Awake (2020)

A mediocre introduction to computer shogi

To be honest, I don't know how to review this movie. Unlike karuta, go or chess, I know nothing about shogi and so I am sure to have missed a lot of the meaning/depth behind few scenes.

Take my review with a pinch of salt as it would be based completely on entertainment value and comparative rating with movies/shows/documentaries on chess variants.

Story:
The inspiration for the movie comes from the Denou-sen, a human versus machine battle where an ai-based computer shogi program played against a professional player, and is set in the early 2010's where computer programs were just getting developed.

Awake starts of slow, picks up in the middle but comes to a quick end. The pacing of the movie felt weird to me and I found the story quite disjointed up till the last 40 mins. After which it ended without much fanfare, leaving the feeling of an incomplete story. To me, this movie fell more under the 'slice of life' genre than anything else.

Acting:
The characters felt very one dimensional to me and I couldn't really connect with any single one.

There were some exaggerated scenes where I couldn’t understand why Eichi got so hyper but otherwise the social awkwardness and introverted nature of the main character was displayed wonderfully by Yoshizawa Ryo.

There were some beautiful instances in the movie where we were shown the dedication the secondary lead had to shogi (particularly when he is playing practice matches with the AI) but these moments were far and between.

Music:
There is very little dialogue in this movie. Music plays a huge part during the silent intervals and many times I felt I would prefer someone said something rather than hearing a tune playing in the background. Though, the melody during the game moves is good.

Overall:
I am pretty much on the fence about this movie. It lies somewhere between meh and okay. Overall, I had more fun watching the movie on AlphaGo. I knew what I was getting into with that one and it kept my interest till end unlike this movie, where I couldn't care less what happened to the characters after the match.

So in conclusion, if you aren’t aware of AI programming this isn’t a bad movie to start your journey but don't expect to be wowed. Its just about okay for a one time watch and that's pushing it.

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Good Enough

Japanese Movie " Awake " is a drama about the riverly in sports-games.

The movie starts out pretty intriguing, hooking the viewer and making them wonder what will happen. The amtosphere is also spot on, dakr and mysterious, giving the feeling that this is going to be an interesting psychological thriller.

However, the ending is A) rushed B) lukewarm, and C) a letdown. The movie was building up to the final showdown and that was it? It could certainly have been better handled.

The performances, on the other hand, were all great by everyone in the cast, especially the two main leads.

So, overall, six out of ten.

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