Chunichi Shimbun Morning Edition – July 7, 2006 Do you remember the 1998 Academy Awards? While Titanic  seemed poised to sweep all the major categories, it was As Good as It Gets  that stole the spotlight—Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt won Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively. This unforgettable middle-aged couple is now part of cinematic history. The main character is a renowned romance novelist, but ironically, he is hopeless when it comes to relationships. He also suff

The Chunichi Shimbun Morning Edition – June 30, 2006 Leukemia, a type of blood cancer, is known as a difficult and serious illness. The most effective treatment is a bone marrow transplant from a donor who provides hematopoietic (blood-forming) cells. The film Marvin’s Room  (1996, USA), which we’ll introduce today, tells the story of a strained relationship between parent and child, and between sisters, who begin to open their hearts to each other through the experience of l

Chunichi Shimbun Morning Edition – June 23, 2006 Let’s take a break from older films and look at a more recent release. This time, I’d like to introduce the Shochiku film Yawarakai Seikatsu  ( It’s Only Talk ). The protagonist, Yuko (played by Shinobu Terajima), has been forging ahead on a high-powered career path. But after the sudden deaths of her parents and her best friend, she falls into shock and is diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder—commonly known as man

The Chunichi Shimbun Morning Edition – June 16, 2006 Following last week’s feature on “sleeping sickness,” this week let’s talk about the “can’t sleep sickness”—insomnia. “Into the Night”  (1985, USA) is a suspense film centered on Ed, a man suffering from insomnia. Once an ordinary office worker, Ed becomes plagued by sleepless nights. As his concentration deteriorates during the day, he hits a wall at work. On top of that, he catches his wife cheating on him, leaving him em

Chunichi Shimbun Morning Edition, June 9, 2006 Have you ever heard of a disease called narcolepsy ? It causes sudden sleep attacks that lead to deep sleep, regardless of time or place. Because people with this condition may fall asleep in the middle of work or daily life, they are often misunderstood as being lazy or unmotivated. The incidence is about one in 2,000 people, but in Japan, it’s estimated to affect one in 600 — the highest rate in the world. In the film My Own Pr

Chunichi Shimbun Morning Edition, June 2, 2006 Some people, after becoming doctors or lawyers, fall into the trap of believing they have become superior as human beings. The protagonist Henry, in the 1991 American film Regarding Henry  starring Harrison Ford, is one such conceited and highly successful elite lawyer. One day, however, Henry is caught in a robbery at a convenience store and is shot in the head, damaging his frontal lobe. He loses his memory and cannot even reca