japan movies

CRYING OUT IN THE CENTER OF THE WORLD
Rating: PG
Consumer Advice: NIL
Language: Japanese with English & Chinese Subtitles
Genre: Drama Romance
Runtime: 138 Mins
Director: Isao Yukisada
Cast: Takao Osawa, Kou Shibasaki, Masami Nagasawa, Mirai Moriyama.
In 1980s Kyushu, two teenagers fell in love, and exchanged their secrets and thoughts by way of sending tape recordings to each other. More than a decade later, the boy (now grown-up and bittered) rediscovers the last recording of his long-dead lover's voice. Her words trigger a series of flashbacks illustrating the joyful beginning and tragic end of their relationship.

Be With You
Rating: PG
Consumer Advice: NIL
Language: Japanese with English & Chinese Subtitles
Genre: Drama, Romance
Runtime: 119 mins
Director: Nobuhiro Doi
Cast: Yuko Takechi, Shidou Nakamura, Akashi Takei
Widower Takumi (Shidou Nakamura) lives a quiet life with his six-year-old son Yuji (Akashi Takei) after the loss of wife and mother Mio (Yuko Takeuchi). Yuji unfailingly remembers her promise to him: “I’ll be with you again in a year’s time, when the rains come.” On the first anniversary of her passing, Takumi and Yuji are taking a walk in the woods when they come across a woman sheltering from a monsoon downpour. She bears an uncanny resemblance to Mio, but has no recollection of who she is or what she is doing there. Family life resumes from where they left off, while Takumi and Mio’s memories of their first encounter in high school come flooding back. However, their new life together is interrupted by the discovery of Mio’s old diary, which reveals the secrets of her past and how they must say goodbye once more in six weeks time …