stephen ho

Firstly for any viewer intending to watch this, this is a very long one at 2 hours and 20 mins. It moves at times, just too laboriously slow and I feel if the film editor cut it by 30 mins, there would be no loss to the story. But this is an Isao Yukisada movie and feels like a director's extended version. Its a story between a teacher and a student and I wouldn't call it a romantic one. There is an attraction between the parties but each is minded by morals and hence the whole movie revolves around whether to progress the relationship to one that is romantic. It all capitulates in the end to one of sexual and it is at this point I was trying to make sense of it. The storyline isn't all that original and I didn't find the acting good enough to move me, even though the story is probably topical right now..