Cebalord Very best movie i ever watch

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Loui Blair It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

jurgen-manycolored This is a simple story about love in it's best context: Two shy people who fall in love, with a mystical occurrence added. It does not lecture; it demonstrates through kindness, gentleness and selflessness by all the characters. Before I review it, let me add that humans have generally the same set of emotions, in varying degrees, dictated by life experience, culture and genetic makeup. If you are young and inexperienced, or if you are cold hearted, this movie may mean nothing. If you are happily married, or have been married a long time, it may mean little. If you are a grandmotherly matron, or just old, you may dab your eyes a bit and move on. But if you are a person like me, who has known women like the one in the movie, and who has lost them through mistake or circumstance, it will strike a chord that will course through your soul and strike all the other chords of loss and grief that have lain dormant, until your body is ringing in a cacophony of resonating notes that pierce your heart and tell you once more your chance will never come again. Neither I nor the movie are religious, but somehow I kept thinking of First Corinthians:13 all through the film, because that is the best definition of true love that I know.

hhnd_2002 I will not lie. If you watch a lot of Japanese movies in the jun'ai genre (jun'ai = pure love, such as Heavenly Forest, Say hello for me, Nada sou sou, etc.) you will see that Be with you is the best of them all. However, I strongly disagree with some of the reviews that said "if you have a pulse, you will enjoy this movie", or something along that line, just because everyone has their own cup of tea. This was one of the first Japanese movies that I watched, and though I did enjoy the beautiful, almost magical, scenes done by the director, I think the unreal aspect of it turned out to be the factor that ruined it for me. Beautiful scenery does not equal beautiful filming; in fact, this movie (and Heavenly forest, as well as Say hello for me, for that matter) seemed like a tale in heaven or in some lands where there are angels and fairies and not necessarily people. The love story here is indeed touching; I do like the family scenes a lot, but the structure of the movie is just too confusing, and the plot seems like it was written solely to "move" people. When I feel like my feelings are manipulated through each situation in the movie, particular the ending, I usually am not moved by that particular incident.So bottom line: very good acting, beautiful filming, but unrealistic love story (I know it's not meant to be realistic, but come on, the setting was real life and not a "Once upon a time" sort of setting). Convincing for its genre, but to say it's "the best Japanese movie", or that it had a significant impact on Japanese movies as a whole, is probably misleading. If you want a movie that most likely will make you cry, you can try this movie. However, it didn't work for me. If you want more realistic love stories that are touching, but on the more subtle side, both cinematically and plot-wise, try "Rainbow Song" (Niji no megami) or "Love Letter" (by Iwai Shunji). If you just want a good (but realistic!) love story that can happen just about anywhere, try Oto-na-ri (done by the same director as "Rainbow Song").

Sanou_san I never thought this film would pull me through! But I got to develop the faith right from the beginning for this film. From the start I never get that instantly pulled. I thought of the preliminary portions to be weak, dense and unconvincing. Surprisingly, while the film progresses it gave me a pinch to watch it more thoroughly. I saw Takumi's (Nakamura Shidou) character unfold. He was weak, careless and looks dumb-witted, but his love for his only child and wife is unquestionable. I saw his son Yuji, whom I thought in the beginning, was a different person (considering he's already 18 during that time—I got temporarily confused). He was an innocently, kind-hearted child who loves his father very much and yearns for his mother's care. Mio (Yuko Takeuchi) was the wife of Takumi, whose character seems complicatedly mixed in the life of the father and son. I found the story really interesting. I never imagined there are lots of stories in Japan as beautiful as this. I love the simplicity and uniqueness of the story. How it begin, how it progressed, how it elevated and unraveled all the lingering questions about the characters and the situation. I love the characters, the life they've created. I also didn't expect Nakamura Shidou to play the part. He was for me a stiff character, playing the roles of serious man, but this changed my viewpoint to him as a potential actor capable of playing well any role given to him. This is the first time I saw Yuko Takeuchi. I wouldn't really consider her acting here superb, but nevertheless she played her part very well. I can see well how she acted the mother she would be for Yuji. Overall the film is indeed very good. I have to admit it touched me deeply. I didn't even expect I have all those tears rolling in my face when Mio said her goodbyes to Takumi in the near end! Gosh since "The Notebook" and "A Walk To Remember" this story made my heart jerk and let my eyes cry till it subsided. I recommend this to anyone who loves unique, though not that very captivating, simple but beautiful story to watch and seat how the story unfolds. One may not like the characters as how they played their part, but the story is worthy enough and may change your mind about the characters.

cyberpogo I do not consider myself to be in the target market for this kind of movie (male, late 20's). However, I bought this movie off an online site due to some reader recommendations. After finishing the movie, I was obsessed!!! I couldn't stop thinking about it and couldn't stop raving about it. The acting and the direction is great, although a bit cheesy at times, but it works well. Yuko Takeuchi is such a beautiful actress. What I mean by beautiful is not her physical appearance (although she is pretty), but by the way she conveys her emotions and makes the viewer believe that she really is Mio. Everyone else does their role perfectly too, and the soundtrack really does a great job, especially the overture towards the end of the movie.Overall, anyone who has a pulse will enjoy this movie. Personally it affected me a lot and it has turned me into a Japanese movie fan. You will struggle to find a negative review about this movie anywhere, and I really encourage all the males to watch it especially so they can get in touch with their emotional side (haha...). I've seen it seven times within two months and it still affects me each time I watch it. Some of my friends thinks I'm crazy but they don't understand the relationship I have with these characters (hahaha...I can't believe I'm typing this..my friends will laugh at me). Undoubtedly in my books, the best movie ever, and a moment to cherish with loved ones, or even by yourself (so the guys can cry and not feel embarrassed that anyone is looking at them).