Line #21 Film/MemoriesOfMatsuko


1	[[quoteright:317:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/matsuko.jpg]]
2
3	A 2006 Japanese film written and directed by Tetsuya Nakashima, based on a novel by Muneki Yamada.
4
5	Young aspiring-and-failing-at-it musician Shou, fresh from a painful break-up, is called to clean out the apartment of a recently deceased aunt he never knew he had. Aunt Matsuko, at the time of her death, was a bloated, miserable bag lady, living surrounded by mountains of trash and filth, with no friends or job. Guided by her belongings and stories told by people who knew her, Shou ventures on a journey through the life and times of Matsuko Kawajiri. He finds a starry-eyed woman who faces more than her fair share of disappointments on her quest to find the prince of her dreams. The film spans several decades, from Matsuko's childhood in the 1950s to the present day in the year 2001.
6
7	While the story itself is quite tragic, it's peppered with upbeat musical numbers and colorful fantasy sequences, resulting in high amounts of MoodWhiplash.
8	----
9	!!Provides examples of:
10
11	* AbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder: [[spoiler:The hope of being reunited with her hairdresser sweetheart keeps Matsuko hanging on through her time in prison. Sadly, when she finally gets out, she finds out that he has moved on.]]
12	* AnachronicOrder: The story is told via flashbacks that aren't presented in the chronological order.
13	* BreakTheCutie: Smash the cutie, shatter the cutie, crush her into tiny little bits.
14	* TheCameo: Singer/actress Music/{{AnnaTsuchiya}}, one of the stars of Nakashima's ''Literature/KamikazeGirls'', has a brief non-speaking role as a prisoner in a montage.
15	* DrivenToSuicide: Matsuko jumps out of a window after [[spoiler:killing her pimp]], but pulls herself together. [[spoiler:Her depressed author boyfriend Tetsuo winds up killing himself.]]
16	* EverythingsBetterWithSparkles: And flowers. Lots of flowers.
17	* ExtremeDoormat: Matsuko, who'd rather stay in abusive relationships and let men walk all over her than be alone.
18	* FreudianExcuse: Matsuko's desperate longing for love appears to stem from her not getting enough attention from her father, whose affections always seem to be concentrated on her sick little sister.
19	* HotForTeacher: [[spoiler:Ryu for Matsuko, as he confesses to her when they meet years later.]]
20	* MoodWhipLash: Quite a bit -- horrible heartbreaking tragedy strikes, Matsuko sinks into despair... but then pulls herself together and sings with sparkly cartoon birds. Rinse and repeat.
21	* TheMusical: With a [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic pretty damn sweet soundtrack]], too
22	%%zce* NiceGuy: Kenji.
23	* ThePollyanna: Matsuko manages to preserve her starry-eyed disposition and soldier on through an admirable amount of crap before her spirit breaks for good.
24	* PaintingTheMedium: Blood splatters on the camera lens after [[spoiler:Tetsuo gets run over by a train.]]
25	* PosthumousCharacter: Matsuko.
26	* TimeShiftedActor: Child/adult Matsuko and teen/adult Ryu.
27	* TheUnfavourite: Matsuko feels like one since her terminally ill little sister gets a lot more attention than her.
28	%%zce* WellDoneDaughterGal:
29	* WideEyedIdealist: Matsuko.
30	* {{Yakuza}}

Context Film / MemoriesOfMatsuko