The Magic Hour (ザ・マジックアワー?) is a 2008 Japanese film written and directed by Koki Mitani.

Plot summary

When a gangster (Satoshi Tsumabuki), having an affair with the wife of his boss (Toshiyuki Nishida), is found out, he promises to save face by recruiting a famous hitman. Instead, when he can’t find the real thing, he hires an actor (Koichi Sato) to fill the role until he can find a suitable replacement.

When a gangster having an affair with the wife of his boss is found out, he promises to save face by recruiting a famous hitman. Instead, when he can’t find the real thing, he hires an actor to fill the role until he can find a suitable replacement.

Impressions: Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve done this, hasn’t it? But I literally have not watched a single movie start to finish since I came to Japan. Japanese films are expensive, $40 for DVDs and $20 for theater tickets. Luckily, my good pal Sonia hooked up a sweet deal at TIU and we can watch movies there every week.

The Magic Hour is unique for many reasons that make it stand out from typical Japanese films. The sets are all based on 1920’s American architecture and fashion, flapper-girl style, with fedoras and pinstripes and all that nonsense.

The film relies on a lot of clever wordplay and slapstick. As my friend Jon pointed out, the movie’s jokes are well-suited for an American audience but also appeal to Japanese humor despite the strong emphasis on American lifestyle. Slapstick is a big part of Japanese comedy and the physical humor fits well here.

As with most movies regarding mistaken identity there is a lot of humor revolving around secrets, ignorance and planning. The protagonist goes to great lengths to ensure his ruse isn’t discovered, to the point where he almost begins to believe the lie and value it over his life.

There is also a fair amount of meta-humor. The “movie within a movie” scenario allows dialogue regarding the nature of film, and it’s fun to explore the way each character, whether director, cast or crew, relates to the plot and the scenery.

Cast

• Satoshi Tsumabuki
• Toshiyuki Nishida
• Haruka Ayase
• Koichi Sato
• Eri Fukatsu

References

1.  Mitani gets ready to produce "Magic Hour" at Kaiju Shakedown

External links

• Official website
• http://eiga.wikia.com/wiki/The_Magic_Hour
• http://www.varietyasiaonline.com/content/view/1728/53/
• http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/koki-mitani-returns-with-the-magic-hour/
• http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1077089/