Sweet Rain: Accuracy of Death (2008)

Kaneshiro plays a Grim Reaper who appears to his victims in human form and spends a week with them before deciding whether to off them or not.

Director:

Masaya Kakehi

Writers:

Kôtarô Isaka (based upon the novel), Masaya Kakehi (screenplay)

Stars:

Takeshi Kaneshiro, Manami Konishi, Sumiko Fuji

Cast

Credited cast:
Takeshi Kaneshiro	...	Chiba
Manami Konishi	...	Kazue Fujiki
Sumiko Fuji	...	Kazue (as Junko Fuji)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yuki Enomoto
Mitsuru Fukikoshi	...	Kentaro Oomachi
Takuya Ishida	...	Shinji Akutsu
Ken Mitsuishi	...	Toshiyuki Fujita
Jun Murakami	...	Aoyama
Erika Okuda	...	Takeko
Hiroshi Yamamoto

Storyline

As the rain falls gently on the streets of Tokyo, Death emerges from the supernatural realm to decide whether or not a chosen individual will die in seven days time as scheduled. Chiba is the Grim Reaper. Precisely one week before a person is scheduled to die, Chiba appears to observe and evaluate their life, if the person have already fulfilled the purpose on earth and can step off the stage of life. At the end of those seven days, he makes the decision whether to "execute" or "pass over" his subject. It's not the most pleasant job imaginable, but Chiba always takes time to unwind by visiting the local CD shops and listening to some music. To Chiba, music is humanity's greatest invention. Chiba's latest subject is twenty-seven year old Kazue Fujiki, who leads unlucky life and seems to be ill-starred since everyone around her dies.

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Plot Keywords:

based on novel | death | adaptation | grim reaper | shinigami | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

22 March 2008 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Accuracy of Death

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,851,480

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mitsui Bussan, Nippon Television Network (NTV), Robot Communications

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The concept of the Grim Reaper taking human form to experience the mortal realm is not something particularly new; parallels can easily be drawn to Brad Pitt's turn as a Grim Reaper in Meet Joe Black (1998). Both films share several elements in common; they involve the Grim Reaper taking on the suave visage of a pretty boy, they remove the sinister from the concept of Death itself, and they end up as a study of Life instead of Death. However, this is where the similarities end, and Sweet Rain: Shinigami no Seido, based on the bestselling novel by Isaka Kotaro (The Accuracy of Death), turns out to be a great story in its own right.

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Quotes

Chiba: Reapers don't kill anyone. We just talk to those whose death is foretold.

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Soundtracks

Sunny Day
Performed by Manami Konishi (under alias Kazue Fujiki)
Courtesy of DefSTAR RECORDS

User Reviews

What is death... What is life?

The story is about a Grim Reaper, whose job is deciding whether or not the 'subject' is ready for unexpected deaths. The movie is divided into three episodes, first about an OL in her 20s, second about a yakuza in his 40s, and the last about an old lady in her 70s. All the different episodes seem to be unrelated, but connects spontaneously in the end.

Although the whole 'Shinigami' thing, which literally means 'death god' or 'Grim Reaper' is very common in Japanese culture, the concept somewhat reminded me of "Meet Joe Black", and the random encounter with other Shinigami reminded me of "City of Angels". However, I was relieved the story focused on the protagonist's gradual understanding of life rather than falling in love with his 'subjects'.

It has been a long time since I saw Kaneshiro Takeshi in a Japanese movie. He has been appearing in many epic Chinese/HK movies of late, and it was fun watching such 'S-class' actor in a Japanese film again. He played the innocent and composed personality of his character very well. I really liked the silent dog too. The subtitled conversation really adds to the fantasy in addition to the 'bridge and door'.

This film was exceptionally well directed. There were so many memorable scenes and advanced camera-work/angles. Even the special effects, other than the 'touch of death', were amazing considering Japanese budgets.

Personally, this movie didn't really make me ponder about life, so it may have failed in that aspect, but it was a story well told.