Shigatsu monogatari

Shigatsu monogatari (aka.April Story) tells a story of young girl Uzuki Nireno from Hokkaido who enters a college in Tokyo. The big city looks and feels lonely and awkward for a girl who has lived her life among warmth of his family and people in small city in Hokkaido. This awkwardness starts when the moving company brings her things to her new flat and she finds herself constantly on their way. The movers start to debate whether she actually needs two beds. "Nobody ever stays at my place", the guy says.

It's interesting to notice how loneliness is one of the movie's main topic. The movie starts with the scene when Uzuki's family says goodbye for her, which follows an unforgettable visual scene where a chauffeur assist newlyweds to a car after wedding ceremony. Cherry blossoms fall like a snow. There is a feeling of a lonely departure. The spring season gives the movie a frame - and again Iwai honesty conveys the very Japanese atmosphere in his film.

After settling in to her new flat, Uzuki tries to make friends with her neighbors, bringing them present. It's a Japanese custom to bring presents to the neighbors when moving in to the neighborhood. In her school she is discriminated because she is from far north and her schoolmates makes jokes of her pink sweater. Seeking for a social life, Uzuki goes to ask her closest neighbor, a gentle woman to have a dinner with her. Her schoolmate asks her to join a fishing club. Which Uzuki cheerfully does, only to discover that she was asked because those who recruit new get free fishing reels.

Like in Love Letter, Shunji Iwai discovers a nostalgy from the highschool times. That's what the Japanese audience must feel when they see this movie.

Takako Matsu does a proper job as naturally cheerfull but timid college girl. I feel she fits better to a cinema screen than she does to a Japanese soap operas.

The visual output of Shigatsu monogatari is fantastic. Iwai uses his favorite lighting effect, where light overburns through windows. It's something that resembles the look of old photographs. This effect was very clearly present also in Iwai's earlier movie "Love Letter" (1995) .

Again, movie is paced with light and cheerfull string and piano music.

Personally I was a little shocked when the movie ended. The movie is very short, only an hour and a bit. From the slow pace of the movie, I expected it to be at least as long as Love Letter. I was suffering from cold and my Chinese friend dropped in to borrow me the DVD. I didn't hear about the movie before. I saw from the DVD cover that Takako Matsu is in the movie. I was positively surprised by her wonderful acting. After this movie, she has proved her skill again in Yoji Yamada movie Kakushi ken oni no tsume, next to handsome Masatoshi Nagase.

I can recommend the movie for everyone. Shigatsu monogatari is filled with Iwai's spectacular humour and normal daily events that take place under the gentle sun of April.

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