Kimi no suizô o tabetai

The title suggests some out-of-this world apocalyptic comedy. But despite the cannibalist title, this is actually a cute, touching, sweet movie about love, life, and mortality.

Turns out the statement I want to eat your pancreas or any body part means you want to be like that person, and once you die, your soul will get into his/her body. Or something like that.

This is about two unlikely high school friends, Haruki and Sakura. Haruki, an introvert, was befriended by Sakura, a carefree girl with terminal pancreatic disease. One day Haruki accidentally picks a diary/journal owned by Sakura and she confessed to him that he was the only one, aside from her family, who knows of her illness. She shares her sentiments, her wishes to him, before she dies. Haruki tries to suppress his feelings (not romantic feelings) but at the same time gets amazed at the bravery shown by the girl, that despite her terminal disease still manages to laugh, make other people happy, find goodness in everyone, and just live life as if she had no disease at all. Together, they did her "things I want to do before I die". 12 years later, Haruki finds himself teaching in the same school, reminiscing his wonderful memories with Sakura.

Although there were scenes that alluded to a romantic relationship, what's undisputable about the plot of the story is that it is a touching movie about a blossoming friendship despite the travails of having a terminal illness. Sakura has a bestfriend, Kyoko, whom she hid her illness. She reveals she did not want her bestfriend to worry for her. The movie just manages to touch the depths of your emotions as you feel for your friend.

Overall, a touching movie. You won't be surprised if you find yourself shedding a tear here.

Another good coming-of-age film from Japan. It feels very reminiscent of other Japanese youth films such as Love Letter (1995), Futari (1991), and Forget Me Not (2015) (these are the only ones I've seen so far.).

It has a strong sense of nostalgia like the films I've mentioned. Loveable performances from the two leads especially Minami Hamabe.

If you want to cry for two hours at the start of your 10 hour flight from Brazil to Canada, this is a great way to accomplish that, and somehow this deceptively titled drama was featured in the in-flight programming on Air Canada. I had a few drinks, settled into my aisle seat on our giant plane and then loudly sobbed for two hours through this brutally depressing film.

10/10 would make fellow passengers uncomfortable again.

Whatever your movie preferences.10/10 Wont Regret This. Drama is one of my least favorite kind of Movie. I had no tears left to cry along the movie ends.

the acts, the story, the dialogue, everything is perfect. you won't blink, you don't wanna miss a single moment. every scenery is important, and well curated.

there's not much of a Great Drama these days, but this film proofs that an old school story with a good writing and excecution could touch your heart to the Deepest...

Okay okay I got lured and pranked by the cool title, thinking it's some zombie gorefest. I got even more keen to see it when I found out it's an old-school ten-hankie tearjerker. Cried, I did, and every tear is earned. Over the course of the film, the odd title takes on meaning and made a resounding impact.

I (Takumi Kitamura) am a high school student. I happen to find a diary by my classmate Sakura Yamauchi (Minami Hamabe) that reveals she is suffering from pancreatic cancer. She will draw me out of my shell and I will help her fulfill the wishes on her bucket-list.

12 years later, due to Sakura's words, I (Shun Oguri) am now a high school teacher at the same school where I graduated from. While I talk with my student, I remember the several months I spent with Sakura. Meanwhile, Kyoko (Keiko Kitagawa), who was Sakura's friend, is about to marry. Kyoko also recalls the days she spent with me and Sakura.

Yes, the main protagonist isn't named throughout the film.

This is a story about a burgeoning teenage romance between two high school classmates on opposite ends of the popularity spectrum. The socially awkward boy is a librarian who sees a lost book as a sad book, but Sakura sees it as lost treasure for the finder. He can never hold eye contact with anyone and protects the space around him for dear life. Whereas Sakura is a girl with a cheerful and optimistic disposition who just happens to be suffering from a terminal disease. Sakura may be dying, but she is not about to throw in the towel yet and wants to hit as many highs as possible in the few months she has left. Their friendship seems unlikely, but it is easy to buy into their blossoming love because they are so likable and their time is so finite.

Kitamura gives a restrained performance, allowing Hamabe to shine in counterpoint. When his character finally opens up in the end, we can feel the emotional impact like a swinging sledgehammer to the gut. Hamabe's Sakura is a beacon of hope, a cauldron of positivity and a dispenser of wisdom. It is easy to fall in love with her so much so that it becomes heartbreaking because we know what comes at the next turn. She is wisely not made out to be a saint in that she is curious about sex and her attempts at seduction you know what I shall let you discover that for yourself 😊.

Director Sho Tsukikawa seems like an old hand at crafting tearjerkers and he handles the emotional scenes with deftness. The emotional scenes don't feel manipulative or pretentious, carrying many nuggets of life's wisdom through the protagonists. He knows how to fill your heart with beauty and gradually inflate it till it explodes in an avalanche of cherry blossom petals.

The movie takes an interesting detour from Yoru Sumino's 2015 bestseller in that it jumps forward 12 years to show Sakura's impact on others. So essentially the story is told in flashbacks. Thankfully, they are well-handled and never becomes an over-used narrative device. When I was in one timeline, I kept wondering about the characters in the other.

The story has a sublime twist in the end, earning its namesake and proving that Sakura has achieved that most important thing in any person's life – to change the world around her. Her memory lives on in others.