Yellow Elephant (2013) (2024)

Popular reviews

• Review by ButtNugget ★★★½

  Yellow Elephant is a peculiar film. It has trace elements of the quirkiness of slice-of-life dramas, but it’s largely a mystifying arthouse film that portrays how love can easily slip away from us when we couldn’t open up to each other anymore. It’s not perfect—I felt some slight drag in the story near the end and its symbolic devices, though adorable in the way they’re executed, sometimes operate on the superficial level. Aside from hearing some praises for Vibrator, I’m not really familiar with the works of director Ryuichi Hiroki. I had no idea what to expect. But my overall impression is mostly positive thanks to its serene quality and its lovely cast. Plus, it stars the great Aoi Miyazaki…

• Review by 𝙛𝙫 *𝙁𝙖𝙮𝘷𝘦𝘭 ★★★½

  Aoi carries

  It’s mostly hanging out in the summer on the front porch in the Japanese country site. Nice neighbors from different generations come over regularly and everyone cares about each other. Reminded me a lot of Little Forest or Taste of Tea. Especially the many magical elements give similar vibes to Taste of Tea.

  Might also have watched this because I thought Sakura Ando and Kengo Kora were in it. Should’ve looked at their roles >< Sakura is the voice of “Kenyu the dog” and Kengo is the voice of a spider, a flower and the rain… at least Lily Franky appears as a human.

• Review by Willy

  ryuichi hiroki is one of the most interesting directors i've come across.

  i've seen just over a handful of his films now, and despite loving most and liking all of them, i for some reason am having trouble trying to put into words how i feel about any of it. (the fact that i'm no good at writing reviews doesn't help lol)

  i rly got nothing idk. his films are like just entirely feeling. the man came up making softp*rn, like many japanese directors did, but his films most feel like actual softp*rn lol. i think? in like a gentle, human way?

  some shunji iwai vibes maybe

  this ones got a speaking tree and an handrawn-animated yellow elephant with a yellow moon, and a tattoo that comes to life, a speaking goat. this hiroki guy got some magic in his pinky, im tellin

• Review by sitenoise ★★★★ 3

  After seeing a dozen films by Ryuichi Hiroki I've come to the conclusion he's not a particularly original or gifted story-teller and his films are only as good as his lead actress. Aoi Miyazaki brings her A-game to the proceedings. She captivates. Fans of her work don't want to miss this one. I wish I could include screen caps here to show how beautiful she is as a thespian. And but, some of the credit should go to Hiroki. After seeing a dozen of his films another conclusion I've come to: he knows how to photograph women, but he can't create their depth. They have to bring it.

• Review by Dave Jackson ★★½

  Yellow Elephant is excruciatingly long and told with that particular kind of hand-wringing found in a particular kind of particularly earnest Japanese film. It is a mess narratively, starting off reasonably well in a quiet way before spiralling off into silliness in its second half. There's talking animals (and cactuses), scenes bathed in grotesque yellow light, animated sequences, and a bit where Aoi Miyazaki smashes her onscreen husband's hand to bloodied smithereens. Tonally bizarre and bursting with over the top emotions. But. BUT. Miyazaki is, unsurprisingly, very, very good in this. She totally embodies her character and makes this far more watchable than it should be. Tatsuomi Hamada (the sweetest kindest Ultraman ever) is also a very nice addition, giving…

• Review by Anny ★

  Nicely made but it has no soul.

• Review by Rolf ★★★

  The relationship of a young couple (Aoi Miyazaki and Osamu Mukai) who lives in the countryside gets shaken up as the husband has still feeling for an old lover who reminded him of a close person that died when he was a kid...
  This starts like a hanging-out movie indulging in the beautiful scenery and happiness of the couple. It actually reminded me a lot of Hayao Miyazaki's work in how nature and some 'magic' elements are integrated to the story (Aoi Miyazaki talking to animals and plants).
  So, while nothing much happens in the first half, the second one pumps up the drama and creates conflict leading to the husband going back to Tokyo to meet up with his…

• Review by SchoenerDenken ★★★★★

  Mit sicher gewählten, einfühlsamen Bildern, die er gut portioniert mit phantastischen Elementen und sogar Animationssequenzen anreichert, erzählt Regisseur Ryuichi Hiroki diesen Extrakt aus einem Roman von Kanako Nishi und schafft eine Atmosphäre, in welcher der Betrachter sich äußerst dicht am Leben und Empfinden der beiden Protagonisten wiederfindet und ihm nicht nur vorführt, sondern ihn tatsächlich unmittelbar mitspüren lässt, wie sehr in einer Liebesbeziehung eine Nähe in Zuneigung auch eine Nähe in Verzweiflung bedingt, wie nur aus dem Schmerz eine Heilung zu erfolgen vermag. Hiroki gelingt in Zusammenarbeit mit seinen beiden phantastischen Hauptdarstellern Aoi Miyazaki (Tsuma) und Osamo Mukai (Muko) wirklich großartiges Gefühlskino. schoener-denken.de/blog/yellow-elephant-podcast_filmkritik/

• Review by Teresa ★★★

  Young love and crayons.

• Review by iluvOP ★★★★½

  I loved this one.
  Its a bit weird in places and the overall mood of the film changes quite a bit at certain parts. Those moments were suprising in a good way.
  Its one of those movies that you'll either love or you'll hate it. Its very difficult to explain why I loved this one so much, but give this one a chance. Definitely check it out.