako no Shogai by Eri Muraoka, which is the story of her grandmother Hanako Muraoka, the first to translate Anne of Green Gables into Japanese. The drama describes her trials, tribulations and triumphs at school and some of the lifelong friendships she made there, and her life after graduating and working at a publishing company and as a translator. As a subplot, it also narrates the dramatic life of Muraoka's old friend, Byakuren Yanagiwara, the tanka poet who was a cousin of Emperor Taishō. The series stars Yuriko Yoshitaka as Hanako. Anime composer Yuki Kajiura composed the music for the series. The series was a ratings success.

Nippon Connection is a festival for Japanese film which takes place in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, every year in early summer. The festival is organized by the nonprofit organization “Nippon Connection e.V.”. Nippon Connection has become the biggest platform for contemporary Japanese film worldwide, with about 18,500 participants in 2023. The 24th festival edition will take place May 28 to June 2, 2024.

<i>Oh Lucy!</i> (2014 film) 2014 Japanese film

Oh Lucy! is a short film directed by Atsuko Hirayanagi. The short film made its world premiere at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival receiving 2nd place in the Cinéfondation. Oh Lucy! has since become Academy Qualified by winning the Best International Short Film Award at the 2015 Flickerfest as well as the Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.

<i>Galaxy Fräulein Yuna</i> Media franchise

Galaxy Fräulein Yuna is a Japanese media franchise created by Mika Akitaka. The Japanese title literally translates to "Galaxy Lady Legend Yuna", "Fraulein" refers to the German word "Fräulein" standing for "Miss".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atsuko Hirayanagi</span> Japanese-American filmmaker

Atsuko Hirayanagi is a Japanese-American filmmaker.

<i>Street Without End</i> 1934 Japanese film

Street Without End is a 1934 Japanese silent drama film directed by Mikio Naruse, based on a newspaper serial by Komatsu Kitamura. It was Naruse's last silent film and his final film for the Shochiku studio.

<i>Altered Carbon: Resleeved</i> 2020 Japanese animated film

Altered Carbon: Resleeved is a 2020 Japanese animated film that is a spin-off of Netflix's Altered Carbon television series. The film is directed by Jō Nakajima and written by Dai Satō and Tsukasa Kondo. Set 253 years before the main events of season 1, and 283 years before the events of season 2, Takeshi Kovacs, on the planet Latimer, must protect a tattooist while investigating the death of a yakuza boss alongside a no-nonsense CTAC.

The Moon Has Risen is a 1955 Japanese romantic comedy film and the second film directed by Kinuyo Tanaka.

References

  1. ↑ "Oh Lucy!". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved 2018-06-28.
  2. ↑ "Selection of the 56th Critics' Week". Semaine de la Critique. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  3. ↑ "56th Critics' Week Press Kit" (PDF). Semaine de la Critique. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  4. ↑ Bajko, Matthew S. (2018). "How Film Director Made Oh Lucy!". The Noe Valley Voice. Vol. XLII, no. 3.
  5. ↑ McNary, Dave (16 December 2016). "Josh Hartnett, Shinobu Terajima to Star in U.S.-Japan Drama-Comedy 'Oh Lucy!'". Variety . Penske Business Media . Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  6. ↑ "Oh Lucy!". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved December 18, 2023. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  7. ↑ "Oh Lucy!". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.