Sono toki wa kare ni yoroshiku (2007)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Yûichiro Hirakawa

Writers:

Takuji Ichikawa (original novel)
Kaoru Ishii (screenplay)

Release Date:

2 June 2007 (Japan)

Genre:

Romance

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel

Cast

Takayuki Yamada	...	Satoshi Toyama
Masami Nagasawa	...	Suzune Morikawa / Karin Takigawa
Takashi Tsukamoto	...	Yuji Igarashi
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Riki Honda	...	Ikuo Matsuoka
Masaya Kikawada	...	Takayuki Natsume
Keiko Kitagawa	...	Momoka Katsuragi
Fumiyo Kohinata	...	Goro Toyama
Ryoko Kuninaka	...	Misaki Shibata
Emi Wakui	...	Ritsuko Toyama

Also Known As:

Say Hello for Me (International: English title)

Runtime:

Japan:114 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Company:

Hakuhodo DY Media Partners

A Movie Absurdly Full of Ridiculous Moments

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

How can I begin to describe this movie? Calling it awful is my first instinct, however I feel that even that term does not do the movie justice. But first let me say that I saw this movie in a theater over five months ago. While some of the finer points of its story have vanished from memory, the disgust it left me with remains as strong

The story in a nutshell is how the childhood friendship shape their adult lives. Or at least that is how it might be billed. In reality it stretches stretches the limits of believability way past the breaking points. The main character, Yuji, has lived his life based on a promise he made to his two friends whom he moved away from while still in elementary school. However, he is so oblivious to his friends' lives that he doesn't even recognize his friend, Karin when she comes back into his life. Keep in mind that Karin has become a world famous model. As the story progresses we learn that Yuji and Karin have, of course, been secretly in love with each other.

The worst part of this movie is the series of truly dumb things that happen in it. Many of these things do not directly influence the plot, but they damage an already highly flawed movie. For example, when Yuji realizes he must rush to his original hometown with utmost quickness, he drops everything and dashes out of his house. He then runs past his car and is next seen arriving at his destination. A truly Forrest Gump-like move. What makes it worse is that these two towns are supposed to be what separated our hero from his truest friends. Not much of a divide if it can be jogged.

It also has the flaw which afflicts many Japanese movies; magical sickness. Characters often go from well to near death or vice versa in a matter of minutes. Sometimes there is a cause, sometimes they just get caught in the rain.

However, the biggest fault in the movie lies in the acting. Wooden is the term. Pregnant pauses fill every speech and forlorn or yearning looks happen roughly every 30 seconds. Every conversation might as well be a monologue with the main actors channeling all the chemistry of live oak.

In closing, if you are in the mood for a heartwarming movie with strong performances avoid this movie. If you want to see a movie where story and character actions make sense, don't see this one. However, if you are hoping for a droning, nonsensical, poorly acted and directed, overly melodramatic love story, by all means, enjoy.