You know, whatevs.

If I had a favorite past time it would be watching foreign films. I simply love how raw and unapologetic the directing is. I can’t exactly describe the magic that lures me in. But I know as I watch them there’s an instant connection that reaches far deeper into my soul than most American movies.

These past few days I’ve seen three films. All of which follow the lives of everyday people and the struggles they face. What’s interesting about Asian films is they don’t necessarily have a concrete ending. Not everything is buttoned up, not everything connects, not everything is explained. If anything, it leaves the viewer to carry out the film to the imagination – and is something I’m learning to cope with.

The first film titled “Still Walking” is about a younger son who, after 15 years since his older brother died, visits his parents with his new wife (who was widowed with a 7ish year old son). It is a story about a Japanese family who is stricken with a past that clings on to each one of them ever so tightly that it’s tearing them apart from one another.

The second film, “A Beautiful Life” is a rather peculiar love story between a high profile business woman and an honest cop. Unbeknown by the woman, who goes through a series of failed relationships and causes her to drink excessively, the cop is always there to rescue her. In the end, at the lowest point of her life, she soon realizes that it’s the cop who she truly loves and is determined to find him again. When she finds him, she learns that he is suffering some dementia, a form of memory lost, and is progressively getting worse. He tells her to leave him. That he’d only be a burden to her. She decides to stay, they rekindle their love, marry, and even have a child — which really makes interesting considering his disease.

The final film, “Nobody Knows” is a about 4 children who are abandoned in a small apartment by their mother. The oldest, Akira, is a 12 year old boy who tries to keep the family together. It is a bitter story of reality and one that leaves you feeling utterly helpless. It tugged on my heart the entire time. I admit it made me very conscious of my own environment and how good I truly have it. The movie does not end in resolve. You could say the movie picks up in the middle of their story then pulls you through a 6 agonizing months as their situation worsens before pulling you out of it. Leaving you to wonder what becomes of them.

Despite the emotional roller coaster these movies carried me through, I thoroughly enjoyed all of them.