Happy Hour

| Release Date: August 24, 2016

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TrailesqueJun 12, 2023

This is the story of a group of female friends and their romantic relationships and work lives. The word happy is in the title, but this is not a happy film, and it goes on for over 5 hours. Each of the main characters is struggling withThis is the story of a group of female friends and their romantic relationships and work lives. The word happy is in the title, but this is not a happy film, and it goes on for over 5 hours. Each of the main characters is struggling with relationship and work issues, and things grow progressively more dramatic as the story goes on. Jun is trying to get away from her obsessive husband, who refuses to let her leave him, and in Japan a husband has some legal rights in this area. Fumi has to deal with what might be a romantic rival to her husband, a thoughtful writer. Sakurako lives with her husband, son, and mother-in-law in what appears to be a loveless home. And Akari, the tough one of the group, is lonely and emotionally isolated.

There is a lot of loneliness in this film, and it seems like an indictment of Japanese marriages, portraying them as cold and heartless arrangements that are unfulfilling for all concerned. It reminded me of the films of Eric Rohmer, in the way it seriously probed its characters' relationships and emotions. There are long, puzzling sequences, like the odd workshop that takes place near the beginning. It was cool to see Hamaguchi breaking all the rules of mainstream filmmaking by having his characters talk at length about their feelings, and behave in realistic, undramatic ways. This is a serious film that got me thinking about the characters and their lives.… Expand

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JLuis_001Apr 29, 2022

Can you call this film an epic just because of its extended running time? It is definitely ambitious, and yet it's surprising when you realize how seemingly ordinary it might seem on the surface.

At its core, Happy Hour is an uncomplicatedCan you call this film an epic just because of its extended running time? It is definitely ambitious, and yet it's surprising when you realize how seemingly ordinary it might seem on the surface.

At its core, Happy Hour is an uncomplicated film. It's a fairly practical drama, but Hamaguchi's hand and the fact that he can deliver such a big film allows for a thorough and insightful examination of its main characters.
Not many directors can afford to indulge in such a treat, but even if the length comes to feel heavy-handed, the film itself never falters in any way because that length is completely justified.

Hamaguchi constructs his scenes and his storytelling in a way that allows the dialogue to take center stage.
Not that it doesn't matter what the actors do through their performances, but what is being said is revealing, poignant and emotional. Essential ingredients for a drama that really provokes genuine reactions.

Happy Hour is an intimate, concise, grounded, and pragmatic drama.
It's a portrayal of ordinary lives and, as I said in its context, it appears simple, but its very plot construction reveals a vast complexity about what simmers beneath the facade that we present to society and about what is hidden and undergoes in our private lives.
A whole system in which the identities of each character face the pressures of society and what life has imposed on them to deal with.
It was impressive to see how Hamaguchi managed to make it all flow so well.

This is modern arthouse. Probably too convoluted and exhaustive for the average moviegoer and I don't blame them, but if you know Hamaguchi's work and you like it, then this film is a must-see.… Expand

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