ricdesan

The journey of life is a sole exercise in learning to let go. This act is never easy and its different each and every time for each and every one of us! Director Ryutaro Nakagawa uses a subtle hand with a delicate vision to paint a simple version of this. I see some describe it as and Arthouse film but I find it to be a simple premise with rich nuance along the way.

Hatsumi Takimoto has suddenly lost a love along the path of living and its been somewhere around three years when a last letter from her lost boyfriend arrives into her life. What transpires is a pebble in the pond of her ongoing conflict. We are left to wonder at its content as she does not open it for the bulk of the film but it creates a reaction nonetheless. This is where the nuance slowly lures us in to the languid pondering of what her grief may mean to her and where it will lead her.

Aki Asakura brilliantly plays the the leading role with rich depth and smiles on top of undercurrents of her continuing process. We start to wonder why she ventures back to his family during this time and what it will do to her. I am struck that this film portrays deep moments of living with very little screen drama and the director nails this subtlety!

What ends up being truth is once again unexpected and in that surprise is the point of the film. How we let go and what we learn about ourselves is the reward for the hardship.

This is a beautiful treatise on the human spirit and must see for those who love insights into the human condition.

As a universal truth that those exist outside convention will always be shunned and this little gem of a film reminds the viewer that all life is just a point of view and our reality of it is uniquely ours and ours alone.

Even facts don't escape the journey. But what is interesting in all this random relativity is the guidance of the heart. It keeps us pointed in a right direction and even when things get fuzzy it keeps us grounded. And this is just the foundation to begin with. When the filmmaker then looks at memory and gut instinct (the steering trifecta,) is examined in taking this simple yet transitory journey for Emily to check on her father. Not all stories are grand nor are they epic when we as the viewer take up the tale and that is a wonderful big point of what this film is all about.

When the caper does eventually arise, our perception of what is real suddenly cant be trusted and therein lies the quandary. But once again our heart keeps our feet on the ground and our decisions out of our head and for the beautifully played lead by Evanna Lynch it leads us back to ourselves and even opens our eyes to other specialness around us and for her it makes these facts, the best facts of all.

A must see for fans of the small deep intimate character studies.

It will take you places you will hardly believe. This masterful portrayed and languid tale of souls drawn together could not be anymore pitch perfect than the deft hand of the director could make it.

It slowly pulls us in to the small but sure blossoming of love unbidden.

And it is a marvel. For all that Greg Han Hsu as Jimmy keeps just under the surface, the buoyant, in the moment, full of life portrayal Kaya Kiyohara as Ami conversely just lights up the screen with awe inspiring sweetness and beauty. We as the viewer cant help but love her too.

So much emotion can not be denied and its whole becomes much bigger than its parts so even when the hard parts come, you have to endure just like life would have you do so for real - and its what makes this so masterful. So few great films run the gamut of resolution and renewal like this one does.

You have to honor the journey through the joy and the pain, while never letting go of the memories and I cannot hold this beautiful film high enough!