Aimitagai: A film where the production process and the story are linked, making it even more moving

Carrying on the wishes of the late director Kiyoshi Sasabe, this film depicts a chain of goodwill where the story itself inherits the wishes of the deceased.

This human drama was directed by Shogo Kusano, known for 'She Loves to Cook, She Loves to Eat,' based on the novel 'Aimitagai,' which the late director Kiyoshi Sasabe—known for 'Summer of Chilsok' and 'Half a Confession'—had planned to adapt into a film before his passing, using a screenplay by Masahide Ichii and Director Sasabe.

the story is as follows:

Azusa, who continues to send LINE messages to her best friend Kanami's smartphone even after Kanami died in an accident, was unable to take the step toward marriage with her boyfriend Sumito. This is because Azusa's parents divorced, and having witnessed the aftermath, she could not find hope in marriage. When she transferred to Kuwana City in junior high school, it was Kanami, who loved photography, who saved Azusa from being bullied and having no place to belong. The two enjoyed listening to the piano music that could be heard from a large mansion at 6:00 PM every evening. Now working as a hotel wedding planner, Azusa is in charge of a silver wedding anniversary and decides to look for an elderly pianist. The 93-year-old pianist introduced by her aunt was the owner of the house where she and Kanami used to go to listen to the piano in junior high. At Kanami's parents' house, they become curious about a letter addressed to Kanami from a child welfare facility in Yamanashi and contact the facility. Kanami had been interacting with the facility after visiting it for a report as a photographer. Kanami's parents hear this story and make a decision. Azusa's boyfriend Sumito proposes to her, and on impulse, they go to meet Azusa's grandmother in Omihachiman. There, a mishap occurs, and Azusa realizes that Sumito is a man she can rely on...

Exquisite casting

Azusa was played by Haru Kuroki, and Kanami was played by Soko Fujima.

Soko Fujima has appeared in a succession of works this year, and in '90 Years Old, What's So Great About That?' she played the granddaughter of Mitsuko Kusabue, who appears in this film as the elderly pianist. Sumito was played by Aoi Nakamura, the lead in Director Sasabe's 'Tokyo Refugees,' and Masu Takeshi, who appeared in Director Sasabe's 'Love of the Tug-of-War' and was a close friend of the director, played the owner of the jewelry store that Sumito visits. Haru Kuroki's junior high school days were played by Hana Kondo, who left an impression as the psychic girl in 'Sayuri,' and I was surprised to see her playing a gloomy girl again. But it suited her perfectly.

The content of the film and the production process are linked

The story of this film unfolds with the wishes of Kanami, who died young in an accident, supporting her remaining parents and best friend, and I began to see the figure of the late director Kiyoshi Sasabe, who planned this film, overlapping with her. Since the original work is a series of short stories, multiple episodes are intertwined little by little, and it was satisfying to see all the foreshadowing resolved at once in the final act.

The theme song is by Haru Kuroki!

In that final act, I was moved to tears to the point where I couldn't stop crying, and the song 'Yoake no My Way' sung by Haru Kuroki that plays during the ending is a bit unpolished, and that very unpolished quality creates a miracle of exquisite warmth. The song itself is the theme song for the drama 'Chotto My Way' that I watched on TV when I was a child, so it also brought back a sense of nostalgia that really touched me.

As someone from Mie Prefecture

Overall, it is a very good film, but as someone from Mie Prefecture, there is one disappointing thing. Despite the fact that most of the story takes place in Kuwana, you cannot hear the Mie dialect at all. The grandmother played by Jun Fubuki spoke in the Kansai dialect, but since she is a grandmother living in Omi, it should be the Omi dialect. Even though Azusa moved there in junior high school, she should have been influenced by the Mie dialect, and at the very least, Kanami is a Kuwana native, so it is unnatural that she doesn't speak the Mie dialect. The same goes for Sumito. Personally, I think the Mie dialect is the cutest dialect in Japan when spoken by women, so that was the only disappointing part.