While searching for his fiancee Ritsuko, Sakutarou rediscovers through flashbacks the void deep within him caused by the events from his high school days.
Acting
Masami Nagasawa's luminous, heartbreaking debut
Score
Radwimps' music becomes its own character
Cinematography
Hokkaido snow as emotional void and comfort
Director
Isao Yukisada
Takao Osawa
Sakutaro Matsumoto
Ko Shibasaki
Ritsuko Fujimura
Masami Nagasawa
Aki Hirose
Mirai Moriyama
Young Sakutaro Matsumoto
Tsutomu Yamazaki
Shigezou Matsumoto
Kankuro Kudo
Ryunosuke Oki
Kanji Tsuda
Johnny
Issey Takahashi
Young Ryunosuke
Rio Kanno
Young Ritsuko
Tetta Sugimoto
Aki's Father
Katsutaka Furuhata
Young Johnny
Yuki Amami
Sakutaro's Boss
Machiko Ono
Sakutaro's Older Sister
Nao Omori
Airport Boarding Counter Employee
Masaru Miyazaki
Kawano
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This film sparked a massive 'pure love' boom in Japanese cinema, with audiences flocking to theaters with handkerchiefs in hand — it became socially acceptable public crying.
The Australian desert scenes were actually filmed in China due to budget constraints, and Masami Nagasawa was only 16 during filming — her performance convinced the nation she was the next big star.
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