Tears for You

Nada So So, loosely translated as Tears For You, broke box office records in Japan last year. It's a romance story, so its box office clout is no surprise, especially when starring teenage idols Satoshi Tsumabuki (The Waterboys) and Masami Nagasawa (Crying Out Love from the Center of the World, Robocon). Given the screening I attended today was a full house, and almost everyone female, I guess I'm one of the rare few in the theatre who's there to watch Masami in her new movie, as I confess I'm totally smitten by that sunshine smile of hers.

Directed by Nobuhiro Doi, who helmed one of my favourite movies of 2005 - Be With You, Nada So So tells the story of the Shingaki siblings - Yota (Satoshi) and Kaoru (Masami). Left to fend for themselves at a very young age as their father had abandoned them, and their mom left for the heavens, these two half-siblings have only each other, with Yota taking on a surrogate father-like role in looking after Kaoru, working intense shifts and different jobs in order to pay for her education. As vowed on their mother's deathbed, he is obligated to provide the best for her, and does so almost to the extreme.

It serves as a reminder not to overwork oneself, and to take time to smell the roses. Kaoru, having been brought up in a small island, makes it to the mainland in Okinawa, and her physical presence in her brother's life brings about an added dimension to her brother's love life with girlfriend Keiko (Kumiko Aso). You see, while they are siblings, they aren't blood relations, and therefore to some, there are some (sexual) tensions between the two although they would like to discount it. People around them do feel, and while it's against natural order to those who are unaware of the true nature of their relations, these two do keep their feelings well under wraps.

In fact, there's nothing too "wow" about the narrative, as any seasoned romantic film lover will be able to stay one or two steps well ahead of the story development. I'd come to think that the formula has been so tried and tested, anyone can transplant similar stories, with just an update in setting, premise, having different characters, and tada, a new movie. Okinawa provides plenty of picturesque scenes for the movie, and they are well utilized.

Both Satoshi Tsumabuki and Masami Nagasawa bring vivid credibility to their characters, layering them with as much complexities as possible, often done through subtle gestures - that twinkle in the eye, that wry smile. Their chemistry as siblings is totally believable, as are their feelings for each other which they try desperately hard to hide. They make it believable for an audience to sympathize with their predicament, and showcased their ability to exhibit their brotherly-sisterly love for each other, as well as their attempts to hide behind veiled confessions and declarations. This might be a biased statement - but I thought Masami shuttled her Kaoru character with ease, between country bumpkin and smart sister, between that smiling happy girl and that sad depressing feeling of not being able to love someone the way she wants to.

As always, there are numerous opportunities about for anyone soft hearted enough to fall prey to emptying their tear ducts from sad scenes, or scenes that want to elicit that response from you, so bring along some Kleenex just in case. In the screening I attended, there was no lack of sniffles and sobs heard all around.

Do remember to stay throughout the end credits, as the theme song gets played over a montage sequence of photographs from that photo album, and finishes off with a very beautiful picture of Masami in a kimono central to the final act. Also, you'll be rewarded with a bonus scene right at the end.

For the romantics out there, it's a little different in that it's not your usual boy-girl relationship, but it's love as strong nonetheless.

"Nada Sou Sou" means "never-ending tears" in the Japanese Okinawa dialect, but do not expect much tears from this movie.

Don't get me wrong. Somehow, people expect to cry buckets just like Japanese films Crying Out Love and Be With You. Perhaps audiences are already spoilt with the proliferation of Korean tearjerkers.

The premise of this movie is very 'Korean', reminiscent of Autumn in My Heart – A brother-sister relationship (not related of course), the struggles of love, filmed at scenic spots by the countryside. It drew light chuckles, with the all-so-familiar scene of little brother carrying the sister on the back along the beach. Music please.

The movie is based on Rimi Natsukawa's hit song Nada Sousou in 2001 (made popular in Singapore by Joi Chua's Pei Wo Kan Ri Chu). However, a story of a young man falling in love with his step sister is nothing new. In fact, some of the subplots seems borrowed from other movies (Gigolo Wannabe, Crying Out Love). With a straight narrative like this, nobody needs to tell you what happens in the end.

The main charm in the movie has to be the lead Satoshi Tsumabuki, last seen in Fast and The Furious. His sunshine personality and endearing smile would captivate most girls, and this is someone you can bring home to your mother with. No doubt, this movie will propel him to greater star status.

His sister is cute in her own way, too cute perhaps. As she shrieks "NEE NEE" (brother) repeatedly at the top of her voice, you wish she was a mute sister.

The characters are told to control the tears in the movie (through a light pinch on the nose). The director paints a rather optimistic and sanguine picture throughout, probably suggesting that this is meant to be a light romance piece, and may disappoint those expecting more.

The appeal is in its subtlety. Keep your tissues.

Another Okinawa based movie that hides the fact that it's a boring movie behind the beautiful landscape.

Usually producer Yasuo Yagi's story is very entertaining. But this one shows none of his usual brilliance. It was made during the 2001 - 2005 time period when movies all over the world had dark, or self absorbing theme to them, and perhaps even the genius of producer Yagi couldn't buck this trend.

If you take away the beauty of Okinawa, you're basically left with a story about a brother who loves his sister. There's no other plot going for this story. If you're a woman, maybe being loved so much by someone may resonate with you, but the story is just (boring) endless doting of the sister by her brother. And the ending is so shameful. It's what an untalented writer would do if they run out of ways to end the story. There's even a word for it in Japanese called "Shini ochi" that is an easy way to end the story as a tear jerker.

So, a fail of a movie in my opinion in that it has no creativity going for it. Producer Yagi must have been just a figure head in this movie. Watch his other productions that are wildly entertaining.

With a title like "Tears for you" you kinda already know what you are getting at. All though I think that the translation is a bit tricky from the original title, which was originally the title of a song from a Japanese pop band. Like hinted in the synapsis of this movie, it has elements of an incest love story between two siblings in it, but they are only very subtle and not really fleshed out. Besides the incest, this movie has some other elements which give it a nice Japanese touch. For example they had a really nice traditional Japanese song supported with shamisen (Japanese string instrument) music at the end which was pretty nice. It also shows the islands of Okinawa. The story itself felt a bit cheesy. Some drama elements felt just so over amplified and out of proportion. But when you compare it to some drama, where a random catastrophe happens or someone gets some kind of illness (basically the reason for the drama comes from some uncontrollable source), I think "Tears for you" is more down to earth with its representation since it plays a bit with the idea that we ourselves are responsible for our own demise. I'm not quite sure if it was intentionally or just a plot device, but it felt refreshing to see an ordinary drama movie have such interesting plot elements. Also the acting in this movie makes the drama parts endurable. Especially Masami Nagasawa made a nice performance here. So overall I would say, if you are a sucker for Japanese culture, or you like shows with a bit of melodrama, I would recommend this movie for you. If you really can't stand cheesy stories then you should stay away from this movie.

As Okinawan I have to extremely correct the cast error.

It should be

Satoshi ARAKAKI (Not Shingaki) Kaoru ARAKAKi (Not Shingaki)

The story is about Okinawans on the islands of Okinawa. It's a famous story sang by Rimi Natsukawa and music written by BEGIN.

I would hope that who ever wrote this description correct the cast. Shingaki is the pronunciation in Japanese for the Kanji. "Arakaki" is the correct pronunciation for the same Kanji in Okinawan. In the Japanese language track of the DVD movie you'll find them say it correctly. ^^

It is a simple Japanese/Okinawan mix up in language differences. (Whoever wrote "Shingaki").

-Tsuyoshi Arakaki