Monday Morning Maybe

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Poster for The Long Excuse

The Long Excuse

Seen it?

2016 | 124 min | Drama

Saturday Specialearly rating

Why it’s a Saturday Special

Critics loved it (100% on Rotten Tomatoes), despite almost no lasting buzz. A strong pick for the weekend.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it
A natural pick for people who love relationship stories and people ready for a good cry. Relationships are put under a microscope, for better or worse. It's about loss, handled with care rather than melodrama.
The mood
Emotional (bring tissues).
The pace
Lets scenes breathe, at 2 hr 4 min.
What might put you off
  • It's in Japanese, so expect subtitles (or a dub).
  • Skip it if you need something light and fast tonight.

A recently widowed writer whose wife died in a bus crash comes to terms with his grief—or lack of it—in caring for the children of a working man who also lost his wife in the same accident.

How it earned its rating

  • CriticsVery strong

    100% on Rotten Tomatoes

  • AudiencesNot counted

    Not measured yet: not enough ratings

  • AwardsBelow par

    2 wins and 11 nominations from smaller awards and festivals

  • Reach & staying powerBelow par

    Streaming release that reached a small audience so far; still draws a steady audience long after release

  • Buzz & cultural impactWeak

    About 2K people sought it out in the past year

Trailer

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Cast & crew

Directed by Miwa Nishikawa

  • Masahiro MotokiSachio Kinugasa
  • Pistol TakeharaYoichi
  • Kenshin FujitaShinpei
  • Tamaki ShiratoriAkari
  • Keiko HoriuchiYuki
  • Sosuke IkematsuKishimoto
  • Haru KurokiChihiro Fukunaga
  • Maho YamadaYuko
  • Eri FukatsuNatsuko
  • Izumi MatsuokaKotoe Kurita