Cherry Blossoms 2008 ‘Kirschblüten - Hanami’ Directed by Doris Dörrie
After finding out that her husband, Rudi, has a fatal illness, Trudi Angermeier arranges a trip to Berlin so they can see their children. Of course, the kids don't know the real reason they're visiting -- and the catch is, neither does Rudi...
What a cruel film. This film tells the story of a parasite who is first served by his wife for decades, then after she dies, takes up living the adventures he denied her for decades. So she dies before ever experiencing the small pleasures she wanted to experience, and he gets to have a few more months to live them out? He stole her fucking life from her, and our story spends more time watching him achieve some special fucking epiphanies. Neither of the two main films this takes inspiration from (Ikiru and Tokyo Story) were so cruel, even at their most heart-breaking.
"If I had known it would end so suddenly, I would have been nicer to her."
FUCK.…
Lifechanging. Meaningful. One of the most beautiful movies i’ve ever seen. I don’t think there’s a way back after watching this.
"The Mayfly lives one day. A single day of pain. A single day of passion.
Fly to the end. Your paradise is eternal. Only one day to remedy.
Let it fly. Until I find death. Your paradise is eternal."
"Cherry blossoms. The symbol of transience. They are born one night, live a few days and leave. You can not keep them."
"I don't know where is her body. I have her memories inside me but when i'm gone, where will she be?"
In the first half of the movie, Dörrie clearly adapts Yasujiro Ozu's famous TOKYO STORY and resituates it to Germany: Bavaria and Berlin. As it is impossible to do justice to Ozu in only 50 minutes - and in a movie, that is financed by German TV stations (meaning: everything that's subtle in the original is blatant and rushed in the adaption), the movie improves a lot after the protagonist has traveled to Tokyo. Once you made it through the horrifyingly clichéd nightclub scenes, there are 40 minutes left that are actually quite good and increasingly moving; quite deeply moving, to be honest. Fine finale.
Artsy fartsy to an insufferable extent. An old man whose greatest fantasy is to live his mundane routine every day until he dies finds himself lost in the world after his artistic wife, whose spirit he smothered, passes away. His kids in Germany can't be bothered with him, so off he goes to Japan with his wife's ashes and clothes to visit his youngest son and, ultimately make a trip his wife only ever dreamed of to see Mt. Fuji.
First off, this is a bold, bloated 2 hours long, luxuriating in long moments of characters lost in thought or moments of rapture or whatever. Rudy, our man character, is an oddball, his grief shown as a moody checklist including…
A bittersweet tale of loss and regrets realized by an aging couple (Trudi and Rudy)! Of how Rudy triumphantly overcomes these obstacles by immersing himself in the very things he denied the love of his life (Trudi)!
Somebody better hold me back! Because I swear there were several times during the film I wanted to smack their ungrateful children in the chops! Thankfully Yu came into Rudi's life to offer him the understanding and love his children were incapable of giving him!
I was truly moved by the film and yes it's handkerchief worthy!
Wonderful sweet, sad film about loss and regret. Loved the melancholic score and the actors are perfect.
For #FemaleDirectedFriday
Watched in order of #Followbruary. This is a favorite of @der_sema.
Oh my, this was beautiful. <3 Trudi and Rudi remind me of my parents. My mom is Rudi. She isn't very interested in breaking out of her daily live. My Dad is Trudi who want's to see the world but for my mother he stays just where he is and puts his dreams aside. I seriously hope I am not like their shity children... What dickheads they are.
Kirschblüten – Hanami
Rudi (Elmar Wepper) is dying. His wife Trudi (Hannelore Elsner) knows, but he doesn't. She wants the couple to do some of the things that they haven't done yet, and woul dlove to travel to Japan to see their son Karl, and Mount Fuji. Rudi doesn't see any need to travel so far, so they visit their other son and daughter in Berlin - there they are too much for their children, who do not understand the importance of the visit, so they travel off to the Baltic Sea. What starts as a family drama, with ageing parents needing care then changes pace dramatically - everything changes for everyone, and the visit to Japan becomes not only possible, but necessary.
A lovely film, telling the story of a couple's relationship and life journey as death comes closer.
Exploring ideas on grief and mortality might not sound like the most fertile ground for a sweet little movie with comic elements. However, if you've seen "Goodbye Lenin" or "Lars And The Real Girl" you'll probably have some idea of what tone to expect here. We're told towards the beginning of the movie that a woman's husband is about to die, but that he won't feel the symptoms for a while yet. It is suggested that she take him on some kind of unique experience; an adventure. However, her husband is an obsessive compulsive and far prefers fixed routines to new experiences. With wonderful performances as well as beautiful scenery, this is an absolutely wonderful movie that everyone ought to see. (Nice to see an 'east meets west' movie which, unlike "Lost In Translation" doesn't descend into racism.)
My review is here:
fatpie42.livejournal.com/50850.html
A moving and honest film exploring in a naturalistic way both bereavement and retirement. A very straightforward yet effective performance by Elmar Wepper anchors the story even when his character does things you wouldn't perhaps expect. Simple but moving.
Artsy fartsy to an insufferable extent. An old man whose greatest fantasy is to live his mundane routine every day until he dies finds himself lost in the world after his artistic wife, whose spirit he smothered, passes away. His kids in Germany can't be bothered with him, so off he goes to Japan with his wife's ashes and clothes to visit his youngest son and, ultimately make a trip his wife only ever dreamed of to see Mt. Fuji.
First off, this is a bold, bloated 2 hours long, luxuriating in long moments of characters lost in thought or moments of rapture or whatever. Rudy, our man character, is an oddball, his grief shown as a moody checklist including…
nossa eu assisti de novo e minha nossa senhora esse filme é perfeito sensível e lindo...chorei mais do q na primeira vez, com certeza um dos meus filmes preferidos
The second half is what really matters and save the film from being just mediocre. Doris Dörrie did a great job, because the ending in particular makes the first half almost forgotten, as it shows a deep expression for true love and beauty and is worthy of a true asian master.
Elmar Wepper is a famous bavarian tv-star in Germany and played his first lead on the big screen here and btw is also the german voice-actor for Mel Gibson.
7/10. Kirschblüten (2008) ist ein Drama von Doris Dörrie mit Elmar Wepper und Hannelore Elsner in den Hauptrollen. Trudi und ihr Ehemann Rudi leben gemeinsam im ländlichen Bayern. Als Trudi von ihrem Arzt erfährt, dass Rudi schwer krank ist, beschließt sie, die Diagnose für sich zu behalten und Rudi damit nicht zu belasten. Sie überredet ihn zu einer Reise an die Ostsee. Dort verstirbt Trudi unerwartet und lässt Rudi fassungslos zurück. Als er erfährt, dass Trudi ihm zuliebe viele Träume aufgab, beschließt Rudi sie für sie nachzuholen.
- Watched on Prime Video -
Dass der deutsche Film doch noch etwas zu bieten hat, habe ich letztens mit "Systemsprenger" und "Toni Erdmann" erfahren. Auch Doris Dörrie's "Kirschblüten" hat seine ganz eigenen…
Deutsche Version von Tokyo Story mit einem Triangle Format (Bayern, Berlin, Tokyo) und einer kleinen Priese Lost in Translation-Vibes.
Hat mir trotz dt. “Fernsehfilmklischees” (wie z.B. (zum Teil schlecht) theatralisches Schauspiel) gefallen! Die deutsch-japanische Gesellschaft wird hier schön vertreten.
Aber kleine Vorwarnung: es ist eigentlich ein sehr tragischer Film und kann tatsächlich sehr schnell einen guten Tag zu einem nachdenkenden schlechten Tag machen.
Das Ende war übrigens auch sehr berührend!
Unaufgeregt Film über Entfremdung, Trauer und der Erkenntnis das einem niemals genug Zeit übrig bleibt.
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