"I don't want to die, I just didn't want to live." Arthur Brennan (McConaughey) is tired of his life and is just flailing and decides he only has one option. He flies to Japan in order to visit the mysterious Aokigahara forest to end it all. When he begins to carry out his plan he notices Takumi (Watanabe) who has changed his mind about suicide and is trying to find his way out. Arthur decides to help him escape, and along the way the two begin to discuss their lives, and find reasons for living. This is a good movie but one you must be in the mood for. This is not super depressing, but its not a very happy movie either. The acting is great, as would be expected, and that really carries the movie. Little by little you find out more and more about Arthur's story and why he is in the position he is. The pacing and writing of the movie is near perfect and the acting only adds to the emotion needed for a film like this. There was a movie called The Forest that came out a few months ago that dealt with this area as well, I liked that one better but the movies are just so different its almost hard to compare the two. Overall, near perfect pacing, writing and acting lead to a great movie. That said, it is one you have to be in the mood for and be emotionally ready to handle. Since the re-watchablity (for me at least) isn't there, I give this a B+.

Arthur Brennan (Matthew McConaughey) has had it tough and is has decided to do himself in as a privileged person by traveling to Japan's suicide forest. He chooses the cowards way out by taking pills. He has about 30 pills to take and it takes him half a bottle of water to swallow just 2 pills and has only one bottle. I'll let you do the math there. BTW the guy teaches physics. While attempting to get that third pill down he encounters a man (Ken Watanabe) who is more messed up than he is. Rather than continue with his plan, Arthur, our skeptic, helps the man. Arthur has flashbacks to his antagonistic relationship with his wife and we know how this formula film ends, even with that oh so clever twist done a gazillon times before.

Might be a good bitter-sweet film for people who see something spiritual in every flower and cockroach on the planet and love those Lifetime dramas. Life really isn't that tough for the privileged folks in Seattle, except for those who decide to make it hard for themselves. My bad, I never developed any compassion for Arthur who never revealed himself as a likable guy until he decided to kill himself for feeling guilty for being a dirt bag. Nice scenery.

No sex or nudity. Didn't catch any F-words.

Some forests seem to have a reputation about them. Though I do wonder how it is, they don't actually do something about those. I mean if you are aware that people go there for a specific (and horrific if I may add) reason, you'd think they would try to put measures in place to stop people from doing something they won't be able to regret.

But if that were the case, you wouldn't have this movie now would you? And it's a fine movie overall. I read it got bad reviews and reactions in Cannes, which is a bit surprising. Especially considering this feels like a movie that should be at home in Cannes (no pun intended). The acting is really good and while you mostly have 2 characters (with some flashbacks where more people are being seen),it never is boring. If you like Drama that is of course ...