Cherry Blossoms

Doris Dörrie's "Cherry Blossoms" - opening "Berlin and Beyond" Thursday, in U.S. release on Friday - has two original titles, one in German: "Kirschblüten," which means cherry blossoms, and another in Japanese: "Hanami," which doesn't.

The Japanese equivalent to the English and German titles would be "sakura"; "hanami" is a national ceremony/celebration/holiday of WATCHING the blossoms open. Dating back to the 8th century, hanami is an event without parallel outside Japan.

The difference between the titles is a subtle, but meaningful message. Just as the blossoms in themselves are different from the veritable cult surrounding them in Japan, Dörrie's characters live in two different worlds, acting differently, first clashing (similarly to "Lost in Translation") and then - somewhat mysteriously - cohere. With this complex, effective, and moving story, Dörrie, who has spent more than three decades writing and directing "interesting and different" films of varying quality, has reached a pinnacle of her career. (She owes a debt of gratitude to Yasujiro Ozu, especially his "Tokyo Story.")

"Germans and Japanese," Dörrie has said, "are really very much alike — incredibly repressed and very irrational at the same time." This vague and rather ridiculous generalization actually seems to come to life in "Cherry Blossoms."

One of Germany's best-known TV stars, Elmar Wepper, appears in his first movie role, and he nails the character of Rudi Angermeier, a cartoonishly ordinary man on an extraordinary journey. Unknown to him, he is near the end of his life, as he slowly, believably emerges from a stolid German middle-class life of unvariable routine to traverse distance and radically different cultures, all the way to Mount Fuji, dancing butoh.

There are two remarkable co-stars along Rudi's adventure: his wife, Trudi, played by the glamorous actress Hannelore Elsner, appearing heroically unglamorous here to fit the role of a plain housefrau; and Aya Irizuki as Yu.

Yu is one of those rare cinematic creations, a character you may not understand, but one who will stay with you. This waif, runaway, street artist is as bizarre a representative of Japan as - going back to "Lost in Translation" again - Bill Murray's Premium Fantasy woman ("Rip my stockings!") and yet she also evokes Giulietta Masina's character in "La Strada," a couple of continents away.

Watching Rudi and Yu under the cherry blossoms, with the strangely elusive Mount Fuji in the background finally peeking out from behind the clouds, is among the more memorable scenes in contemporary cinema.

I will not say 'Cherry Bloosoms' perfectly flawless. The first half of the movie is a bit too plain, beautiful though. It is easy for audience to find traces of 'Tokyo Story' (Ozu's 1953 work) in the film. The filmmaker attempted a large amount of 'pillow shot'. Audience may feel like she was trying to replicate what Ozu did. It may not be a bad idea,especially young generation nowadays has not even spent a minute on watching old films like Ozu's work. But to me, 'Tokyo Story' is too perfect, and the movie I am talking now is not anywhere near it in the case when both of them are critiquing the relationship between parents and grown-up children.

Yet I did experience a sublime journey throughout the course of this beautiful film. What really moved me is the second half of the movie- its delicate description on 'mourning', on how a man copes with the mourning with all kinds of valuable memories of the dead. Beyond doubt the filmmaker did a great work on conveying the feeling of loss. The character'Yu' is impressive enough I still thought of her face that night after watching the movie. She is not the kind of girl with a beautiful face. We the audiences know nearly nothing about the character, but she really hit my heart in a deep way. She is lonely and sad, easily grabs the heart of audiences.Thanks to the soundtrack also. The film is soft, slow, sad, but at the same time it taught me a lesson. To treasure every single person besides me, and to pursue what really matters to me, as can life be ever predicted.

“It's merely a movie.” Yeah. Well, whenever did you see one that had every character's play connect; comprehending intuitively their wars waging within. Between the sense of responsibility, of guilt, sweet memories, shame and nagging doubts. Not of one character, but of every single one. And then not because the lines, expressions and glances are simple, the characters sparse, or the dialogues overly explicit. No. Only because every single one is a mirror of your own, if not now than those that'll (hopefully?) be experienced in the future. Their fights aren't theirs alone; they are ours too. All painfully accurate, and so incorrigibly human.

To watch sheer Love gathering momentum before and after they ... nothing less than apotheosis of overwhelming feeling, an epitome of emotion that was so unattainably beautiful; death's but a trifle after this.

I'd rate it one star ... for every time I cried (or could have, ought to and didn't), yet the scale doesn't reach that high.

I think it was for me a sublime movie experience. I tells about many things: lack of communication between generations, the passing of life and the necessity to cherish it while it lasts, the cultural differences and similarities between Germany and Japan. It also describes how we often do not know well even those closest to us. In the beginning the old couple seems so boring, one-sided and uninvolving, boy does it change as the film unravels. The film is very well written, directed and acted. Also one of the best, wholest descriptions of the current life in Japan I ever saw on celluloide. I loved the character of the young girl in Japan, her wonderful, delicate dignity in the face of the horrors of her lonely life. The man entered her life by coincidence and changed it for the better, maybe saving her from getting crazy or raped, or even killed.

Cherry Blossoms was just one of 15 films I have seen this year at the Seattle International Film Festival, and it has beaten my previous favourite from the festival this year, 'The Home Song Stories', into first place. Cherry Blossoms was not just my favourite film of the festival, it has probably got to be the best film I have seen in a long time hands down.

To be honest, when the film opened up with the cartoon like drawings of Mount Fuji I was a little dubious, but as soon as the first scene kicked in I was hooked! We are slowly drawn into the life of Rudi and Trudi Angermeier, opening up with Tudi being told by doctors that her husband does not have long to live and that maybe they should go on a vacation, an adventure. Through Tudi's character and voice over we begin to learn about who her husband is and what might make him tick. This is all done at the top end of the film before we move on to see Rudi and Trudi visit their children, now grown up adults with their own busy lives in Berlin. They have another son who lives in Tokyo who we meet later in the film.

What follows is a very heart-felt exploration of an older couple very much in love. It was interesting to see how badly their children seem to treat them. We later find out in the film that is because their children believe that Rudi had kind of suppressed Trudi throughout her life and not let her do what she really wanted to do, instead she devoted her life to her husband and children. Whilst that may have been true on some levels, we also see a very different side between Rudi and Trudi in their intimate moments. They seem very much in love with one another and Trudi in particular seems to have been happy to have spent her life looking after the ones she loved. It seems like the children thought it was one way, but the reality was very different. I wonder how often that kind of assumption can come up in real family life? Probably quite common I would think.

So just when we are enjoying the movie, and smiling as we get to know these people, a big twist happens. I won't tell you what it is, but I will say that I did not see it coming at all and it changes everything from that moment on.

And here my friends, is where I have to stop incorporating elements of what happened in the film into my review, for fear of spoiling it for you.

The film incorporated a lot of threads and various symbolic elements along the way, but none of them ever seem forced. They all fit nicely into the flow of things.

There is a massive transition between where Rudi's character in the film starts out, and where he ends up. His journey is wonderful and it seems very natural. There isn't some kind of sudden flip, it is very gradual and perfectly done. Often in films when you let a scene drag on or spend too long telling one element of the story it can obviously seem very tedious and boring, but this was not the case here at all. Everything had it's own place and played it's part it helping to tell the story in a very natural and honest way.

It takes a lot for me to cry when watching a film (I'm a guy!), but Cherry Blossoms did it for me, and I cried more than once. The reason for this I believe is two fold. The first being that as I watched this couple, I couldn't help but make my own personal connection to it. Thinking about my own relationship with my wife and how we may be when we get to Rudi and Trudi's age. The other reason is that you begin to care for these characters so much that when something happens to them, it makes you just want to physically reach out your hand and help them. This is all VERY powerful cinematic stuff! If a movie can take you on a sweeping ride where you laugh and cry, then that is a REAL movie! So many films you see are OK, fine, whatever, etc, etc, but it is very rare that you come across a film which really gives you something back in such a powerful way.

I can see that the writer/director had a very intimate understanding of the people and places. Whether that be from personal experience or just observation and thought. Whatever the case, it was brilliantly executed. The film was so perfect, that when I go back and think about the film, I remember other elements I had forgotten about, elements which just make it so much more perfect in my mind. It really felt like the writer just sat down and poured out the film onto paper, not over thinking or analysing it all. The truth I would guess may be quite different, but I think that's part of the charm when you see a perfect film. It's so flawless that it looks almost effortless!

From this moment forward, I shall be furiously stalking the works of the writer/director, because this is an artist to be reckoned with. Cherry Blossoms is a masterpiece which shall immediately be going on my very small list of all time top films that everyone should see!