| The weepy romance film in which
the sweet, semi-innocent woman/girl dies at the
end seems to be a specialty of Japan. I have seen
it frequently enough that I have started to expect
it whenever I see a Japanese romance movie. Apparently
the Japanese really love tear-jerking, tragic
love. Once, when I pointed out the surprising
prevalence of this kind of Japanese film to one
of my female Japanese friends, she agreed. In
fact, she named another such Japanese film as
her favorite. When I asked her what her favorite
American movies are, the first one she listed
was A Walk to Remember!
Perhaps at the forefront of the
Japanese tearjerkers is 2004's Crying Out
Love, in the Center of the World. Based
on the Kyouichi Katayama novel of the same
name (although the book was also released in
America in English as the oddly-titled Socrates
in Love),
which currently holds the record as the best-selling
novel ever in Japan, the film likewise was
a big smash. In addition to all of this, it
also has perhaps the cheesiest title for a
romance movie I have ever seen. The movie,
however, miraculously avoids the cheese (and
the cheesecake) and delivers a well-rounded
arrow aimed straight for the sentimental cinema-lover's
heart strings.
Sakutaro (Takao Osawa), known as
Saku to all his friends, is a man who can't escape
his past. Although engaged to be married to the
beautiful, slightly handicapped Ritsuko (Kou Shibasaki,
who can also be seen in Toho's One
Missed Call from 2003), his heart is trapped
in yesteryear, all wrapped up in his first love—spunkyAki
Hirose (Masami Nagasawa, perhaps best known in
America as one of the twin fairies in 2003's Godzilla:
Tokyo S.O.S. and 2004's Godzilla:
Final Wars). Unfortunately, Aki died just
as their love was blossoming.When Ritsuko discovers
a cassette tape with Aki's voice on it stashed
in her old clothes, she disappears. Saku, in searching
for her, finds himself reliving his days with
Aki in extended flashback to 1986, with Mirai
Moriyama playing his high school self. Thus old
love is revisited, old sore reopened, and Ritsuko's
connection to Aki rediscovered as the pains of
the past demand resolution.
The story is well-done, with plenty
of character-drawing scenes and what seems a mostly
emotionally honest script. The emotions seem largely
genuine and not forced or unnatural, although
as another reviewer noted, the last twenty minutes
or so devolve into mawkish melodrama. In fact,
the last few scenes of the film seem to just drag
on and on. I understand how they are necessary
to the plot, but I felt that we had already passed
the climax and the denouement overstayed its welcome
without actually tying up the loose ends. I never
quite felt that Saku and Ritsuko's relationship
is resolved. Ritsuko's character is just cut short
and unexplored, which is a shame. A big question
mark hovers over her and Saku's relationship in
the end and left me feeling unsatisfied.
Directed by Isao Yukisada, who
also made the delightful slice-of-life comedy
Kyo no Dekigoto, Crying Out Love, in the Center
of the World is told carefully and slowly, with
well-framed shots lingering on the sweetness
of the leads' affection for each other. Some
of the shots, like one wherein Saku and Aki are
framed in the fire of a sunset bursting through
the windows of an abandoned building, are quite
beautiful, and are a testament to Yukisada's,
and his cinematographer's, skills.
The main characters are at the
center of this film, and thankfully they are treated
with care. Yes, there is a lot of crying involved,
especially for Saku, but Osawa and Moriyama are
both up to the task. Indeed, they are well-cast
as the somewhat awkward, emotionally charged Saku.
Osawa has pronounced bags under his eyes and really
looks like he was crying for the last twenty years.
Moriyama plays out the stages of Saku's growing
affection for Aki pretty well, from his initial
attraction-hiding hostility to his pinched, crushing
sorrow as Aki starts to slip away from him. Nagasawa
also proves to have acting chops beyond simple
fairy portrayal. When Aki is sick, Nagasawa really
seems sick. Nagasawa must be a killer flirt in
real life, too, for she pulls off the teasing
affection well here. The character of Aki is,
initially, hopelessly clichéd—she
is the romantic interest of a bazillion anime
stories. That is, she is highly intelligent, good
at sports, and very popular—and she is the
one to initiate. In a lot of Japanese romances,
it is the woman who is the romantic aggressor,
and that trend continues here. It isn't until
we get closer to Aki and discover her introspective,
vulnerable side that the clichéd character
gains flesh. It's also worth mentioning that,
for once, the romantic lead doesn't look like
she's suffering from anorexia, which is a relief;
although she is thin, she isn't painfully so and
even appears to retain some baby fat in her cheeks.
I enjoyed Nagasawa's performance except for a
hiccup or two, and she has enjoyed a flourishing
acting career ever since.
While the story is well told, some
elements of the message it holds are a little
dodgy. It seems to triumph unhealthy faithfulness
to the dead as a romantic ideal. Remembering first
love to the point of consuming obsession is presented
as something of a point of honor, to the degree
that even robbing a grave for the ashes and bones
of a loved one unbeknownst to the family is condoned,
even approved. It is a bit disturbing and easily
swallows the little suggestions that characters
just get on with their lives. On the other hand,
though, really, the love in romance movies is
rarely ever particularly healthy in my opinion.
The music is mostly piano and strings,
but sometimes wind instruments also come in to
highlight a happy-go-lucky day at the beach or
a lugubrious moment at the hospital. The music
usually works to highlight the action and only
once comes on too strong, feeling manipulative
during the action at the airport. An old Japanese
pop song also plays over a montage of Aki and
Saku's precious moments together and sets the
time period well.
Crying Out Love, in the
Center of the World is outside my usual movie
watching diet and I feel a little unequal to
the task of reviewing it. Indeed, the first
time I watched it, I decided it was too depressing
and stopped before reaching the halfway point.
Nevertheless, this is some quality human-drama
with very likable characters. I take umbrage
with the ending and how the character of Ritsuko
is handled as well as some of the philosophical
leanings of the film. However, I can still recommend
it if you're in the mood for a good cry, in
the center of the world or elsewhere.
|
(3/5)