Ima, Ai ni Yukimasu. Now this is what I call best romance movie, like, ever!
[Note: Yes, it is better than 'The Notebook'. 'P.S. I Love You' is not included yet though.]
Here's a simple plot I picked up from some sources for your reading pleasure. I did kinda edited it a little.
Mio's death left her husband Aio Takumi and 6-years-old son Aio Yuji fending for themselves. Taku occasionally suffers fainting spells, especially in the crowded places. Taku feared and has the regrets that his health may have hindered Mio's happiness. Yuji, on the other hand, overheard his relatives speculating that his delivery had compromised Mio's health since then. He blamed himself for his mother's death. Taku tells Yuji that Mio had left for the 'Akaibo Star' and will return when the rainy season starts, and he himself believed the story to be true. Apparently, Mio had promised them this. So, life during that one year was more or less based on the hope that they will see Mio again. When the rain started to pour, Yuji brought his father to the special old shack, where Mio and him used to play in. He was to find the time capsule they both hid, without the knowledge of Taku. Instead of finding the time capsule, they found a woman bearing an uncanny resemblance of Mio. Sadly, she has no recollection of who she is or why she is out there in the woods alone and lost. Family resumes from where they were left off, and they cherished every moment they had together in that six weeks. Taku recounts a tale of years of missed chances since high school until she encouraged their marriage years later. The time together was short-lived when the sun shines again, as it was time for Mio to go away once more. But that wasn't after Yuji found the time capsule and what's in it. A diary.
At first I really thought the father, Taku, looked retarded and was supposed to be one. =p That's where the son's role comes in, to take care of the father upon his mother's death.
Boy, is he a real cute fella!! Seriously, watching him in the movie, one would just want to reach out for him.
There are a few parts of the story which I really, really enjoyed watching. There's this one unforgettable scene when Yuji hung up a teru-teru bozu outside his classroom, wishing for rain to come soon. Then there's the scene when the family would stroll in the woods together hand-in-hand. Then there's the part when Taku tells Mio of their love story, his version of it of course. And then comes my most favourite part.
Ahhhh!! The best part of it all is surely, definitely, absolutely, unquestionably the ending part. The part when Taku reads Mio's diary.
What amazed me was not about the miracle. What blew me off was certainly not about the impossibility of anything like that to happen in real life.
But really it's simply about the different versions of a love story. The Taku version and the Mio version. It's about how chances go by so easily if it is not grabbed at that very instance. It's about how beautiful a sacrifice would seem to be in the name of love. Oh, I could be speechless.
And I really should stop here. Or else, I could end up telling you every little part of the story already!
For a better spoiler, you might wanna read this and this.
Alright, I shall find time to watch this drama again, I wouldn't mind watching it for the ten-thousandth time around. Wanna join? :P
