Sekai no chûshin de, ai o sakebu (2004)

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

Director:

Isao Yukisada

Writers:

Kyouichi Katayama (novel), Yûji Sakamoto (screenplay),

Stars:

Takao Osawa, Kô Shibasaki, Masami Nagasawa

10 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Takao Osawa	...	Sakutaro Matsumoto
Kô 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

Storyline

In 1980s Kyushu, two teenagers fell in love, and exchanged their secrets and thoughts by way of sending tape recordings to each other. More than a decade later, the boy (now grown-up and bittered) rediscovers the last recording of his long-dead lover's voice. Her words trigger a series of flashbacks illustrating the joyful beginning and tragic end of their relationship.

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Plot Keywords:

flashback | fiancee | love | memory | nostalgia | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [jp]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese English

Release Date:

8 May 2004 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Crying Out Love in the Center of the World

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company, Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS), Hakuhodo

Technical Specs

Runtime:

138 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Connections

References Ben-Hur (1959)

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Soundtracks

"Someday"
Written and Performed by Motoharu Sano

User Reviews

Acclaim from single European male in mid-thirties.

I have just returned from holiday and had the unexpected chance to view this film during a 13-hour long plane flight. It was admittedly one of 60 movies on offer - mainly in English. I once lived in Japan for several years and couldn't help but draw some parallels to my experiences and relationships whilst living there. The title does not become fully clear until you have seen the entire film so I will not spoil it for you - the best thing is to approach the film with a completely open mind, with as little knowledge of the plot as possible. Suffice to say that I found this movie captivating from the very beginning, evocatively scored (the piano music really hits the spot), beautifully photographed, and the leading characters are all sensitively portrayed by the Japanese actors and actresses involved, many of whom will not be familiar to movie-goers outside Japan. Although it runs for almost 2 hours I found that the film never dragged and developed the story and characters at a realistic pace. I was touched by this moving story so much that it had me crying too !