Tennen kokekkô

Another movie depicting the goodness of simple life in the countryside and the innocent love of a teenage girl. They should not have been able to make such a beautiful film without big name actors and a lot of money, but they did. A miraculously good film, just like "Josee, the Tiger and the Fish".

I have seen the lead actress Kaho in minor roles in many dorama series before, and I didn't have much expectations for her in this movie, but she was phenomenal. She was very cute and pure, had a great control of her emotions, and just fit perfectly into the role. Cinematography and camera-work were equally wonderful, a proof that big budget CG isn't necessary for stunning scenes. What I loved most though, was how well this film was directed. It had a very straightforward story of a shy and earnest girl falling in love, and it didn't have any scenes that were overwhelming memorable and dramatic like most masterpieces, but I was totally drawn into the story. I totally connected with all the main characters. Even the theme song by Qururi is amazingly titled "Kotaba wa Sankaku Kokoro wa Shikaku" (Words are triangular, heart is square). Perfectly describing the youthful heroine not being able to express her true feelings.

Although I still feel "Soredemo Boku wa Yattenai" as the best film of the year, this movie was a very enjoyable experience for me. It shows that beauty lies beneath ordinary things and emotion through subtlety, a true Japanese film. Everything was perfect, I can't come up with a single flaw in this movie. As I mentioned before, a miraculous film.