It's been a while since I've watched a good film worthy of a review.  I recently had the opportunity to watch the "Parade" - a brilliant Japanese film directed by Isao Yukisada at the LA Film Festival.

When a movie is able to allow you to feast your attention on pure character development, it is truly remarkable.  The plot must complement the characters and be just as intriguing as the characters themselves, and surely the Parade does not fail in this aspect.   You observe how this group of young people live "together" yet lead entirely separate lives.  Each character has such a strong story behind them, full of emotion and depth - and somehow you cannot wonder if they are as torn as they appear.  I think one of the strongest lines (though it was translated in English so perhaps its intent was not the same in Japanese), was how Keisuke Koide's character "Ryu" questioned the meaning of their interactions and how life is not linear.  Each character is far from perfection, yet they accept one another and perhaps continue on, completely dependent on each other in a peculiar way.

I like how they brought in many risque topics, well from a male prostitute to a wide array of surprises along the way, which I won't reveal in my review.  It's better that you just watch.  I am becoming quite fond of Japanese films, ever since my initiation with films such as Battle Royale and Suicide Club.  While this doesn't exactly fit in either genre or category - I'd have to say there is something about foreign films in general and the alternate perspective that you learn to appreciate what they deliver.  Of course, I wouldn't expect my conservative parents to quite grasp the concept, but I don't think they're exactly the target audience - the younger generation will probably better relate.  For what it's worth, I also found Keisuke Koide attractive in this, maybe it was his naive innocence?  Great cast!

Apologies, I couldn't find an English subtitled version of the trailer, but here it is anyway.