Always - Sunset on Third Street (Deluxe Edition) (Japan Version - English Subtitles) DVD Region 2

Chagawa Ryunosuke (Yoshioka Hidetaka) is a struggling writer and former finalist for the Akutagawa Literary Prize. The owner of a general store, he makes ends meet by selling candies and comics, while the locals laugh and mock him for clinging onto his glory days and making a living out writing stories for children. The only thing he even thinks of holding dear is a bar girl named Hiromi (Koyuki), who appears to be nothing more than a player with a flair for pretty persuasion. Pouncing at the perfect opportunity, she entrusts a young boy in her care called Junnosuke (Suga Kenta) to Chagawa, who is hopelessly infatuated with the woman. Taking the boy in, he soon begins to regret his decision. They have no real ties to one another and that he's hardly a fatherly figure.

Over the road lives Chagawa's old friend, Mr. Suzuki (Tsutsumi Shinichi), owner of a small, family-run business called Suzuki Auto. His wife Tomoe (Yakushimaru Hiroko) and son Ippei (Koshimizu Kazuki) look after the house, while he works hard to the bone in order to provide a steady income. Soon enough he receives a response from an advertisement he placed seeking experienced mechanics. Mutsuko (Horikita Maki) is a country girl who has come to Tokyo with the hopes of working as a secretary for “Suzuki Motors”, but when she meets Mr. Suzuki, her hopes are shattered as he drives her to San-chome and welcomes her to her new home. She settles in and adopts the nickname "Roku-chan", but her comfort is soon compromised when certain truths come out about her situation.

The lives of those living in San-chome are closely examined, as several of its residents try to overcome the difficulties that they face everyday. Hope always shines on Third Street and for some a single sunset can echo a thousand sentiments.

For what it's worth, Always - Sunset on Third Street was winner of twelve out of thirteen nominations at Japan's most recent Academy Awards. It was a box-office smash, breaking the two billion yen barrier when it hit cinema screens last year. Putting those awards behind us for a moment, the most important thing is knowing whether or not we can trust such immense praise. Well, as much as I often find myself disagreeing with the Academies every year, it's nice to know that I can still be pleasantly surprised and find a film that is just about fully deserving of its golden prizes.

Yamazaki Takashi made his feature debut in 2000 with Juvenile and closely followed it up with the science fiction blockbuster Returner. His stint as assistant director on the anime series Heat Guy J turned his attention to Saigan Ryohei's 1973 manga San-chome no Yuhi in 2004. Using his already established FX skills, he proceeded to bring to life a piece of history that only our elders can recall today.

Nostalgia always gets the better of us and Yamazaki provides plenty in his latest outing. There are many nuances littered throughout Always, with nods to signs of the times: television becoming a popular medium in which the director captures a small part of a country coming together and rejoicing as one; the Tokyo Tower, standing as a representation of hope and dreams for a nation building itself up from ashes; rockabilly music blaring through radios as American influences slowly filter in; Coca-Cola, the new-fangled drinking craze, and the luxury of cream puffs; and the modernisation of a family unit as it embraces technical wizardry such as washing machines and fridge freezers. This was a period when everything was held sacred and attitudes toward social change were more positive than ever. But above all, Always is about surviving through the worst of times and making way for new horizons. The Japanese spirit prevails once more as Yamazaki takes us on pleasant journey into the past.

Yamazaki Takashi is perhaps one of Japan's most pioneering visual effects masters. He bought us transforming jets, four years before a Transformers film was green-lit. While Masahiro Shinoda beat him to the punch in terms of computer rendered cityscapes with his final - and ridiculously overlooked - film, Spy Sorge, in 2003, Yamazaki does wonders in recreating another part of Japan, in a time when drastic changes were taking place. Though it doesn't sound like it, its far more epic and subtle than Returner ever was. Not only does Yamazaki create a huge, digital backdrop for his story-telling, but he also places most of his environments on a sound stage, instantly bringing to mind Francis Ford Coppola's One from the Heart, which drew the audience into an entirely fabricated Las Vegas. In fact, judging Always as a whole, I'm left to wonder if this film can indeed be considered the Japanese answer to Coppola's 1982 feature. After all, it centres its story on comparable situations, focusing on several individuals who go through many trials and ultimately find their lot in life. And, much like Coppola's film, the environment complements the overall story as a character in itself.

Despite Yamazaki doing absolute wonders with visual trickery, he never allows the film to drown in it. In fact, after the first ten minutes of showing off to the audience with impossible camera shots and unnecessary, though impressive, CG - such as a lizard eating a moth - he settles in to the film nicely. Always doesn't hinge itself on the sole fact that what we're looking at is a lovingly recreated Tokyo of the 50s, but instead relies firmly on an exceedingly talented and diverse cast. To be perfectly honest, there's very little in the way of actual plot, merely connections between characters that are formed during several intervals. Yamazaki takes his time to fully develop these primary characters in all kinds of wonderful ways, managing to show a real sense of progression for each character, from cartoonish showdowns to pleasant and melodic accompaniments, and, of course, a few bouts of melodrama which at times becomes a little too signposted for its own good. Nevertheless, even with chirpy and sometimes manipulative scoring, Always remains a tightly focused and surprisingly upbeat piece of work, which shows that Yamazaki has grown considerably as a director since the eye-candylicious, but vapid Returner of 2002.

A/V
Always is presented with an anamorphic 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The film opens with a nod to Tohoscope, reflecting the classic age from which this film takes place. Yamazaki clearly wishes to encapsulate that style of filmmaking, with a wide lens, set to capture as much of San-chome as possible. As such, he uses a few other bits of visual trickery to make the film feel pleasantly suited. A soft filter is applied, as well as a small amount of diffusion which almost gives the film a fairytale quality. With these inherent qualities, the overall transfer holds up well and I don't imagine that, should it arrive in HD, it'll look much better than it currently does. Colours are pleasing and appear to be deliberately muted, while the plentiful CG blends in better than it probably would had this been filmed in any other way. The only thing that mars the transfer is a noticeable amount of Edge Enhancement.

For sound we get a few nice options, with Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0, 5.1 Surround and 5.1 DTS. I chose to go with the latter track and while it's not a remarkable step up from the 5.1 Surround option, it is neatly mastered. Naoki Sato's uplifting score receives a solid treatment and the main standout throughout are the street sounds that manage to immerse the viewer into the little town. Dialogue poses no problems, sticking mainly to the front speakers, while the rears pick up subtle ambient effects.

Optional English subtitles are included and provide very nice translations, especially considering that some of the dialogue deals with different dialects. Things like this have been well catered for, providing the viewer with a good understanding of different regions, not to mention a couple of fun pokes.

Extras
Not a bad collection for a standard release, but as usual there's very little for those importing to get excited over. With two audio commentaries it's a shame that we don't have the luxury of subtitles for extra features. In Japanese only are cast and crew biographies and a collection of trailers, consisting of a theatrical trailer, two teasers and five TV spots.

Overall
Always - Sunset on Third Street is the most pleasing blockbuster (a little odd to say, given it's far removed from the usual summer fare) feature to surface within the past year. Yamazaki Takashi's film is most certainly a labour of love, and a sincere one at that - his best to date I might add. On occasion, it does try a little too hard to melodramatise us, but I can't be too cynical toward it because of that. With some magnificent performances from both young and old generations and well-rounded, likeable characters, Always is an often poignant and uplifting affair that perfectly captures an innocent moment in time, when hope and spirits were raised for the common good, in a land once torn apart by the ravages of war.

By Kevin Gilvear - DVD Times.