Welcome to the Quiet Room – Review

Welcome to the Quiet Room stars former Jpop idol Yuki Uchida as a writer who suddenly finds herself in a psychiatric hospital for a suicide attempt she doesn’t remember.  The non-linear time line was well used, and even though we relived the same set of events, each retelling felt fresh. This film has the atmosphere of “Fight Club” with a similar protagonist, an insomniac on drugs, in a very different story. Seeing such a beautiful woman on the outside and having a hectic, but seemingly successful writing career, you wouldn’t guess such troubles existed in her life. That is why this film was so enjoyable for me was seeing something that totally took me off guard.

Just as Angelina Jolie’s supporting role stole the film from lead Winona Ryder in “Girl, Interrupted”, so too does Aoi Yu’s small role as Miki steals the film from Yuki. If you ever remember seeing the movie Gothika with Halle Berry you can understand that if you see a movie taking place in a mental hospital, then you never really know what to expect.  Music in this movie is very scarce, but extremely touching and suit each scene very well. The movie also has somewhat dark comedic elements that are highly enjoyable to top it all off. Such is the case when the story then shows us that now released, into general population, Asuka meets some of her fellow patients for the first time. While most are outwardly bonkers, she finds a few girls she can relate to.

However, later we find out that she does indeed have a serious problem which I won’t spoil here. Visually the film was colorful, realistic, and had a good atmosphere. Welcome to the quiet Room is an entertaining, but also touching film.  If you’re looking to enhance your appreciation of fine Asian cinema you should wait a while for a Yuki Uchida fix. I have a feeling this woman is about to do something good.

As you can guess, my brief plot summary probably can’t do justice to some of the funnier elements of the film. If you’re in the mood for a quirky comedy/drama that doesn’t get mired in the typical formulaic tripe you could do a lot worse than Welcome to the Quiet Room.  In Asuka’s case her problems derive squarely from manic depression, so having comedy elements thrown in is a serious curveball. Having said this, it’s actually not that surprising that the film gets more dramatic in tone towards the end. Great film that almost slipped under my radar and I am glad I had an opportunity to watch it and share this write up with you guys. Make sure you go see it!