Title: ハナミズキ Hanamizuki
English Title: Hanamizuki
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Year: 2010
Cast:
- 生田斗真 Ikuta Tōma
- 新垣結衣 Aragaki Yui
- 向井理 Mukai Osamu
- 蓮佛美沙子 Renbutsu Misako
- 徳永えり Tokunaga Eri
- 金井勇太 Kanai Yuta
- 小柳友 Koyanagi Yu
- 薬師丸ひろ子 Yakushimaru Hiroko
- 高橋努 Takahashi Tsutomu
SYNOPSIS
Hirasawa Sae is an intelligent high school girl determined to go to Waseda University in Tokyo for college. Sae meets Kiuchi Kōhei on a train and due to unforeseen circumstances, she has to ask him to do her a favor.
Kiuchi Kōhei is studying and working to become a fisherman, just like his father and grandfather. Kōhei supports Sae in her dreams even though he knows he'll be left behind in Hokkaido when Sae pursues her dreams in Tokyo and beyond.
Although Kōhei and Sae are very much in love with each other, their long-distance relationship does not last...
REVIEW
Hanamizuki is a movie about love in all its faces and phases: young love blooming in innocent young students, more realistic love in light of complexities such as long distance relationships and different directions in life, and mature love that have experienced much pain and failure.
Hirasawa Sae is an ideal representation of the youth. She intends to go to college and I'm glad she's backed up by sheer will and determination rather than exceptional intelligance. I like Sae as a character because it seems that she does not fully know what to do with herself and with her life, although she has some vague ideas about what she wants to do or where she wants to go.
Personally, I can fully relate to Sae. It's natural to decide to go to college because it seemed as if it is the next stage after high school. Deciding which school to go to and what course to major in seemed easy because society has clear ideas about what is acceptable or not. After college though, the endless possibilities are just overwhelming: what to do, where to go, to work or to study further, etc.
Sae encountered a lot of difficulties looking for work opportunities even though she's well-educated. It's a common enough problem in these times but I'm sure people who had similar experiences find Sae's experience a painful reminder of their own hardships.
The movie talks about the difficulty of managing relationships: familial relationships, friendships, and romantic relationships. Sometimes, it is inevitable to part with special people in our lives due to some choices and decisions we made that would take us somewhere different from where these special people intend to go or want to be, and perhaps just have to be.
It's normal to grow apart from people who have at one time become very important and special to us. It doesn't necessary lessen the value of the relationships we had, it's just the way it is sometimes.
One thing that really worries me is the extent that a person's choices and decisions will affect other people. Of course, our choices and decisions will always affect the people in our lives but if we exercise great caution, I think it is sometimes possible to minimize the harm and hurt we can inflict on other people.
For instance, I'm really disappointed with Kiuchi Kōhei when he initiated a romantic relationship with Watanabe Ritsuko, and even going as far as marrying her, when it is quite clear to him that he is still in love with Sae. I understand that he's just trying to be realistic and practical; after all, not everyone gets to marry and live happily ever after with the love of their lives.
I think I can be more understanding of cases like these when the other party is aware of the situation and has knowingly accepted the situation as it is. If Ritsuko is aware of Kōhei's feelings and she still chooses to marry him, then she's duly liable for what happens as a consequence of her choices and decisions.
When people make decisions like Kōhei did, are they usually aware of what they are really doing? I mean, are they aware that they have a best option but it seems impossible so they choose the next best thing? Or are they unaware of the best option and they think that what they chose is the best option but then belatedly realize that there is a best option and it is available to them?
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ハナミズキ Hanamizuki
