Shoko Aida Movies
- 2006
A young man wishes against all hopes for a second chance at love in this romantic drama from Japan. Tomoya Kishida (Hayato Ichihara) is a film student with dreams of one day becoming an important director. While at school, he meets pretty Aoi Sato (Juri Ueno), and the two become fast friends. However, while he lacks the nerve to tell her, before long Tomoya has fallen in love with Aoi. While they remain best friends, after graduating, Tomoya gets a job as an assistant on a film set, while Aoi heads off to visit California. Shortly after sending a picture of a rainbow to Aoi's cell phone, Tomoya receives the shocking news that her flight has crashed and she has died. As he arranges to fly to California and arrange for Aoi's funeral, Tomoya begins having persistent daydreams about the love affair he wanted but never had with her. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hayato Ichihara, Juri Ueno, (more)
Two teenagers fall for the same boy with unexpected consequences in this popular comedy drama from Japan. Hana (Anne Suzuki) and Arisu (Yu Aoi) are a pair of 15-year-old girls who have been best friends for years. Arisu, the more outgoing of the two, has developed a crush on a boy and they begin dating. So that Hana won't feel left out, Arisu fixes her up with Masa (Tomohiro Kaku), one of her boyfriend's pals. However, after a few months, the bloom is off the rose for Arisu and her beau, while things are going swimmingly for Hana and Masa. Making matters worse for Arisu is the fact she's become quite infatuated with Masa, and one day while she's following him home from school, she sees him accidentally walk into a wall. Masa is knocked cold for a moment, and when he awakes, he sees Arisu, who attempts to convince him that she's actually his girlfriend...something he doesn't recall thanks to a mild dose of amnesia brought on by the accident, according to Arisu. Written and directed by Shunji Iwai, who created the international success All About Lily Chou-Chou, Hana to Arisu began as a series of candy commercials and became so popular as an expanded series of short subjects available online that Iwai adapted them into a feature. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
