Title: いま、会いにゆきます (Be With You) LE DVD Box
Original Author: 石川拓司 (Takuji Ishikawa)
Catalog No.: SDV-15192D
Release Date: 6/24/05

It's very very unlike me, but I cried during the last 15 minutes of this movie. This movie was one of the top domestic Japanese movies of last year and spent a few weeks at the top of the box office before Howl came along. It's based off a book of the same name, and one that I'll read someday (I already have it with me).

The story is about a widowed father and his 6 year old boy. The mother, before she died, drew a picture book for her son where she tells a story about a girl coming back from the Archive Star, the place where dead people go, during a rainy period. When the weatherman reports that the rainy season is coming, both the father and son expect something to happen. And then, a woman who looks identical to the wife/mother appears.

I'm going to stop there. This is one of those types of movies where you really ought not to know anything about the movie before you go. The premises is okay, but you'd be doing yourself a great disfavor if you read anymore. The story is ultimately a happy one. The emotional impact for me comes from the the pacing and ordering of events in the movie.

The movie is mastered in 5.1 audio, but for some reason, it defaults to stereo so you have to make sure that it's using surround. Besides that, I have no complaints about the movie quality itself. The box comes in a very meaningful picture of a sunflower field, but it's pretty plain if you don't have the context. Hence, I put up the cover to the DVD rather than the box cover.

The limited edition DVD box comes with the movie and a 20 minute making-of with commentary by the little boy actor, Akashi. Other bonuses include a kit to make your own upside-down Teruteru Bouzu, a blank replica diary, and a family photo album.

This movie has already been purchased by a Hollywood studio and will be re-made in the English version.

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