The Lightning Tree (2010)

I watched this movie because for the next month I will be focusing on historical dramas and movies. What drew me to this was possible romance without much politics. What made me nervous..The comparison to Romeo and Juliet(we all know how that turned out).

This is the second Aoi Yu work I have seen(the other being Osen) and she can really sell a strong woman who does not lose her femininity in the process. Okada Masaki whom I have seen in several things before this(Mirai Niki, Taira no Kiyomori, Ito-kun A-E) did excellent with his part. While a lot of the parts are predictable, the ride was still enjoyable. I will be adding this to my recommends lists.

The scenery was beautiful with only a few locations the world still felt big and wide open. Overall I give this an 8 rating .

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Watched 29 Jan, 2014
Man, I have just finished watching the most awesomest movie! Years ago I saw a super fun episode of Kuwazu Girai featuring Okada Masaki and one of my very, very favorite actresses, Aoi Yu, who were at the time promoting a movie called Raiou (The Lightning Tree) and the couple was so much fun and seemed to get along so well that when I found the movie up for grabs, I downloaded it right away!

First thing I gotta say is MAN, this movie is NOTHING like what the synopses I’d been reading had indicated- far from a typical romance separation by class, Raiou took that basic premise and took a MAJOR left turn with it, turning the movie into one featuring not only romance but Action, Adventure, and Human Drama- Beyond the tale of a high class young nobleman falling in love with a peasant girl, we’ve got the male lead Narimichi (Okada Masaki) as a prince plagued by illnesses that not only make his sickly but prone to bouts of delirium as well, meeting Rai (Aoi Yu), a gruff wild-child raised in the mountains by the assassins who stole her away from her family when she was just a baby. Put these two together and you’ve got a whole new tale on an old tale!

And the second and probably most important thing about Raiou is the awesome acting, ESPECIALLY on the part of Aoi Yu, my GOSH can this chick ACT!!!! MAN, her scenes were always so gripping, emotional and intense- I have to say that by the end of the movie, I was just DRAINED! Man, NOBODY sells a character better than her, NOBODY! What will this girl do NEXT?!

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