That's right. And if Lenin said "cinema is the most important of all arts", thenI will come with the rainhas fulfilled its “sacred, noble” mission. The film has brought to the audience a beautiful picture of the Japanese human soul. On the other hand, in a modern world where tradition is increasingly dominant, cinema is considered the most effective artistic tool, so a film likeI will come with the rainis always a useful lesson not only for Japanese filmmakers, but also for all true filmmakers in the world.
Since the early decades of the 20th century, the cinema of the "land of the rising sun" has been known to Western countries through the names of leading filmmakers such as Kinugasa, Naruse, Mizoguchi, Ozu, Isao Yukisada, Masanori Murakami. It is a national cinema that is also very modern. Watching Japanese films, few people do not recognize a certain beauty deep in the souls of the people here. That is the beauty of the samurai spirit, of the sophistication, intelligence, wisdom accumulated over many generations, of confidence and courage, especially of sacrifice, altruism, respect for love and family affection. The press and media have talked a lot about this issue during and after the earthquake and tsunami disaster in March 2011. To fully discuss this issue, a long research project is needed. In a short article, we would like to analyze only some of the factors that contributed to the success of the film.I will come with the rainby young director Abuhiro Doi. Hopefully, the lessons learned here will also help young Vietnamese filmmakers with necessary lessons.
The first factor, in our opinion, that makes director Nobuhiro Doi's film attractive to audiences, not only in Japan, is probably the humanity imbued in every detail of the work. In fact, the film's story (story)I will come with the rainvery simple. The story mainly revolves around the life of a small, ordinary Japanese family of three members: Takumi (father), Mio (mother) and their son Yuji. The film opens with a scene of a beautiful house like in a dream, located right next to a lake, in the middle of the forest. The boy Yuji has now become an 18-year-old young man happily receiving the gift his mother ordered 12 years ago, brought directly by the bakery owner. In the conversation between father and son Takumi and Yuji, a magical memory when the boy was 6 years old is recalled: after giving birth to her first child, Yuji, the mother contracted a mysterious illness and passed away. Before returning to live on planet Akaibu, she promised to return to live with her husband and children for 6 weeks as soon as the first rainy season began. And she did return. It was in this interesting and unexpected return that many previously unknown secrets imbued with human love, told by Tkumi, were revealed. Choosing to tell the story from this perspective, the film has contributed to illuminating the love story, the beauty of the soul, the altruism of each character in the work and also made the film's story more "multi-layered".
Takumi and Mio fell in love when they were in the same class at a high school in Tokyo. Their love was discreet, gentle, and romantic like any other student love. They both fell in love at first sight, but because they were both shy by nature, their love was kept in the corner of their hearts. On the day they were about to part, with the risk of never seeing each other again, a miraculous "excuse" helped them meet again: Takumi "accidentally" left his pen behind after writing in the yearbook at his girlfriend's request. And despite many obstacles, love still brought them together in the end. The symbol of a whole forest of yellow sunflowers on the day they met again affirmed that true love is always immortal. A wedding took place. Happiness filled the young couple's home when their first and only child was born. Then misfortune struck Mio: she contracted a serious illness and passed away, after giving birth to Yuji, at the age of 28. The heartbreaking question Yuji asked Mio the day her mother's "ghost" returned: "Is it because of me that you died?", the symbolic image of the "clover" Yuji tried hard to find in the hope of seeing his mother again, the image of the planet Akaibu in the album Mio left behind, the pouring rain, the "rain-praying dolls" that Yuji placed everywhere, in the classroom and at home in the hope of rain for his mother to return... All of these details and images are imbued with the beauty of the Japanese soul.
Based on the original workI will come with the rainWith the main content of a dead person returning to live with her husband and child for 6 weeks, Nobuhiro Doi's film has added some innovations in both story structure, setting, characters and storytelling. Regarding the character, the role of Dr. Noguchi, who specializes in monitoring and consulting Takumi's health, has replaced the role of the teacher named Nombre in the novel. This replacement will be more convincing when viewers want to see that such a miracle can still exist in life: when love and desire reach the limit, people still have the "miracle" to "resurrect the dead". Although he does not believe in this very "unscientific" story, Dr. Noguchi always affirms to Takumi that "it can still happen". Compared to the novel, the film also created the character Aya, a very adorable classmate, the only person who knows her friend's "secret", and has repeatedly spoken up to get the teacher to allow Yuji to return to see his mother in time...
In terms of setting art, it is no coincidence that director Nobuhiro Doi deliberately created a completely separate space for Takumi's family: a house by the lake and in the middle of the forest. All the secrets about the "resurrected dead" are thus completely kept secret. In the original literary work, the Takumi family still lives normally in a crowded neighborhood, the "ghost" Mio still lives, moves around, and talks to other normal people (especially with teacher Nombre). In the film, the contact of the "ghost" Mio has been minimized. When returning from the planet Akaibu, besides Takumi and Yuji, Mio only meets Tagase, Takumi's colleague (to ask her to take care of them when she is gone), and the bakery owner (to order a birthday cake for her son until he turns 18). That creativity is easily accepted by the audience. In addition, the director's inclusion of rain-praying dolls, a unique Japanese custom, which Yuji hung everywhere in the classroom and at home with the wish that the rainy season would last so that his mother would stay, also speaks to the beauty of the Japanese soul. More specifically, the creation of the setting of the meeting between Takumi and Mio on the day they fell in love in the middle of a field of sunflowers that filled the sky with golden yellow created very special emotions for the audience. That is the difference between literature and cinema. We think Doi is even more successful through his unique way of telling the story.
Movie StoryI will come with the rainis actually very simple, but the way it is told is multi-layered, creating many surprises for the audience. Compared to the novel, where the story is only told from two points of view (Takumi's point of view and Mio's point of view, through the letter she left behind), the narrative structure in the film is somewhat more complex. The film tells at least three points of view: one story is told from the director's and camera's point of view about what happens in the present, at the time of Yuji's 18th birthday; the second story is told from Takumi's point of view, about the love between the two at the time Mio returns from death when she has completely lost her memory; and the third story is told from Mio's diary after she returns to planet Akaibu, revealing the missing details in their love story since high school. If this unique way of telling was not chosen, the film's story would have beenI will come with the rainwill be monotonous, difficult to convince the audience. Or else, the film will also have difficulty creating surprises, an element considered very important in a narrative work, even though this is a "visual narrative text".
ScenarioI will come with the rainhas elements of fantasy (the dead come back to life), but absolutely does not leave the viewer with any feeling of "unreality". To create that feeling, Nobuhiro Doi had to have a very elaborate calculation. First of all, he chose the setting of the house where the three characters live together in the middle of the forest, next to a large lake, with no one passing by. That setting allows Mio to return after death, because Takumi and his father are the only ones who have witnessed a dead person being able to come back to life. In addition, Takumi and his father's desire to see their loved ones again is also another important reason why Mio's return is reasonable. In his storytelling, Nobuhiro Doi also always maintains an ambiguous state between the two worlds of reality and virtuality: the story in the virtual world is actually only connected to the real story through details related to only one person (besides Takumi and his father), that is Nagase, Takumi's female colleague. Near the day of returning to planet Akaibu, worried about the life of the woman Takumi and his father without a hand, Mio "suddenly" made an appointment to meet Nagase at a deserted cafe, with almost no one coming in or out. The audience was a little startled along with Takumi's good friend in the first moment of meeting a dead acquaintance who suddenly "came back to life". But only for a second. After that, everything quickly returned to normal. Two people from two different worlds (real and virtual) still "completed" a conversation just like in real life. Another character (not in the novel) - the owner of the bakery Mio ordered a birthday cake for her son for 12 years on the day she was about to return to planet Akaibu, because she never knew who Mio was, so there was no surprise. The only thing that surprised him was that this "strange customer" ordered a birthday cake for her son that lasted 12 years. Another character is Doctor Noguchi, who treats Takumi, and only knows about Mio's return through his own words. The film director is "smart" enough not to let the doctor - a scientist - who knows very well that the dead cannot "resurrect", meet Mio directly. With his kind nature, this doctor affirms that there is no such thing as a dead person returning, but to make him happy, he believes that the story is true, at least in Takumi's own world.
The beauty of the Japanese soul is evident in every detail of the film.I will come with the rain. It not only exists in Takumi's own family through a "fantasy world", but also in real life with the characters surrounding that "fantasy world": Nagase (a colleague), Noguchi (a doctor), especially the kind girlfriend Aya, the only classmate Yuji reveals the secret about the return of his dead mother. All reflect the gentle, profound beauty of the Japanese people. MovieI will come with the rainThere are absolutely no “hot” scenes, no tricks to attract viewers, no special effects. Even the exaggerated negative characters that we often see in many Vietnamese films, including the “hit” Korean films that have been shown on television recently, are absent.I will come with the rainThere is only one positive character line, which is people with "clear", "pure", "altruistic" beauty, making viewers always feel that, in this world, evil and badness have no basis for existence. In addition, the film attracts viewers through the beautiful frames of the cinematographer, the captivating storytelling from beginning to end of the director, the skillful acting talent of the three main actors: Yuko Takeichi (as Takumi), Shido Nakhamura (as Mio), Akashi Takei (as Yuji). Those factors have highlighted the beauty of the Japanese soul in everyday life. And above all, after watching the film with "fantasy" elements (the dead come back to life), we do not feel scared. On the contrary, in the viewer's mind, that "fantasy" story can still be real. Who in this life has not dreamed of having a beautiful experience like what happened in the story of Nabuhiro Doi? Who has not dreamed at least once in their life of a miracle that would bring their dead loved one back to life with them? Cinema in particular and art in general are the bridge that helps people realize that "unreal dream". Even though in reality it is impossible. On the other hand, we can also see that a good movie does not necessarily need "thrilling" topics, beautiful actors with "hot" scenes, or use expensive special effects. A good movie is sometimes as simple as everyday life. Importantly, it must bring viewers "beautiful dreams" and help people live "beautifully". I dream that one day Vietnamese cinema will be able to make movies like that.
Family dinner after Mio returns from Akaibu star to live with her husband and children
Takumi and Mio's high school days
Author:Tran Hinh
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