missraze Something about this movie made me fall in love the moment it started. Maybe it's because I knew Kubozuka Yousuke would do well. Just google his name, check out his filmography, scroll through his photos and admire how not only gorgeous this man is, but how eclectic his portfolio is, to me. He has this cross between Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Johnny Depp, possibly Heath Ledger. I love it. One of my top Japanese actors.Although I've always loved escaping into and being inspired by all types of East Asian culture, Laundry started off a passion for Japanese film for me, and it's been almost a year since I discovered it, and started a collection of Asian films that holds probably over 100 movies now. This is one of the top films in my prized possession.People say this film is slow. No it's not. It's kind of traditional in Japanese film to take its time, so to develop general patience with films from the viewers and sure to follow genuine appreciation. He was so adorable in this, and so different from his performance in two other films I had seen, one before and one after Laundry. He played a tough though professional guy in one and a street smart thug in the other, yet a soft, precocious, endearing differently-abled young man here. So cool.I loved the leading lady who plays his girlfriend here! So pretty and with a similar personality of her other character in Pulse, a classic Japanese horror film. She was kind of emotionless, invested with her time in a relationship, but at face value not her mind or heart or affection. It symbolises the struggles of the character the viewer will later learn. Basically...she's lonely.At the start it wasn't a relationship, however. It was a chance meeting, at a laundry place where Teru works, during a pivotal moment in the woman's life, post-breakup and struggling with depression and insomnia, hence the pills she takes. They get stuck with one another because he won't leave her alone, but as she's lonely, she doesn't stop him. They soon wind up inheriting a mutual friend's home when he leaves Japan to find love, and there is where their relationship begins. I feel comfortable calling it a relationship at this point.The only thing I don't get is the need for Teru to be mentally challenged. His struggles take up 99% of the film so perhaps without his challenges there wouldn't be a film? I don't mind him being mentally challenged I just want to see the connection between that and the girl being depressed. What's the significance, or is it just an excuse to make a quirky film? Like a relaxed Benny and Joon? But even without his mental struggles--which really just boil down to him habitually rubbing his nose, saying inappropriately honest things that the girl and their friend learn to appreciate, and being absent-minded, however not unintelligent in the slightest--still the story would be so sweet just from the girl's perspective, being so sad and then finding someone. Perhaps it's a touch of dark humour? That someone so depressed would find love with a mentally challenged person and not too much fight this happening to them? Yet it made me still so happy for her and sad for myself at the same time that I cried more than I have for a film recently. They didn't need a huge ship sinking or a notebook disappearing to make a great love story here.There isn't any part in the film I'd fast forward. I do that even with like Harry Potter, one of my favourite films, and adventurous, presumably always something cool, but alone, I tend to skip to my favourite parts of already seen films if I feel the parts being skipped aren't essential to enjoying or understanding it. With Laundry, again and again, I sit through it, and there are so many heart touching, heart warming moments, I literally shed buckets of tears at the end after some moments of wet eyes during the film.

Paul Magne Haakonsen "Laundry" might be somewhat of an overlooked title to make it out from the Japanese cinema. And it is only my undying love and interest in the Asian cinema that lead me to this movie as I stumbled upon it in a DVD store in Hong Kong.The story told in this 2002 romantic drama is about a young man named Teru (played by Yôsuke Kubozuka) whom suffered an injury to the head and brain during his childhood. He is now looking after the coin laundry service for his elderly grandmother. Here he meets the brokenhearted Mizue (played by Koyuki). A random chance friendship sparks as the two starts talking with each other.For you to fully enjoy "Laundry", then you must enjoy a story- and character-driven drama. To some the storyline might be slow paced and somewhat of an enjoyment killer. But if you do enjoy these kind of movies, then "Laundry" is a rather wholesome entertaining movie that is rich on story, character development and acting performances.The acting by the two lead talents was really great, and they really pulled their weight quite fabulously, both individually and together on the screen. There was a really good chemistry between Yôsuke Kubozuka and Koyuki.While "Laundry" is not a drama that will have you in tears, it is still a rather enjoyable movie, and I can more than warmly recommend that you take the time to sit down and watch this 2002 Japanese movie. It is the type of drama that sinks into your soul and sticks with you for quite awhile. So thumbs up to director Jun'ichi Mori for this accomplishment.

KineticSeoul The main reason I decided to see this movie is because it has Yosuke Kubozuka since I enjoyed some of the films he was in. This movie showed me that actor can actually play different characters than the character I seen in a lot of the movies he was in. He played the naive character that is 20 yrs old and yet has the heart and mannerisms of a soft hearted child very well. Although in another words he is a bit of a disabled character. I first thought this would be a action or rebellious movie with some romance and even some comedy thrown in, but that wasn't it. The plot is basically about falling for someone by coincidence and the obstacles some people face in life. Especially when it comes to friendship, love and family. And sometimes it did have it's moments and was touching in some aspects even if the movie doesn't really revolve around laundry. Personally I didn't like the slow pacing of this movie, it had a decent start but gets a bit boring after a while. But it does have it's moments and can be heartwarming at times as well, also for the most part all of the main characters are likable. Vulnerable and yet likable and thus end up caring how it will all end. However the movie seemed a bit longer than it had to be.6.5/10

mweston The main character is a 20-year-old who works in his grandmother's coin laundry, ostensibly to keep people from stealing clothes but probably really to give him something to do. We learn that he wears a knit cap to cover the scar of a childhood wound that rendered him mentally very slow. He meets a beautiful young woman who has problems of her own.The film actually covers a fair amount of ground beyond what I have described, including some unexpected twists, but it does so at a very deliberate pace that might be a problem for some people. The acting seems quite good, especially by the two leads, and the story is, in a word, sweet. Seen at Cinequest (the San Jose, CA film festival) on 2/25/2002.