Ima, ai ni yukimasu (2004)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Nobuhiro Doi

Writers:

Takuji Ichikawa (novel)
Yoshikazu Okada (screenplay)

Release Date:

30 October 2004 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Romance

Plot:

Mio's death leaves husband Takumi and 6 year old son Yuji fending for themselves. Taku occasionally suffers fainting spells...

Plot Keywords:

Rainy Season | Diary | Time Travel | Miracle | Soul Mates

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Yuko Takeuchi	...	Mio
Shido Nakamura	...	Takumi
Akashi Takei	...	Yuji
Karen Miyama	...	Aya (Yuji's classmate)
Yosuke Asari	...	Takumi (high school days)
Yûta Hiraoka	...	Yuji (18 years old)
Chihiro Ôtsuka	...	Mio (high school days)
Mikako Ichikawa	...	Midori Nagase (Takumi's co-worker)
Katsuo Nakamura	...	Takumi's Boss
You	...	Yuji's Teacher
Suzuki Matsuo	...	Owner of Cake Shop
Fumiyo Kohinata	...	Dr. Noguchi
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tokimasa Tanabe
Kei Tanaka

Also Known As:

Be with You (Hong Kong: English title) (International: English title) (Singapore: English title)

Runtime:

Japan:119 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Certification:

Taiwan:GP | South Korea:12 | Hong Kong:I | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Lake Suwa, Nagano, Japan

Company:

Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS)

Trivia:

Copies of the book that Mio creates for her son Yuji, promising to return from the Archive Star during the next rainy season, are on sale in Japan.

Movie Connections:

Remade as Be with You (2009)

Masterpiece!

Reading the summaries and reviews of the film, I had several expectations of what would happen. The grieving husband and son of a woman who died at a young age struggle with her loss. Miraculously, she comes back to life ( returning from heaven or some other place) for 6 weeks, one year after her death, during the rainy season, only to leave again after the season is over.

Considering the "coming back to life" plot device isn't without precedent, the American film "Ghost" (with Demi Moore) is but one example, I expected the characters to display the usual gamut of emotions - initial shock that the person has come back, joy that they get to relive their moments together, and ultimately grief that he/she must depart again. This film was not without those moments, but the quality of the acting and the beautiful scenery and photography put it a cut above the rest. However, what puts this film into "classic" status is the ingenious weaving of past, present, and future to deliver a stunning finale that will put every missing piece of the puzzle into place while leaving the audience simply awestruck with emotion. There are few films which I would tell a friend or associate that they "must see this now." This is one of them. Just see it and be amazed.