Derek Childs (totalovrdose)
In my mind, I have a list of five of the saddest films I've ever seen. Four minutes into watching Be With You, it had already made the list, so you can imagine how emotionally powerful this feature is. The combination of romance and drama, alongside science-fiction and fantasy, was developed especially well, while the focus on promises, family, sacrifice and happiness, as the film's central themes, made the experience all the more entertaining, every second of the feature having a pertinent part to play.Yuji (Yuta Hiraoka) is an 18 year old gentleman, who continues to have fond memories of a beautiful moment that happened when he was six. That year, he (Akashi Takei) lived with his widowed father Takumi (Shido Nakamura), who, while also suffering from an illness, had become a disillusioned and incomplete wreck without the presence of his adoring wife, Mio (Yuko Takeuchi), who had passed away a year before. Both however, lived in hope that the promise Mio made before her passing, that she would return during the rainy season, would come to fruition.When Mio miraculously appears, as promised, she has no memory of the past, Yuji and Takumi seeing this as an opportunity to start over, while reminding Mio of the love they once felt. Despite their rekindled happiness, father and son wonder what may come of Mio when the rainy season passes.The three lead actors were outstanding in their roles, the depth of their emotions creating a genuine on-screen family. Yosuke Asari and Chihiro Otsuka as Takumi and Mio during their adolescence, are equally talented in their roles, despite their minimal dialogue, convincingly showing their emotions through gesture and expression. Moreover, Karen Miyama as Takumi's co-worker, Aya, and You as Yuji's teacher, both deserved more on-screen time, as did Fumiyo Kohinata as Doctor Noguchi, who was especially appealing in his role.Moving on, the musical score heightened the emotional moments of the feature, though never at the expense of other production elements, while the directorial decisions pertaining to the use of camera were equally brilliant at increasing the film's beauty.By the end, I was very impressed how the film managed to bring everything together, so, despite the unique peculiarity of the plot, it actually made sense. I'm always on the look-out for films that will touch my heart, and Be With You will astonishingly do just this, while remaining in your thoughts long after the credits have rolled - safe to say, BRING LOTS OF TISSUES! On a side note, there is a scene in which you see a young boy's penis - those easily shocked by nudity may want to take precautions.
Quoc Anh Nguyen
I have not seen such a touching and romantic movie in a long time! I watched a lot of movies but this one is definitely near the top of my list of all-time favorites. The story line is really original, you may find it difficult to understand the movie at first but the way the story unfolds is simply perfect. The acting of the lead actor and the actress is outstanding, the two of them just have so much on-screen chemistry. I especially love the actress, she has this angelic aura around her, I completely fell in love with her beautiful smile. Oh and the kid Yuji and his "girlfriends" were really cute too. I strongly recommend this movie to everyone, a great one to watch with your girl/boyfriend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
duksoe
This film, like most other Japanese human dramas I've ever watched, is somewhat slow paced but I like its poetic representation. What I liked the most was its brilliant plot that told audiences the greatness of love through surprising turn-over. This film is really deeply touching and heartwarming. Although the story of this film is unrealistic fantasy, I'd like to recommend this film to everyone and even to those who love the realistic human dramas.One thing that bothered me a little was the casting of Shido Nakamura as Takumi, the male lead. In fact, what bothered me was not his performance but his aggressive images that I happened to built from my previously watched films where his role was a scary karate fighter (in Fearless) or a tough general (in Red Cliff) or a cold blooded lieutenant (in Letters from Iojima). It was a little shock for me that Shido Nakamura was playing Takumi who tended to be so gentle, shy and even wimpy. Despite Shido Nakamura's good performance, I couldn't stop his aggressive Yakuza-like images being overlapped on Takumi and it eventually made the beginning part of the film the Beauty and the Beast-like-fairy tale for me. However, I think all the actors in the film including Shido Nakamura, performed fairly well and it went well with the story. If you had not yet watched Shido Nakamura's acting performance other than in this film, you would surely be surprised by his drastic change in his other films from a shy office clerk to a cold blooded fighter who throws deadly karate chops. ;-)
frando22
I enjoy Japanese drama but I am not an admirer of their films. Because I think they are not as romantic as their drama. It's a different thing with Korean, since I enjoy lots of the movies but I prefer watch Japanese drama. But this one is just exceptional! This is certainly one of the best film that I've ever seen. The story seems to be a bit slow for my liking at the beginning, but It just getting better and better every minute. And I must say, the ending is the best of all. I often see film that began very brightly but give a disappointed end. But not this one. And after you saw this Film, you just don't wanna do anything except lying and feel and enjoy the warmth that has been given by this film.
