Hidamari no kanojo (2013)

Country: Japan
Format: movie
Genre: romance, supernatural
Cast: Matsumoto Jun, Ueno Juri, Tamayama Tetsuji, Suda Masaki, Ookura Koji, Tanimura Mitsuki, Kitamura Takumi, Aoi Wakana, Koyabu, Kazutoyo, Nishida Naomi, Kiuchi Midori, Shiomi Sansei, Toyota Maho, Natsuki Mari, Ishibashi Anna, Nomaguchi Toru,
Synopsis: One day at work Okuda Kosuke meets with school friend Watarai Mao who he has not seen for 10 years after he had transferred to another city. They fall in love and decide to marry, but there are some mysteries around Mao and her past. Sometimes true love grants wishes of fairy tales.
Rating: 5/5
Definitely one surprise movie that I had no idea what to expect. I thought it is going to be just another sweet love-story that is nothing special, but they sure were able to surprise me.

Okuda Kosuke is the perfect example of a guy who is stuck with his life for years. There is no moving in his life, but as you know - if there is no moving on, then there is only dieing slowly. Watarai Mao is the one who is able to make a change in Kosuke's life. I have a had a feeling for a long time that there are some people in the world who are made to become well-known and change something in the world on a bigger scale, but there are some people whose life purpose is love. Kosuke is definitely someone who is born only for love.

Mao becomes his everything, yet with time he understands that there is so many unknown things from Mao's past, that maybe it was not the smartest idea to move fast on with relationship. Though, in this subject Kosuke follows the explanation of "true love" - if you truly love someone, you also love her for her flaws. I think Matsumoto Jun is one man who gets more better looking with every year he grows older. He truly is amazing actor, so there is nothing to comment about it. It is pleasure to watch him acting.

Watarai Mao's past is truly difficult to explain. With little to know, she is actually really strong woman, who does not back down. I can say that she can be a little bit naive and she learns it in a hard way that not all people are good. If you learn the truth about her, then you understand that there is thing called "fate" and things called "chances that we create". How much their love is about fate and how much about created chances? Ueno Juri is perfect actress to play next to Matsumoto Jun. I really like to see her in really feminine roles, because one of the first things I saw with her in lead was "Last Friends", were she played masculine lesbian.

I think this movie is a pot of great actors as I have an huge crush on Tamayama Tetsuji for some years already. Sindo Haruki is Mao's coworker and he is rather playboy. As Mao is someone who does not go with his sweet talk, then Sindo takes it as an challenge. Of course he does not favor when suddenly one nothing-special guy appears and Mao is suddenly with him.
Really important people are also Mao's parents who do not help so much Kosuke to find out about Mao's past and are rather against everything at first - but well parents-in-law can be really difficult. They play a really important key in the whole story to make you understand some things.

Yet, the most important character of the story is Oshita or mysterious woman. You know there is something about her, but you do not know what. I really like Natsuki Mari. She has some spark in her acting that makes her really appealing and her skills are great. Next to Kosuke and Mao, I think Oshita was the star-character of the movie. I will tell you already that even after the movie has ended you do not know many things about her. She stays just as mysterious as she is, if not even more.
I think the greatest in this movie is too see the present and the past together.

In addition, I love how you can feel from the start that there is something in the past that strongly connects Mao and Kosuke, yet they do not show it and definitely do not mention it. I think it is actually really true and same in real life as people tend to hide their emotions and act as the greatest memories did not happen. Why is it like that? I think people are afraid - afraid that remembering or talking will ruin the memory and most of all will ruin everything that might yet to come. That is why, people prefer to keep memories to themselves and linger over past. Luckily, it is not so same for Mao and Kosuke, as they understand that they better take their chances again an make the road to even better memories.

I do not know how many of you have seen "The Butterfly effect" (USA, 2004), but it is one movie that kind of reminds me it. I think the whole way they built up the story telling of the movie is astonishing as you could show everything in a right order and you would feel nothing. I think it is one of the most important things about movie directing - the way how you present the story. For me it it definitely one amazing movie and I wish I can see something this great soon again :) For 120%, this is movie worth watching. It is not too cheesy, it is full of comedy and surprises and big mind-f*ck.

SPOILER-review: I was afraid that  actually it made me think that if we do not think that it is really great and sweet romance movie, then we can see it as a movie about "zoophilia" as you know... he's a human and she's a cat. It is weird thing to google at computer graphics lecture..  But better do not think this far and just stay with amazing love story version.