Welcome to the Quiet Room

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Movie: Welcome to the Quiet Room
Romaji: Quiet room ni yokoso
Japanese: クワイエットルームにようこそ
Director: Suzuki Matsuo
Writer: Suzuki Matsuo
Producer: Keiko Imamura, Naota Sugawara
Cinematography: Akihiro Okabaya
Release Date: October 20, 2007
Runtime: 112 min
Genre: Drama
Studio: Asmik Ace Entertainment
Distributor: Asmik Ace Entertainment
Language: Japanese
Country: Japan

Plot

28 years old freelencer writer Sakura Asuka (Yuki Uchida) wakes up tied in a white room. The white room is a protected room located in an isolated ward of a psychiatric hospital. Sakura first became unconscious because of heavy alcohol use and a druge overdose. She’s confined in the single room because of her high risk of committing suicide.

Sakura tried to talk to the nurses and doctors but they didn’t listen to her. Under the circumstances another patient Miki (Yu Aoi), who suffers from an eating disorder, leads her to understand the unknown world. But, Sakura is looking for the way to get back to the real world as soon as possible.

Cast



Yuki Uchida	Kankuro Kudo
Asuka Sakura	Tetsuo Yakihata



Yu Aoi	Ryo	Satoshi Tsumabuki	Shinobu Ootake
Miki	Eguchi	Komono	Nishino

Additional Cast Members:

Erika Mabuchi - Chirichiri
Mariko Tsutsui - Kinbara
Miwako Shishido - Mizuhara
Kami Hiraiwa - Yamagishi
Shinya Tsukamoto - Asuka's Ex-husband
Mitsuru Hirata - Actor
Yu Tokui - Doctor Shirai
Hideaki Anno - Doctor Matsubara
Masayuki Kawakatsu - Cook
Haruna Kondo - Asuka's Friend
Rie Minemura - Nurse
Haruka Minowa - Patient
Yuko Nakamura - Kurita
Maho Shimao - Waitress
Seiko Iwaido - Sae
Hiroshi Takezawa - Actor
Chiharu Kimura - Nurse
Shima Ise
Shige Uchida
Koron Mizuno
Mari Nakajima

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Comments

Tim Baber Nov 30 2011 9:08 pm Well, this looks like Monarch Programming to me. The Alice in Wonderland symbolism is a clue. And a comment on a YouTube site my someone who recognises this is a sanitised version of (presumably Monarch Programming) significantly does not say. Just google it a while, not the film, but M.P., because M.P. is like another level of reality that rarely breaks through into the real world as for what it is. ( Brainwashing with a bit of an edge)

Ki Feb 01 2009 5:03 am Theres something about psychiatric hospitals I guess. Having been thrilled with Chan-wook Parks off-the-wall “I’m a Cyborg but That’s OK,” “Welcome to the Quiet Room” is another film set in a colorful psychiatric hospital that has been sitting high on my to watch list. There’s also that impressive list of supporting actors (Yu Aoi, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Kankuro Kudo, and Shinya Tsukamoto) to wet your cinematic appetite. The movie’s trailer reveals an upbeat alternative rock soundtrack with a cast of colorfully punkish characters dancing around in a psychiatric hospital. I didn’t know what to exactly expect from the film, but I did know that I wanted to see the film.

In Welcome to the Quiet Room, 28 year old freelancer writer Sakura Asuka (Yuki Uchida) wakes up strapped to a table in a white room. When her boyfriend visits her for the first time in the quiet room, his first remark is “Wow, you look just like Hannibal Lecter.” The quiet room you see is a protected room located in the isolated ward of a psychiatric hospital. Something like solitary confinement, but with straps. Sakura first became unconscious because of a night of heavy alcohol consumption and then taking sleeping pills. Three days later she’s conscious but not sure what exactly happened.

Sakura tried to talk to the nurses, explaining it was all an accident, but they didn’t seem to listen to her. Under the circumstances another patient Miki (Yu Aoi), who suffers from an eating disorder, leads her to understand the world of the insane. But, Sakura is looking for the way to get back to the real world as soon as possible.

While watching “Welcome to the Quiet Room,” it didn’t take long before I realized this movie would be quite different than “I’m A Cyborg But That’s OK.” No sooner than you could make a funny face and play a few sparse piano keys repeatedly, another film came to mind as a source of inspiration and that film was “Memories of Matsuko.” Through a series of flashbacks we learn about Asuka’s troubled past, similar to the narrative structure in “Memories of Matsuko.” The main character in “Welcome to the Quiet Room,” Asuka (played by the beautiful Yuki Uchida), doesn’t have the troubled past on the same level of Matsuko, but there’s a surprising amount of despair found within her life. While the narrative structure and to some extent visuals share traits with “Memories of Matsuko,” the subject matter differs sharply. Matsuko’s problems originated from a series poor decisions caused ultimately from the lack of love she felt from her father. In Asuka’s case her problems derive squarely from manic depression.

One of the more impressive aspects about “Welcome to the Quiet Room” would be the subtle manner in which Asuka’s depression is revealed. A beautiful woman on the outside and having a hectic, but seemingly successful writing career, you wouldn’t guess such troubles existed in her life. But with each flashback you do get a better understanding of the deep level of despair that gradually took over her life. During Asuka’s stay in the mental ward, several different characters pointed out that Asuka was different, not really belonging there, but was she?

Visually the film was done just right. Colorful, realistic, and having a style that recalled everything from the Loveholic video for their song “Loveholic,” to the prior mentioned movies “Memories of Matsuko” and “I’m A Cyborg but thats OK” there was a lot to enjoy visually. The appearance of Yuki Uchida, Yu Aoi, and Ryo also certainly didn’t hurt the visuals. There were also several funny moments in the film, but the comedic elements were less prominent than I originally expected from viewing the trailer.

“Welcome to the Quiet Room” works well to deliver a subtle story on the problems of depression. The ancillary characters in the psychiatric hospital also helped to liven up the film while also bringing to light other mental problems like eating disorders. An easy way to describe the film would be to compare visuals with “I’m a Cyborg But thats OK” and “Memories of Matsuko”, while the film’s narrative structure paralleled that of “Memories of Matsuko,” and the film’s subject matter recalled that of Ryuichi Hiroki’s “Its Only Talk.” Not to shabby company I say.

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Welcome to the Quiet Room

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