Rakuen

Well, this won't be my useful commentary ever, as I'm afraid it's been awhile. I saw this film at the Toronto International Film Festival, and it was one of my favorite films that year. It is a gentle and enchanting meditation on grief and change. (I think I saw it within a day of Hirokazu Kore-Eda's After Life, which may say something about the themes that cropped up in the festival that year).

The actors (whom, if I recall correctly were not professionals) are wonderful, acting with little dialogue, but conveying all the myriad emotions they need to. Visually, the film is beautiful. A disillusioned young man joins a grief-stricken older man in building a traditional boat. Seems simple, and it is outwardly, but like any journey of emotional healing there's a lot going on under the surface. I recommend it, and giving yourself over to it.