Cherry Blossoms (2008)

After Rudi's wife Trudi suddenly dies, he travels to Japan to fulfill her dream of being a Butoh dancer.

Director:

Doris Dörrie

Writer:

Doris Dörrie (screenplay)

Stars:

Elmar Wepper, Hannelore Elsner, Aya Irizuki

8 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Elmar Wepper	...	Rudi Angermeier
Hannelore Elsner	...	Trudi Angermeier
Aya Irizuki	...	Yu
Maximilian Brückner	...	Karl Angermeier
Nadja Uhl	...	Franzi
Birgit Minichmayr	...	Karolin Angermeier
Felix Eitner	...	Klaus Angermeier
Floriane Daniel	...	Emma Angermeier
Celine Tanneberger	...	Celine Angermeier
Robert Döhlert	...	Robert Angermeier
Tadashi Endo	...	Butoh Dancer
Sarah Camp	...	Butcher
Gerhard Wittmann	...	Doctor #1
Veith von Fürstenberg	...	Doctor #2
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Walter Hess	...	Pfarrer

Storyline

When Trudi learns that her husband Rudi is dangerously ill, she suggests visiting their children in Berlin without telling him the truth. As Franzi and Karl don't care much about their parents, Trudi and Rudi go to the Baltic Sea, where Trudi suddenly dies. Rudi is thrown out of gear, even more when he learns that his wife wanted to live a totally different life in Japan...

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Plot Keywords:

asiatic | plant in title | loss of wife | cherry blossom | japan | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany] Official site [France]

Country:

Germany

Language:

German English Japanese

Release Date:

6 March 2008 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Las flores del cerezo

Filming Locations:

Allgäu, Bavaria, Germany

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,322, 18 January 2009, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$103,797, 21 June 2009

Company Credits

Production Co:

Olga Film, Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), ARD Degeto Film

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After Rudi's wife Trudi suddenly dies, he travels to Japan to fulfill her dream of being a Butoh dancer.

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Quotes

Karolin Angermeier: Your cue, mama.
Klaus Angermeier: Go on, mama.
Karolin Angermeier: Mama, please, 'The Mayfly'. Come one, mama. For us.
Trudi Angermeier: 'Stop! What you're doing is murder!'
Klaus Angermeier: 'Such cruelty is not a must... '
Trudi Angermeier: 'The Mayfly has but one short day... '
Karolin Angermeier: 'One single day of pain, one single day of lust... '
[chuckles]
Rudi Angermeier: 'Oh, let it hover there, until it meets it's end. It's heavens last forever. It's life one day to make amends.' Right, mama?

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Connections

Version of Tokyo Story (1953)

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Soundtracks

Ju Trauert Um Rudi
by Claus Bantzer

User Reviews

Move Thee Reviews: A Tug at the Heartstrings

A German director Doris Dorrie's third film in her trilogy on Japan, Cherry Blossoms, is an exquisite, absorbing and deeply moving meditation on life, death, loss, loneliness and grief.

Talking about old parents with alienated and indifferent descendants, the first half of the film may remind the audience of Yasujiro Ozu's film made in 1953, Tokyo Monogatari. The six hugging-or-massage (by family members and strangers) scenes and the father's harmonious relationships with his daughter's girlfriend and a Japanese girl successfully highlight the poor relationship between the father and his children.

The second half in which the main character embarks on a reflective journey in search of traces of the deceased love captures the mood of Lost in Translation and Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles. The cultural shock experienced also makes the film distinguishable from Under the Sand.

Cherry blossoms and Mount Fuji symbolize the fleeting and unpredictable nature of life. The film delivers a message that we should treasure the people around us, pursue our dreams and enjoy life to the full so that we will have no regrets. Besides, it is also about the main character's inability to communicate with not only the dead, but also the living family members. Butoh, a Japanese dance, helps people to feel and establish connections with others. What's more, the audience can pay attention to the symbolic meaning of the drawings at the beginning of the film and the photos at the end.

The cinematographer and the composer also succeed in evoking different tones from several shooting locations in Germany and Japan. The suburbs contrast sharply with the hustle and bustle of city life. Apart from the poetic and stunning visual images and the Japanese music playing upon the audience's heartstrings, the characters are so lifelike that the audience will care about what happen to them.

On the whole, although Cherry Blossoms is a bit too long, without emotional bludgeoning or syrupy manipulation, it is a little road movie producing emotional resonance and reflective ripples in a whisper.