Shigatsu ni nareba kanojo wa

I cried throughout the entire movie. To me, the characters were very relatable. Young people with a dream, the burden of a family member and the chase of what might bringt true happiness. This is a story life could have written, very realistic. It's not a light hearted show, it's in fact the opposite. As a therapist myself I know the trap of falling for people who might need saving, fixing or struggle with emotional availability. Both female leads struggled communicating their needs and wishes. I also really liked the role of the bartender who accepted that love might never find him. And still, he was such a supportive and good friend. I also happened to have been to Uyuni and to the Black Beach in Iceland. I know exactly the feelings that were convoyed through the scenery. I also know that feeling for longing for the world and capturing the world through a lense. The entire photography aspect of the movie was beautifully executed.

The main actor TS is my favorite japanese Actor, so I knew what I was getting myself into and I am very familiar with his acting style. This movie wasn't as good as "First Love" but it was still very good in my opinion. If you are not familiar with japanese movies it might be more difficult to grasp, especially culturally. Also for everyone who is more used to Korean dramas: Japanese dramas have way more depth, are usually way more melancholic and it's very common to portrait death or health struggles.

I personally would highly recommend this movie.

Girlie gets a bad case of cold feet and ghosts the guy and that's just the beginning of deeper issues.

Also, this guy has terrible taste in women, let's be honest. Didn't he know what he was getting into the second time around? He had the woman's case history. That made it hard for me to empathize.

Another one of those Japanese movies where they are unable to communicate properly and in due time to prevent all this trauma happening. Is this based on a manga? I got that sense from the mostly muted expressions of the main characters, punctuated here and there by some demonstratively happy laughter for contrast and background.

I hate that Haru is just a plot device for the main love story. I was really sensing and hoping she would be much more significant. Also, her dad was definitely a sicko. Something very shady going on there.

So you got basically plenty of drama tropes - first love, heartbreak, terminal illness, the male lead suddenly finding out all this about a past love, miscommunication and failure to communicate, I'd say impossibility to communicate the way they're carrying on, low self-esteem, healing through love, a lot of philosophizing about love and all that jazz. Only I got so freaking annoyed at that improbable and stupid ending that I just had to downgrade it. As if that would change anything in this woman's psyche. And what does he do? Suggest the most mundane activity. She left him cause she felt bored and unloved.

So what is the point of this movie? What is it teaching us? I must be dense or something cause I'm clearly missing it.