Sekai no chûshin de, ai o sakebu (2004)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Isao Yukisada

Writers:

Kyouichi Katayama (novel)
Yuji Sakamoto (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

8 May 2004 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

While searching for his fiancee Ritsuko, Sakutarou rediscovers through flashbacks the void deep within him caused by the events from his high school days.

Plot Keywords:

Flashback | Love | Fiancee | Japanese | Leukemia

Awards:

9 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Takao Osawa	...	Sakutaro Matsumoto
Kou Shibasaki	...	Ritsuko Fujimura
Masami Nagasawa	...	Aki Hirose
Mirai Moriyama	...	Sakutaro Matsumoto (High School)
Tsutomu Yamazaki	...	Shigezou Matsumoto
Kankurô Kudô	...	Ryunosuke Ooki
Kanji Tsuda	...	Johnny
Issei Takahashi	...	Ryunosuke (high school student)
Rio Kanno	...	Ritsuko (girl)
Tetta Sugimoto	...	Aki's Father
Katsutaka Furuhata	...	Johnny (high school)
Kenta Uchino	...	Classmate
Aki Nishihara	...	Classmate
Masaru Miyazaki	...	Classmate
Marie Kawaguchi	...	Classmate

Also Known As:

Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World (International: English title)
Crying Out Love, in the Centre of the World (Hong Kong: English title) (DVD title)
Shouting Love from the World's Center (International: English title) (informal literal title)

Runtime:

138 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Malaysia:U | South Korea:12 | Hong Kong:I | Singapore:PG

Company:

Toho Company

Trivia:

Sekai no Chushin de, Ai wo Sakebu, a Japanese romance novel by Katayama Kyoichi, sold over 3 million copies in Japan alone.

Movie Connections:

References Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Soundtrack:

Hitomi wo Tojite

A tear jerker

This is a beautifully shot and profoundly touching film about love and grief. Normally I am not really into sappy romance movies, because many of them insult my intelligence. But this sentimental drama completely captivates me and I cried and cried and cried again.

In "Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World," Saku and Aki are two high school classmates in the 80s. They fall in love and use audio cassettes to record their diaries for each other. However, this romance didn't last forever. And 17 years later, when Saku comes back to his hometown, he is still consumed by his love of his life time.

The film travels between two time lines seamlessly and never slows down on building up the emotion through a brilliant performance by a terrific ensemble cast. I believe in and feel the love between the characters, which is why I am so deeply moved by their love story.