Leonie (2013)

Very well directed, acted and a fascinating story of on of the 20th century's greatest sculptors who even has his own beautiful museum in New York City. A great place to visit to see 230 works from his own collection plus temporary exhibits..

This is a beautiful, haunting true story of a fascinating, independent- minded young woman at the turn of the 20th century. Her life ends up crossing boundaries, borders, and oceans. Though her name may be obscure, she created a legacy that lives on, and may live on for centuries.The film is beautifully crafted, artfully presented, enormously well written and well acted. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves true stories artfully presented, and beautiful, heartwarming, uplifting films.

Viewed on DVD. Score = eight (8) stars; lead acting = four (4) stars; editing = four (4) stars. Channeling BBC period dramas, Director Hisako Matsui manages to tease out a somewhat memorable film against the odds (some of which seem to be self imposed). In addition to the usual bilingual challenges that come with an English/Japanese co-production, Matsui is dealing with the miscasting of the two principal characters and impoverished editing (see below). The Director (who is credited as a co-author of the scenario) seems to be unwilling/ unable to fully leverage the notoriety of artist Isamu Noguchi (inserting some expository text at the end of the film is too little and much too late!) and the backdrop of epoch-changing events (emerging women rights movements, major wars, etc.) enveloping America and Japan during the late 1890s and early 1900s. Acting by most of the Japanese cast is excellent and easily captures (and holds) the viewer's interest. Not so much for the American cast. The leading actress (American) and actor (Japanese) underplay their roles; their often remote/wooden acting fails to reach out and engage the viewer. Lack of drama in the midst of dramatic events can be painful to watch. Cinematography (wide screen, color) and scene lighting are fine. Sound is OK. Score is excellent, but a little bit much when it comes to string instruments. Editing joins the majority of scenes with fades to white, a less than creative linking that quickly becomes boring. Lack of continuity editing toward the end of the film looks like a frantic maneuver to pad the movie and/or insert events that could not be fully developed or completed because the money ran out. (The film also ends rather abruptly.) Not all spoken Japanese is subtitled. WILLIAM FLANIGAN, PhD.

This film has so much going for it: beautiful cinematography, sets, costumes, wonderful actors and a strong script. I don't understand why other viewers gave it such a low rating. Emily Mortimer plays Leonie, with sensitivity and intelligence, demonstrating a complex range of emotions. The narrative is framed in the style of an older woman writing letters reflecting on her life, traveling back to her young adulthood and beyond. Leonie fits the description of a feminist and non-conformist, has a very strong education and a gift for language. She is given a position to edit the work of a Japanese poet in New York, and soon the professional relationship evolves into a romantic alliance, with some heartbreak and many disappointments along the way. Leonie travels from New York to Pasadena California with her son, fathered by the poet, and decides to go to Japan, at his invitation, to continue the relationship, and give her son an opportunity to know his father. In Japan, which is rendered in the most stunning scenes, evoking early nineteenth century design, Leonie faces things about the poet which eventually make her decide to live away from him, in a charming house designed by her ten-year-old son. Eventually, she sends him back to the United States, since she feels that it is the best place for him to be educated. Her son is a "free spirit" with the soul of an artist, and she wants to allow him to maximize his potential. The theme of artistic freedom is very strongly expressed in this film, with Leonie guiding her son into his own self-confidence, nurturing his process, helping him to turn away from a medical school in favor of what fits his nature and talent. Leonie's son, the great, visionary designer and artist Isamu Noguchi is allowed to actualize his potential largely because of his brilliant and visionary mother. Her poet lover and father of Isamu, Yone Noguchi is a great example of a man who has enormous talent for his own art of poetry, but is very limited in the art of "life," at least in the way in which he dealt with Leonie, behaving in an arrogant and narcissistic manner. As a student of art and literature, I loved this film, which was achingly beautiful in so many ways, and brought to life a bygone era with so much convincing detail. The musical sound track by Jan A.P. Kaczmarek was beautiful and worked very well with the drama on the screen. I think this wonderful film should have received many awards, and should be appreciated by all who love art and literature.