This film doesn't have too many plots, and it's enough to sum it up in one sentence. The 17.8-year-old girl has a crush on a senior who is one year older than her. She has been admitted to the university where he is from thousands of miles away, silently following his news, and looking forward to a beautiful encounter. This should be an unsurprising story, the plot is not superior to Iwai Shunji's "Love Letter", "Swallowtail Butterfly" and so on. However, it is such an ordinary film that makes the audience feel warm after watching it, filled with a kind of happiness.
It is undeniable that Shunji Iwai is a master of aesthetics. The pink and white petals of the cherry blossoms, the gentle breeze, the flowing piano, the girl's skirt that flutters from the north wind, and the rain-soaked hair... all show the director's ingenuity. Shunji Iwai is a director who pays attention to details, and there is a very impressive scene:
when the girl first came to Tokyo to move, she wanted to help but couldn't help, and she looked like a panicked bunny. The porter left, the girl took the small chair, shook her clothes, and the cherry blossom petals fell. The scene was really cute.
When the girl introduced herself with her classmates, she hesitantly said that she was relatively cheerful. When a male classmate asked her why she chose this university, her face suddenly turned crimson because of her reason for choosing a school (to understand the near-senior, How dare you say that?!).
The girl was finally able to meet her dream senior in the bookstore. The senior came to look for a book. She was so nervous that she didn't know what to do, so she could only read the book indiscriminately (hehe, the bookstore library and other places really did It is suitable for approaching someone, and when embarrassed, she slams her face into the book.) After the senior left, the girl finally let go of her heart and took a deep breath. This detail is also very important.
It is worth mentioning that the background music of this film has always been the highlight of Shunji Iwai's films. The whole film of "April Story" is haunted by soothing piano music, neither happy nor sad, as slow as the development of the plot. Sakura has also appeared many times in his movies "Flower and Alice" in which the two girls "playing snowball fights" with cherry blossoms are also quite classic! There are so many cherry blossoms that you have to open an umbrella, which is really beautiful!
After watching the film, there are no big waves in my heart, it is calm and warm. The girl's care and little love reminds people of the girl in Li Qingzhao's words who "smells green plums", which evokes sweet memories of many audiences in their youth, and the feeling of secret love is sweet and sour. One of the reasons I love it. This also reminds me of the little boy I once liked, and I am very happy to think about it.
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