Heavenly Forest (2006)

Two university students meet and form an unlikely friendship, that throws up the possibility of an even more unlikely romance.Heavenly Forest is a perfect example of how the TV aesthetic is strangling Japanese cinema. All the acting is over-acting, with Miyazaki signified as 'cute' by virtue of the fact that she bobs her head ever so slightly after she talks, chews her bottom lip, and does not know what a hairbrush is for. Tamaki raises his eyebrows in shock and surprise, and lowers them when mystified or concerned. All these young people look wonderful, and are suitably backlit and rendered in soft focus. Tamaki gets in with the 'in' crowd who all seem to smile, camp, swim and have fun without any real world concerns or connections. Tamaki's burden is a rash on his side, for which the only medicine he can get carries an anti-social stench. Given that eczema in the form of 'atopi' is practically an epidemic in Japan and that many medical treatments exist, this particular representation is borderline insulting to the sufferers. Tamaki is never put right regarding his self-stigmatization. Miyazaki also suffers a mystery ailment that stunts her growth and eventually proves fatal. Shockingly lazy scripting that just conjures up a medical condition rather than strive to inject some authenticity or societal resonance to the narrative. In short, pure fantasy and escapism. The lack of plausibility in medical terms is symptomatic of the whole narrative, that forces conflict from unlikely coincidence rather than character choice, and resonates to absolute no sense of modern-day Japan. The university they go to is a strangely antiseptic campus, and the friendships seem robotic and perfunctory, like two people on a date in a mouthwash commercial.In the climactic scene, Miyazaki is revealed to have been beautiful all along and capable of mastering the use of a hairbrush, a 'revelation' that has emotional impact only if you have never seen Miyazaki outside this film, or have never, in fact, seen a film. As is often witnessed in J-cinema, a character is dragged half-way round the world on very little information, only to be told someone has died. Email and the internet, like extended family and real-life problems, do not exist in these fairytale narratives. Tamaki's reaction to the photos, to plod lead-footed and open-mouthed across a gallery floor, is unintentionally comical. Glycerin tears abound. The music is plinky-plonky nonsense that batters your ears non-stop.Saccharine, twee, and annoyingly aiming for 'cute' on every single beat, this film could be the flag-bearer for the ugly mutation TV has inflicted on Japanese cinema. The one caveat is that Miyazaki actually looks like she could act given better direction and a script that carries some intelligence. Picture postcard photography of beautiful young people in a mindless, shallow story.

What happens when you have so many talented actors, and a writer get together to make a movie ? The result is rather obvious.Based on a novel by Takushi Ichikawa, "Tada kimi o aishiteru" is a love story that spans several years featuring Aoi Miyazaki from her days as college student until she matures as a woman. Hiroshi Tamaki also puts in good performance as he usually does.However, the story follows a pat formula, and is rather bland. What makes it worth watching is the beautiful scenery the movie is shot under. Japanese really knows how to capture beauty in nature like nobody else.It's a bit artsy love romance movie shot at great timing when Tamaki, and Miyazaki were at the height of their youth. One of the better movies to come out of Japan in the past 10 years.

I was a bit surprised by the sometimes frank and honest dialog coming from Aoi Miyazaki's character in what for the most part is a very family friendly bit of Japanese young love/first love cinema. But it is appropriate for her character, a set-to-mature-at-any-moment young woman deficient in some necessary growth hormones needed to push her over the edge (that when triggered by a first kiss could ultimately be her ... undoing) and seems trapped in young adolescence. It's a very cute and cute-funny, and really sad, sad, film. Miyazaki teeters the edge between coy and seductive so well it made me dizzy ... with delight. I could, however, understand her pouty lipped attempts at cuteness turning some folks off. She does slip out of it each time very quickly, though. That's part of her charm, I guess.The film is beautifully photographed. The 'heavenly' forest is fairy-tale gorgeous, as are the three young actors we spend time with. The story is engaging too, clearly a novel-adapted one.

Yes, that's right. I am a real male but i cry after i watch this movie secondly, i cry, ah! Whatever, i am a real male, this movie is telling us how to give love with pure heart not with anyelse, we should give love because we should not because anything.. This movie telling us too, that we shouldn't get word "late" for anything especially for love in this case. We teached by this movie to see other not by sight but by value of truth, yes, Sizhuru is a good-kiddy girl, Miyuki is a good-mature girl. Whatever this story is good, we teached not to lie too. Yes, this movie teach us a lot about basic lesson like Sizhuru's words and Miyuki's which is told to Makoto. I cried because i remember someone (not me) i know closely, like them, oh..