Movielogr
It All Began When I Met You (2013)
Directed by Katsuhide Motoki
Twitter Facebook Google+Overview
Six love stories following the love lives of ten different people.
Length 106 minutes
Actors
Hiroshi Tamaki | Rin Takanashi | Fumino Kimura | Masahiro Higashide | Tsubasa Honda | Miwako Ichikawa | Saburo Tokito | Nenji Kobayashi | Chieko Baishô | Nene Otsuka
Viewing History (seen 1 time)
| Date Viewed | Device | Format | Source | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/11/2019 | Computer | Broadcast | Other | 7 stars |
| (Average) 7 stars |
Viewing Notes
Programmed for DKUTV’s “Christmas in Japan” week and another I had not seen before. I think this was billed as the Japanese “Love Actually” but that’s not really fair to this movie b/c I don’t think it’s similar other than having a few lives intersecting. Nor is this a comedy of any sorts. It’s a holiday drama centered on Christmas Eve. There are five stories that cross with each other: a bakery that makes the Christmas cakes, an orphanage that has a performance, a bridal show, a CEO scrooge, and a family of 3 dealing w/a terminal illness.
If you can suspend your belief that all this occurs leading up to and finalizing on Christmas Eve, then this is a very delightful and charming film. For example, why would they have a bridal show on the eve of Christmas?? But I accepted all the situations and enjoyed the film even though it pushes Tokyo Station as major feature yet really only plays into two of the stories.
It’s both heartwarming and tragic (the terminal illness situation is extremely sad). I do like how characters are lightly threaded into the other stories (the father w/the terminal illness visits the bakery to order and pick up his Christmas cake but is not part of that story). I think the bridal show story is the only one where the characters don’t cross into the other stories.
Anyways, this is very sweet movie that I’d watch again over Love Actually. And it’s a great Christmas movie. Of course what I really enjoy is seeing different areas of Tokyo especially during the holidays. Made me quite nostalgic for my first visit to Japan when I arrived the day after Christmas and still witnessed many of the illuminations and decorations around Chiba and Tokyo. It really was a wonderful time to experience.
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