Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on March 2012

Yoshimitsu Morita was one of the few contemporary Japanese directors that enjoyed both critical and box office success over his 30-plus year career. He broke through in 1981 with his hit Something Like It and established himself as a top-tier director with his next work, the acclaimed Family Game (1983), which grabbed the Kinema Jumpo award for Best Film of the Year. Morita skewered Japanese mores and customs, while also offering poignant insight into the national psyche. In 1997, his Paradise Lost was the second highest grossing domestic film of the year, only furthering Morita’s reputation as a bankable director. Sadly, like filmmaker Jun Ichikawa in 2008, he passed away too young (just 61), and with a film still coming out.

The present work is a posthumous release. Kei (Kenichi Matsuyama) and Kenta (Eita) are train geeks who ride the rails throughout Honshu and Kyushu. Straight-laced salaryman Kei is slow to warm to workingman Kenta but soon they are bonding over their mutual love of the locomotive. Sentimental—and a bit goofy—this light-hearted comedy will please those who view it that way (if one can get over some questionable stereotyping). Though lacking Morita’s piercing insight into the Japanese character, it serves as a pleasant coda to his career.

English title: Take the A Train; 89 min