I finally found Ai wa chikara da and it's kind of a mess (but I like it)

Is it worth your time?

If you enjoy squinting at grainy black-and-white footage to see 1930s Tokyo, then yes.

People who need explosions or fast talking should probably stay far away from this one. It is slow and sometimes it feels like the movie forgot what it was doing for a minute or two.

I found a copy of this after digging through some old archives and honestly? I didn't expect to finish it.

The title Ai wa chikara da translates to 'Love is Power' but the movie feels more like 'Love is a confusing headache that makes you lose your job.'

Teruo Môuri plays the lead and he has this face that looks like he's constantly about to apologize for something he didn't do.

There is a scene early on where he is just sitting at a desk, and the way the light hits his hair makes him look like a ghost. It’s actually quite beautiful in a sad way.

I kept thinking about how different this feels from something like The Wildcat which has all that crazy energy.

This movie is the opposite of energy. It is a sigh caught on film.

Takeshi Sakamoto shows up and he’s great, but he always feels like he’s in a slightly different movie than everyone else. He has this grounded vibe that makes the more dramatic actors look like they are trying too hard.

The writing by Takao Yanai is... fine? I guess? Some of the dialogue cards feel like they were written by someone who had too much coffee and not enough sleep.

I noticed this one extra in a street scene who just stands there staring directly into the camera for like three seconds. It totally broke the mood but I kind of loved it.

The movie gets way better once it stops trying to be a 'serious drama' and just lets the characters walk around and be miserable together.

There is a lot of walking. People in 1930s Japanese cinema really loved to show characters walking down long, empty streets.

Mitsuko Yoshikawa has these eyes that just burn through the screen grain. You can almost feel her frustration with the lead guy.

I think the film is trying to say something about the economy, but I was mostly distracted by how cool the hats were back then.

One scene near the middle goes on about 40 seconds too long. It’s just a shot of a door. I thought my player had frozen but no, the director just really liked that door.

It reminded me of the stillness in No Man's Land, though that's a whole different kind of quiet.

The music—well, the version I saw had this weird, late-added score that didn't match at all. It sounded like a circus was happening in the next room during a funeral.

I wonder if the original audience in 1930 actually thought love was power after seeing this. To me, it looked like love was mostly just exhausting.

There is a tiny moment where a character drops a tea cup and it doesn't break, and they just leave it there. It felt so real and accidental.

Most movies would have cut that out. This movie just keeps rolling.

The pacing is very 'bursty'—nothing happens for ten minutes and then suddenly everyone is crying and throwing things.

It is definitely more interesting than All Wet, which I watched last week and already forgot most of.

Is the ending happy? Not really. But it’s not super sad either. It’s just... an ending.

I like that it doesn't try to wrap everything up in a neat little bow with a ribbon.

The cinematography is hit or miss. Some shots are perfectly framed and others look like the cameraman was tripping over a rug.

Hiroko Kawasaki is underused here. She has such a presence but she mostly just stands in the background looking worried.

I feel like this movie would be better if it was about 15 minutes shorter. Or maybe 15 minutes longer? I can't decide.

It has that weird 'early talkie' feel even though it’s essentially silent. You can tell the filmmakers were starting to think about space differently.

It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s a real movie made by real people who were clearly trying to figure things out as they went.

If you're bored and want to feel like a film historian, give it a go. Just don't expect a fast ride. 📽️

• The hats are 10/10.
• The door scene is 2/10.
• Mitsuko Yoshikawa’s stare is 11/10.

I think I’ll go watch The Silent Mystery next just to see if the title is as literal as this one was.

Anyway, *Ai wa chikara da* is a strange little ghost of a film. I’m glad it still exists, even if it’s a bit dusty. ✌️