Gen and Chie Kuroyoshi have been married for 45 years. However, Mrs. Kuroyoshi becomes afflicted with a disease that is slowly progressively making her muscles weaker with each passing day. To keep her spirits up, Mr. Kuroyoshi invites a genetics student who sidelines as a street magician to entertain her wife at home with magic tricks. As the movie moves towards its inevitable sad ending, we get to meet the two of them more intimately as details of their lives together are revealed.
We have seen this particular storyline in various forms in various movies before. This film is dependent squarely on the shoulders of the two elderly actors who play the lead roles, the gruff and stoic Mr. Kurizuka Asahi (Gen) and the charming Ms. Fujimura Shiho (Chie). It is their chemistry and personality that buoys this potentially turgid and derivative film up. They succeed in making the audience care for them in the short time that they meet this couple. The beautiful cinematography and the uniquely Japanese manners and customs are additional pluses while viewing this emotionally charged film.
We have seen this particular storyline in various forms in various movies before. This film is dependent squarely on the shoulders of the two elderly actors who play the lead roles, the gruff and stoic Mr. Kurizuka Asahi (Gen) and the charming Ms. Fujimura Shiho (Chie). It is their chemistry and personality that buoys this potentially turgid and derivative film up. They succeed in making the audience care for them in the short time that they meet this couple. The beautiful cinematography and the uniquely Japanese manners and customs are additional pluses while viewing this emotionally charged film.