The beginning of the story is that the hero Sakutaro suddenly leaves his fiancee Ritsuko without saying goodbye. Sakutaro chases Ritsuko back to his hometown after a long absence. But the trip turned into a trip to remember another person. The first love girlfriend who sleeps in Sakutaro's heart - Aki.
The film alternates memory and reality. The bright youth memories and the dark revisiting of the old places form a sharp contrast, crossing each other and advancing. Everywhere Sakutaro went, he could see himself and Aki back then, whether on the way home, on the dyke by the sea, or beside the cemetery and swing, every place carried their stories. Sakutaro hurriedly went home and pulled out the tapes recorded by Asia Records that year. Along with these words came the memories that were gradually awakened.
At first, their story was nothing special. Love at that age is almost always young and sweet. To listen to the radio and read the letter, stay up until midnight; to steal the principal's remains for the love story between the photo shop owner and the dead principal. Traveling alone on an uninhabited island is full of unknowns and wonders. At that time, they were just ignorant teenagers, unable to understand the relationship between love and death. Until Aji fainted, this young love began to bear the real test.
Have to admit, this tragic story has a nice structure. As if when you are about to be close to perfection, tell you that you will eventually lose it, and give you a period of time to watch this beauty pass away, but there is nothing you can do. What impressed me the most was the section where Sakutaro chased the car. After returning from the uninhabited island, Aji's father drove to the pier to take Aji to see a doctor. Sakutaro was running barefoot on the road. In the camera, we could see Sakutaro's back chasing the car for about 10 seconds. Although he couldn't see his face, he seemed to be able to experience the desperate mood he had at that time.
When he first got sick, although he didn't know what would happen in the future, Aki still comforted Sakutaro sensible and said that he would recover completely. Sakutaro also showed a very optimistic attitude in front of Aki, who was haggard day by day. But the facts can't be changed, whether it's the wedding photo in the photo studio, the marriage application that Sakutaro showed Aki through the glass, or the trip to the center of the world that didn't succeed in the end was just a futile effort. Let them bear the pain of life that they should not face at that age. Sakutaro has always lived in a world with Aki's shadow. He verified the sentence: love does not end because of a person's death.
"Finally, I have a request, please scatter my ashes in the wind of Ayers Rock, and then continue to live your happy life." Aki's last words gave Sakutaro a chance to escape. Away from Japan, which was shrouded in Typhoon No. 29, and came to Ayers Rock, the center of the world, the weather and mood suddenly became brighter. When Aki's ashes were slowly scattered from Sakutaro's palm in the wind of Ayers Rock, Sakutaro was finally able to start his life without Aki.
It is impossible to know whether this is the most perfect state of love in the eyes of the director, but it is undeniable that such love cannot be given up. Will always stay in my heart.
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