This review may contain spoilers
The wounds of forbidden love
This is a beautiful piece of Japanese storytelling. I don’t think we have many works that focus on the effect of love scandals on the immediate family. It’s nice to see the focus on the family rather than the couple and see how their actions really affected those around them. The movie does a good job at showing how cheating is a lot more than two individuals in love, and how their action can affect their loved ones negatively.
Plot***
So the story follows Naotatsu, who moves in with his uncle to make it easier for his commute to high school. But as he moves on, he comes to find out that his uncle’s house has been transformed into a share house and he is sharing with other people. Among the group, he meets Sasaki, who is strikingly beautiful. In fact, Naotatsu falls in love with her, but Sasaki does not believe in love and has no intention of starting any relationship. What Naotatsu does know is that he and Sasaki are connected by events that unfolded many years back.
**Spoilers**
So the story is that Naotatsu's father and Sasaki's mother had an affair, and they ran away. Back when these events took place, Naotatsu was too young to remember, but Sasaki was 16 years old, and these events profoundly impacted her, especially knowing how her mother’s actions harmed another family. This movie is interesting in how the focus is not on cheating parents, but the effect on the kids, and the story is seen through the eyes of the victims; in this case, the kids. In the case of Sasaki, what her mother did scared her for life, destroying someone else’s life and made her afraid to love. While she struggles with these wounds, those who were actually involved in this case, her mother and her partner, have moved on in life like nothing else and are living their lives with no consequences. It’s interesting to see the extent of the damage. While one might think running away for love only concerns them, they fail to see how all of that affected those around them.
The movie dives into the scars and wounds and also shows the inèerfect and difficult journey into healing, letting go, and acceptance. There are also a lot of cooking scenes as Sasaki is presented as someone who enjoys cooking when she is struggling with her feelings, so it is such a treat for the eyes. It's a really beautiful movie, I do feel like this could have been great as a drama; it would have been interesting to see more of the characters’ and the parents’ backstory.
Plot***
So the story follows Naotatsu, who moves in with his uncle to make it easier for his commute to high school. But as he moves on, he comes to find out that his uncle’s house has been transformed into a share house and he is sharing with other people. Among the group, he meets Sasaki, who is strikingly beautiful. In fact, Naotatsu falls in love with her, but Sasaki does not believe in love and has no intention of starting any relationship. What Naotatsu does know is that he and Sasaki are connected by events that unfolded many years back.
**Spoilers**
So the story is that Naotatsu's father and Sasaki's mother had an affair, and they ran away. Back when these events took place, Naotatsu was too young to remember, but Sasaki was 16 years old, and these events profoundly impacted her, especially knowing how her mother’s actions harmed another family. This movie is interesting in how the focus is not on cheating parents, but the effect on the kids, and the story is seen through the eyes of the victims; in this case, the kids. In the case of Sasaki, what her mother did scared her for life, destroying someone else’s life and made her afraid to love. While she struggles with these wounds, those who were actually involved in this case, her mother and her partner, have moved on in life like nothing else and are living their lives with no consequences. It’s interesting to see the extent of the damage. While one might think running away for love only concerns them, they fail to see how all of that affected those around them.
The movie dives into the scars and wounds and also shows the inèerfect and difficult journey into healing, letting go, and acceptance. There are also a lot of cooking scenes as Sasaki is presented as someone who enjoys cooking when she is struggling with her feelings, so it is such a treat for the eyes. It's a really beautiful movie, I do feel like this could have been great as a drama; it would have been interesting to see more of the characters’ and the parents’ backstory.
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