I found this video after reading Britanick's About page. The original reference made to this video is as follows:
"[Nick Kocher] thinks that if you don’t love this [video], there is probably something wrong with your soul."
This video is nice. It is a collage of moments, and it dwells just enough on each of life's details. If you like the vibe of this video, I would recommend watching these films. I've watched some foreign films (Japanese, French, Spanish, and Chinese), and my favorite without a doubt are the Japanese ones. Of the five Japanese films that I've seen, four I've like liked a lot. They are: Kabei (Our Mother), Ototo (My brother), Departures, and Shall We Dance. To me, Japanese directors exercise great skill and restraint in their scenes. The scenes often have minimal amounts of music or scoring. These films don't need a soundtrack based in hit records or music albums because they use the soundtrack of life. The pauses in conversation, the sounds of a quiet room on a hot day, the music of a kitchen--none of it is drowned out by overlaid music. Your attention is drawn to it, and the director hopes that you too will celebrate these little moments. The same treatment is given to interactions between characters--both verbal and nonverbal.
And amidst all of this, these movies all have their moments of comedy. It's humor the way most of experience it. It isn't the scripted jokes of our blockbuster films or Thursday night line-ups. The audience's smiles come from the delightful realization that these on-screen moments resemble our own. Similarly, any tears to be shed result from the parallel between on- and off-screen tragedies.
You can watch the trailers using the links below:
Departures
Kabei
Ototo (no subtitles, sorry!)
Shall we dance? (the only true comedy of the bunch. Also, no subs. If you really desire subs, there's one on IMDB but the voiceover is ghastly and just destroy the delicacy of the film. I would prefer that you not watch it. And as you might guess, my opinion about the American remake is not so high...)
