As a 38 years old man, I have seen some classic movies and I enjoyed most of them. Chaplin, Ford, Ozu, Kurosawa, Fellini, Kubrick, Jarmusch, Miyazaki... I cannot describe how deeply I got influenced by their movies. But.
You may say I am too sentimental in my nature (like those other Asian, I am Japanese by the way) to leave comments about movies here on IMDb. For example, I much prefer Chaplin's movies to Keaton's. That may tell you something. But.
I even saw the original Tenkosei movie. And I understand many people say that the original is 'more attractive to film lovers' or 'better acted'. But. Still.
"Tenkosei: Sayonara Anata" is one of the best films I have ever seen. Or frankly speaking, this movie tops them all. This movie gave me indescribably profound emotion. This is not just about boy-meets-girl-and-they-switch-their-bodies show. This movie rather reaches me like a matter of 'why we are ourselves' and 'why we love someone', the motif similar to "La Strada".
I have no idea why I say things stupid like 'the best movie of all-time in the whole wide world' in the 21st century. There is no common ground for us all any more, and never a universal sense of value even within myself. Or maybe there is. Because there used to be there and some of them might be able to remain. I slightly sensed that the tears I shed (awful lot) all through the last half of the movie were a bit childish. As a child I cried. Director Obayashi here talks to us as children, who got ripped from mothers' bodies, being in love with ourselves, and will be in love with someone else. Anyway "Tenkosei: Sayonara Anata" deals with birth and death, and more importantly, to grow up. The universal theme, I think.
However I really understand why many people do not appreciate this movie. Unlike the early Tenkosei movie which gained many applause, this re-make has a lot of weakness. Expect other people to name the list, I only say those weakness did not bother me at all because 'the universal theme' in the latter half of the movie was so powerful. This powerfulness did not exist in the early version of the movie, rarely in other movies, too.
This is just my impression of the movie. I write this because the movie worths more exposure.
