Sweet Rain: Accuracy of Death

"What do you think about death?"

Chiba appears seven days before a person dies an unexpected death. His job is to observe the person for seven days, and then decide if the upcoming appointment with death should be marked in the agenda as "proceed" or "suspend". "Suspend" means that the person will survive for now, while "proceed" means that he will die. Getting his work quickly out of the way, he goes to the listening booth of a CD shop and indulges in his favorite pastime, listening to "humanity's greatest invention": music. He is...a Grim Reaper.

Today, again, in the rain, he waits. His subject, her death due in seven days, is Kazue Fujiki, 27. She works for a manufacturing company, in the complaints department. Exhausted after her day, she emerges from her office. It's time for the Reaper to go to work.

Director:

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• Filmcritic.com, by Don Willmott
  http://www.filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/reviews/Accuracy-of-Death
  Accuracy of Death is delicate in stating its themes. It's beautifully shot, and it's charming throughout. Credit for much of the film's success goes to Kaneshiro, who is in every scene and never lets you forget why he is one of the world's most compelling big-screen stars. You simply can't take your eyes off him.


• movieXclusive.com, by John Li
  http://www.moviexclusive.com/review/accuracyofdeath/accuracyofdeath.htm
  Being a Japanese production, you can expect everything to be beautifully visualized on screen. The cinematography by Takahide Shibanushi showcases the melancholic showers, the gritty mafia showdowns and the withering sunflowers to great effect.


• Twitch, by Ard Vijn
  http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/nyaff-report-accuracy-of-death-aka-sweet-rain-review/
  "Accuracy of Death" is by no means a masterpiece and will not floor you with new stunning insights into human nature, yet it still manages to be quite a pleasant little movie. Takeshi Kaneshiro steals the show and is worth the price of admission all by himself.


• A Nutshell Review, by Stefan S
  http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2008/05/accuracy-of-death-sweet-rain-suwto-rein.html
  The first thing that comes screaming to your mind when you come to know of this movie, is MEET JOE BLACK, yes in caps, and a nagging feeling that it's a rip off / copycat coming some 10 years after that Hollywood movie. Although this is based on the Japanese novel by Kotaro Isaka, you can't help but to ponder upon the similarities between the two movies.


• The Brunei Times, by Pamela Samia, BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
  http://www.bt.com.bn/en/entertainment/2008/10/25/a_charming_take_on_life
  Watching this film, don't expect to shed buckets of tears or even have eureka-moment about our life beyond, and yet this movie is guaranteed to warm your heart.
  It triumphs because it tells about life and death as we know it, "nothing special but important".

• "I want to write the kind of things that have not been written before."
  Sweet Rain is based on the bestselling novel by Isaka Kotaro - Accuracy of Death.
  Isaka Kotaro, one of Japan's most avidly supported writers, especially among the younger generation, burst onto the mystery scene like a meteorite with the publication of his debut novel - Audubon no inori (Audubon's Prayer). Accuracy of Death, nominated for the Naoki Prize, is a series of short stories that showed off the author's keen sense of humor. Employing non-obvious parody is another characteristic of this author. Each story in Shinigami borrows from such genres as romance and ninkyo, or chivalry novels (in which one helps the weak and fights against the powerful), indicating a wide range in the author's talent. Another great Isaka's job is a surprising political thriller - Mao.


• This is Takeshi Kaneshiro's first Japanese role since 2002's Returner, and the actor (most recently seen in the Chinese historical epics Red Cliff and The Warlords).


• The Director is Masaya Kakei, whose unique style, mingling fantasy and humor, has made him one of the most-watched figures in Japanese film today. His picture Bijokan drew attention at the festivals to which it was invited in Japan and abroad. Accuracy of Death is his first full-length feature.

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