All language subtitles for After.Life.1998.JAPANESE.REMASTERED.1080p.BluRay.H264.AAC-VXT

This old man Yamada...

Monday

all he talks about is sex.

Sounds awful.

Awful. He seems so happy.

I try to listen cheerfully.
But three days!

Three days of that stuff.
Give me a break!

But he chose
a vacation with his wife?

Yeah. Apparently
that's what he wanted.

He reconsidered at the last minute.
Not a bad story.

He sure took his time choosing.

It's a lot of hard work.

- 'Morning!
- Good morning!

Kawashima, here you go.

It's cold!
Should've boiled some water.

- Good morning, everyone.
- Good morning!

Last week we managed
to send all 18 through,

all because of your diligence.

This week we have a heavier load.

Twenty-two in all.

Eight for you, kawashima.

Sugie, seven.

Mochizuki, seven.

That's it from me.

Well, we have
another week before us.

My name is Takahashi.

Please have a seat in the lobby.

My name is kori.

Yone kori, is that right?

Please have a seat in the lobby.

My name is kimiko tatara.

My monthly military pay
was 95 yen...

About the time
of the two-two-six incident,

in July, 1937,
when the roko bridge incident...

Sorry to have kept you waiting.
We're ready to begin now.

Card ♪1... kimiko tatara.

Please go to conference room a.

Card ♪2... yone kori.

Please go to conference room b.

Card ♪3...

Mochizuki shiori

Yes. Please come in.

Good morning.
You can hang your coat there.

You're kimiko tatara, right?

First of all, your birthdate.

April 3, 1920.

Which means you're...

Seventy-eight years old.

I think you already
understand the situation,

but I need to inform you officially.

Kimiko tatara...

You died yesterday.

- I'm sorry for your loss.
- I'm very sorry.

You'll be staying with us
for one week.

Everyone gets a private room.
Just relax and enjoy yourself.

But while you're here,

there is one thing you must do.

From the entire 85 years
of your life...

We need you
to select one memory.

One memory that was
most meaningful or precious to you.

There is a time limit.

You have three days to decide.

When you've chosen your memory,

our staff will do their best
to recreate it on film.

On Saturday
we'll screen the films for you.

As soon as you've relived
your memory,

you will move on,

taking only that memory with you.

Yamamoto-San...

Thinking back
over the 50 years of your life -

I really don't want to think
about all the things I've done.

I have only bad memories.

And even if
I had lived a lot longer...

I doubt things
would have improved much.

- Only one?
- Only one.

- Can I move my chair?
- Sure, sure, of course. Relax.

Go ahead...

Whatever's easiest for you to talk.

The most moving experience
of my 29 years...

Whatever else they tell you,

for a man,
it's when you're doing it.

That's the best!

Ask anyone. You'll see.

When you've been treated so badly,

you swear you'll never be
with another man again.

I swore I wouldn't.

But then someone's kind to you.
You know how women are.

But aren't men the same?
What do you think?

Well...

You mean, I mean...

Something that was fun
or made me happy?

I see. Well...

Of course I had many.

My own life didn't work out

exactly as I wanted it to...

But I was energetic

and lived a full life
in my own way.

So everyone ends up here?

Everyone? - That's right.

You mean whether
you were good or bad or whatever,

all that stuff about going
to hell if you're bad -

not true? Everyone's here?

That's right.

Listen, iseya, in your 21 years -

oh, I heard your explanation and all,
but the thing is...

I have no intention of choosing.
None at all.

This week's assignment list.

Thanks.

- What are you reading this week?
- A mystery called a.

Amazing that you can read
a whole book every week.

How is it?

- You can have it when I'm done.
- As soon as I finish mine.

- Which is?
- The world encyclopedia.

Time I've got plenty of.

I've got a tough one!

A 21-year-old named iseya.

No real job,
but somehow oddly confident.

Really not my type.

How about you, mochizuki?

- I've got two.
- Two?

Watanabe-San, a 70-year-old man,

and Yamamoto-San, 50.

Two? That's tough.

What are they like?

Just average.

In the end,
they're the worst, aren't they?

- Earl grey.
- Earl grey?

- Like it?
- Not bad.

I'll make you a cup.

Another hard day!

Lower your voice, Nakamura.

- What?
- I said lower your voice. 'Night.

Wait a minute.
Say, how about a game of chess?

Ask your friend the security guard.

What? Not another fight?

Tuesday

There's nothing dramatic
about my life.

It was very ordinary.

But if I had to choose...

I'd say my childhood
was the best time of my life.

At about what age?

Let's see.

I'm not sure...

But about the second year
of junior high school.

It was the day
before summer vacation.

I grew up in
a working-class neighborhood...

And rode the tram to school.

I always sat in the very front,
by the driver's seat,

where the breeze came in
through the open window.

It was a short ride,
but the feel of that breeze

flowing past my whole body,
that breeze -

the bridge where,
by chance, after the war,

she was reunited with her fiance.

We'd promised
to marry each other,

but he told me not to count on it,
as it was toward the end of the war.

So when you were
crossing the bridge,

had you given up all hope
of ever seeing him again?

No, I knew he'd come back.
I was waiting for him.

Were there lots of other people
coming and going on the bridge?

Yes.

But I didn't see any of that.

It was just the two of you?

Yes, I guess that's how it was.

We were so young.

She had this little bell on her bag.

And whenever she walked,

the bell would ring “ding-ding.”

When I was in the clubhouse
and I heard that “ding-ding”...

I knew she was coming.

I loved the sound of that bell.

I wonder when it was.

Winter, maybe.

I was in the hall...

Tying my shoelaces,
putting on my shoes to go home.

It was night, and so dark.

I wasn't wearing street shoes

but converse trainers,
and I was tying the laces.

There was no salt.

Since the battle
the night of march 2,

we'd had no salt at all,
and we were so weak.

Even our sweat
didn't taste at all salty.

When we found
coconuts or bananas,

we couldn't climb the trees.

So we cut down the trees
with our swords,

wrapped the coconuts
in a Japanese flag,

slung them over our shoulders,
and ran every which way.

Then I was surrounded
by 40 or 50 of them.

They had guns and everything.

I figured I'm going
to get shot anyway,

I wanted to smoke a cigarette...

And eat some rice first.

So I said...

“Give me cigarette.”

And I guess they figured
I couldn't get up anyway.

One of them pulled
a cigarette out of his pocket,

and I thought I might get
somewhere with these people.

“I am hungry.

Boiled rice... give me.”

I kept talking like this...

And held onto the shoulder
of one of the American soldiers,

to a hut about
200 or 300 yards away.

It was like a guard shack.

Inside they boiled some rice,

laid out banana leaves
on the table,

spooned rice from the pot
onto the leaves,

and salted the rice.

I was deliriously happy.
I ate it by the fistful.

I thought I might really get
somewhere with these people.

Then I saw a chicken and thought
some chicken would be nice.

We were all hungry

and decided
to get some pancakes.

The pancakes
at Disneyland are so good,

so we went to eat some.

But I didn't have enough money,

so I was the only one
who couldn't eat them.

My friend gave me one of hers,
and it was so good.

Afterwards we were all full,

so then we decided to go -

it was kind of far -

to ride splash mountain.

We all decided to ride it together
and we all got on...

Here you are. I looked for you.

Careful, it's hot.

Thanks.

Here goes!

Yummy!

When you said...

Was it splash mountain

you had so much fun at?

I've been working here...

For about a year now.

It's been about that long.

And, well, you're the 30th person.

- I am?
- Yes, exactly.

I see.

Thirty people
all chose Disneyland?

Yeah, lots of kids choose it.
Especially teenage girls.

I see.

Let's see. I guess at the time
of the great earthquake,

I was nine years old.

I was only a child,
but I'll never forget it.

Our house was on the koshu road,

and people
were clinging to the ground,

so I thought I should too,

so I joined them.

Eventually the earthquake stopped.

And then we were all told
to go into the bamboo grove.

I was just a child, so I played
among the bamboo trees.

What did you play with?

We hung a rope
between two bamboo trees

and swung on it.

The mothers were
cooking rice in the open

and made us rice balls.

Eating those rice balls
in the bamboo grove -

I still remember that.

It's amazing how you do forget.

You swear
you'll never do this again

once labor starts.

I guess it's different for everyone,

but one friend told me
she was thinking about the next child

as soon as her baby was born.

So I have to say...

If you couldn't forget that,
if that pain stayed with you forever,

there would be very few
brothers and sisters in the world.

The cliff where he tried
lo commit suicide...

At age 20.

Just as I was about to jump,

the moonlight glinted
off the railroad tracks.

The light was
pale blue and ghostly,

I somehow recall.

A pale-blue light like lightning

shone right into my eyes.

Before I knew it...

The train was gone.

Standing there dazed,

the images that came to me
were my girlfriend's face

and my mother's face.

Having to choose
a single memory -

I've never really looked back
at my life that way.

If I had photo albums
or diaries at hand,

memories would probably
come back to me.

Any children, watanabe-San?

I had none.

Any hobbies?

Nothing special.

Any trips with your wife?

Do I have to choose
that sort of thing?

I started at 16,

and it'd be quite a feat
to count all the women since.

- All in the quarter?
- Yes.

If you waste too much time
making up your mind there,

they close up shop at 11:00.

After that, none of them
are presentable.

Early in the evening,
the beauties would call out...

“Hey, handsome,
you look like a regular.

Come on over!”

I'd fall for it.
And they'd be so expensive!

But later in the evening,

just before closing at 11:00,
they'd start discounting.

1,000 yen down to 500.

That's the deal you're waiting for,

but you can't be lucky every day.

After all, what's a woman
without a pretty face?

Maybe five or six months
after I was born -

- five or six months?
- Yes.

I was born in may,
and it was sometime in the fall.

In October or November?

I can't be certain exactly,
but about that time.

I hadn't been alive very long.

I think it was Autumn. - Autumn.

And it wasn't morning.
It was afternoon.

I can't be certain,
but I think it was afternoon.

I was naked, lying on the futon,

when I was bathed
in this amazing sunlight.

An Autumn light, not too hot.

What time of day?

Dusk. Yes, about 3:00.

Wasn't there something?

Nishimura-San,
any happy memories?

Were you married?

Ever married?

Any children?

How about grandchildren?

Don't you have any flowers here?

Oh, yes, in the springtime
they bloom.

They're very pretty.

They must be very pretty.

Nishimura-San...

How old are you now?

It seems nishimura-San
already chose her memories

while she was still alive.

I didn't realize it myself at first,

but she's been living
in her memories from being nine.

Nine years old...

I wonder how we look,

how the world looks,
to someone like her.

You have to wonder

what she thinks
when she looks in the mirror.

Next!

- Oh no, this one!
- Why?

Even today, he's still insisting,

not that he can't choose,
but that he won't.

No desire to choose?

How old is he? - Twenty-one.

After 21 years,
there must be something.

Why don't you take him?

Forget it.

I'm no good with his type.

All right, I guess I'll keep at him.

You've got to hang in there.

Ichiro watanabe, 70 years old.

After college...

He worked for a steel company
until he retired.

His wife was his only family,
and she passed away five years ago.

He wants to choose
some evidence of his own life.

Evidence of life?

That sounds good...

But most people don't leave
anything like that behind.

A little late to look for it here.

Just in case,
I'll order the videotapes.

This is bundo-San.

So this is bundo-San?

Once in a while you run into this,
but less than a year old, right?

Who remembers that far?

How far back
do most people remember?

Typically, four years old.

Four, huh?

What's your earliest memory?

Me?

I had just started kindergarten.

I rode the bus there.

My transparent bus pass
twinkled in the light.

I could go anywhere.
I was filled with hope and so happy.

Riding at the front of the bus,
pass case swinging.

My first memory
is also from kindergarten.

They used to give us all hot tea.

- Tea?
- The taste of that aoji tea.

I remember eating my box lunch
and drinking the tea.

My tongue remembers.
It's the memory of a certain taste.

And you, mochizuki?

I was also

about three or four.

I have this intense memory of snow.

My grandmother's house
was in the country,

up north in yamagata.

Thinking back on it now,

playing in the snow there
is my first memory.

I loved the snow.

The snow? Was it cold?

It was like being
surrounded by silence.

- You remember the sound?
- The sound.

Most of us remember
from age three or four?

What happened
to all the memories before then?

Lots of things happened.

Apparently
some people can remember

as far back
as being in the womb.

Medical research proves it.

Inside the womb?

If you close your eyes

and immerse yourself in water,

the memory of the sense of security
of being inside your mother

can help with anxiety
and other conditions.

No, I'm serious.

Bath occupied

Yes, his name is ichiro watanabe.

Just to be sure,
can you copy all 71 videotapes?

This week, I need his
and Yamamoto-San's tapes.

When will you be able
to deliver them?

Tomorrow afternoon?

Yes, that's fine.

Thank you.

Wednesday

good moming, everyone.

It's now Wednesday morning.

Today is the deadline
for choosing your memories.

You absolutely must make
your choice by sundown.

Changed your mind?

I see.

But why?

I just sort of -
maybe it wasn't such a good idea.

I see.

Well, let's spend today
thinking it over.

Can I pick a dream?

- A dream?
- Yeah.

What kind of dream?

The kind you dream at night.

For instance, there's all kinds.

Some people have scary dreams.

You mean dreams
from when you're sleeping?

Yeah, exactly. Like, I mean...

Like in my case, like...

There's this amazingly
colorful beach,

and a ship's docked there.

Someone's running super fast,
chasing me.

And I'm running as fast as I can,

but you know in dreams
everything's pretty spacey.

- Slow motion?
- No, not slow motion.

But wouldn't it be amazing
if you could recreate that sensation?

Out of the question?
Was that dream so important?

Not enough to choose it.

When I caught a cold,

she made me rice porridge with miso
and pickled plums mixed in.

She blew on it herself
to cool it down, saying...

“Eat it while it's still hot.”

You remember that kind of woman.

You can't make porridge by stirring up
rice that's already been cooked.

You'll only end up with rice soup.

You have to make
porridge from scratch,

washing the rice and -
it's a lot of work.

Where did she make the porridge?

It was up in the north,

maybe aomori.

- Was this at her house?
- Yes.

- An apartment?
- Yes.

How large?

About four or six tatami mats.

Whenever that happened,

I'd forget about contacting Tokyo.

I'd just want to stay
with that woman for about five days.

When I recovered,
there was no stopping me.

I had to repay her, right?

Just pretend with your right hand.

Don't strike with your right.

That's right. Now you've got it.

And next...

Oh, all right, let's try it.

Okay! Excellent!

You've got it now!

These videotapes contain
a record of your life.

One for each year.
Seventy-one in all.

They won't match
your memories exactly,

so please just use them
for reference.

Watch them as a way
of bringing back the past.

I see.
Well, I'll try to do my best.

- I'm sorry to be so intrusive.
- Oh, no.

I'll stop in again this evening.

Videos, huh?

In aoyama -
I don't know if it's still there.

There used to be the youth hall.

And also the Japan youth hall,

and the music hall in hibiya.

I danced in them all.

I remember
the music hall in hibiya best.

I remember having
the most fun there.

Do you remember
the songs you danced to?

“I want a big elephant,”
“sparrow dance”...

And also...

“The kintaro dance”
and “red shoes.”

Do you remember the dance steps?

Not very clearly,
but “red shoes” went...

A little girl in red shoes...
That's how it went. Then...

A foreigner took her away...

You link arms with your partner.

Then wave your handkerchief.
And away she went...

That's all there was to it,

but thinking back,
it certainly was fun.

At the time...

Nagayo motoori,
who wrote the song,

was still alive,

and he had three daughters.

His two younger daughters
both wore these red dresses.

My brother thought
they were so cute.

He looked all over Tokyo
to find one for me. I wore it.

Whenever I came home
from dancing,

he always wanted
to show me off to everyone.

He promised
to treat me to “red rice,”

which, thinking about it now,
was chicken rice.

In those days there were “cafes.”

There were
two or three waitresses.

It was rather dark, but not too dark
to see faces, of course.

That's where he would take me.

And he would say,
“show me how you danced.”

And I wanted to eat
that chicken rice so badly,

I danced for him there.

And then his friends
would call to me...

“Come have some ice cream,”
so I'd go over to them.

I was absolutely thrilled.

I was still in my dancing clothes...

And I danced for them.

I wanted to eat those dishes.

Funny, isn't it?

Were you close to the brother
who bought you the dress?

Very close.

Until the very end.

He already...?

Yes, three years ago.

I nursed him to the end.

I was seeing someone then...

And that day,
when I got back to Tokyo,

we went
to the imperial hotel together.

It was like -

how should I put it?

It was our own private
adult day ceremony.

Do you remember
what the weather was like that day?

Yes, it was snowing.

So when you looked
out the windows,

it was snowing?

He wasn't the kind of man

who only paid attention
to his own needs.

He was always attentive
to a woman's feelings.

So when we were making love,
I really began to feel,

even though
I did it for a living,

that I was the heroine in a film.

He was so kind.
That's how I think of him.

I thought, “how nice
it would be to be with him.”

But I found out later...

He had a wife.

I struggled with that.
I really did.

Do you remember
what you talked about with him?

Talked about?

He never said, “I love you.”

At one time...

I wanted to be a pilot,
and I was in training.

It only happened once.

I was between the clouds.

What I saw,
flying in the clouds,

made a deep impression on me.

What kind of plane were you in?

What's usually called a cessna.

A small four-seater.

Looking out from the cessna,

do you remember
the shapes of the clouds?

They were almost pure white.

The shapes were like...

Tufts of cotton candy
they sell at fairs,

just floating in the sky.

But they were really...

Not too large or too small,

a size that wasn't frightening.

I remember the clouds
seemed very gentle.

We've got fo change...

The way Japan is today.

It's up fo us
to build a new tomorrow.

Even if it's only one thing,

I want to leave behind
some evidence of my life.

There you go again
with that evidence stuff

what evidence?

Join a firm,
work there all your life...

And all that's left is to dle.

I don't want that! I just don't!

Are any of these
like the plane you flew in?

No, this body is a Piper.

The cessna is a high-winged plane.
The wings are above.

Above?

- These wings are below.
- Low-winged.

When we refer to a cessna,

we're talking about wings
that are high.

It's as though the body
is suspended from the wings.

That's how you should think of it.

The placement of the wings makes
all the difference in an airplane.

For me to remember
from one of these -

the shape doesn't matter.
The wings do.

That's just how I feel.

Do you have a hobby?

Movies...

Idiot!

Oh, I love the movies too!

Ingrid bergman, Joan fontaine...

Did you see September affair?

How about Rebecca?

What kinds of films do you like?

What kinds?

American films, French films...

I like samural action and -

bantsuma! My father's a fan.

I've seen many with him.

Say I choose a memory

from when I was
eight or ten years old.

Then I'll only remember
how I felt back then?

That's correct.

I'll be able to forget
everything else?

Really?

You can forget?

Well, then, that really is heaven.

He chose a memory
from when he was five

of his secret hideaway
filled with junk.

He wanted to choose the darkness.

The darkness... huh.

You could recreate that
with sound alone.

Could be interesting.

He must be burdened with a past

that he can't talk about
to anyone.

Listen, man.

You can't start
identifying with them.

It's just a job.
You know, a job.

You won't last
if you let it get to you.

Another day.

I wonder
how watanabe-San is doing.

I think...

He'll be doing this.

Are we disturbing you?

No. Please come in.

Excuse us.

Newlyweds?

Yes, um, something like that.

I never had
the chance to be married.

I'm envious.

This is my wife.

Her name is kyoko.

We had an arranged marriage
the year before.

Happy?

Yes, well...

I see.

Well, it was very, very ordinary.

You want to be taken off
watanabe-San?

Very unusual.
That's not like you.

You've never asked
for that before.

Thursday

Until I came here...

I had a certain confidence
about my own life...

That in my own way I was happy.

But looking back like this...

I feel like something's missing.

A so-so education...

A so-so job...

A so-so marriage,
and a so-so retirement.

Everything's so-so. Just so-so.

But you said yesterday
it was a good marriage.

Yes, I believe
it was a good marriage.

Maybe too good for me.

It may sound odd...

But it's not as though
we were united

by burning passions.

You're not alone in that.

In fact, wasn't that fairly typical,
at least for our generation?

Did you just say
“our” generation?

Yes.

The truth is
I was born in 1923...

And died at the age of 22.

Even though
I don't look any older,

had I lived,
I would be 75 years old.

I see.

In the war? - Yes.

I was wounded in the Philippines

and died in a hospital in Tokyo.

When?

May 28, 1945.

Oh, this brings back memories!

This, this is it!

Let's see.

The Lily pond by the main entrance
was so beautiful.

Are you sure?

It's just that
something's a little off.

You said you stayed here
on adult day, right?

That's right.

You're 47 years old, right?

In fact, demolition work
on this hotel began

on December 1, 1967.

The years don't add up.

You're at least... four years off.

Well, I... you know...

When I met my current husband,

I was about two years past 30.

Oh, so you told him 28.

Well, you know,
I wanted to look good.

I wanted to be young
for him, so I -

actually, I've also shaved
five years off my age.

And not just my age.

I use the name sugie here,
but it's not my real name.

My company went under,
and I had so many bad debts,

I just had to stay on the run.

Murakami, kashiwagi...

Yamamoto, naito.

I even used
a Chinese name, wong.

Really?

Not really.

Now we're even.

The truth is...

The truth is he never showed up.

I kept waiting, but...

My dream about the future...

About that dream...

The reason I can't choose it -

- the future is out.
- Yeah, but...

Stick with something
that already happened.

But those are just memories.

And ultimately
we end up turning memories

into our own images.

Of course, it really happened...

So it feels very real.

But say I construct the future

as though I'm making
a film about it.

As I imagine
all kinds of situations...

I think what I create
would feel a lot more real

than some memory.

That's what I think.

And that's a lot more meaningful
than looking back at the past.

So looking back at the past,

living with a single moment
from my past,

would be too painful for me.

No good?

I think you'd better reconsider.

Yeah, it's your whole setup here
that needs rethinking.

What am I going to do
with this one?

I think it looked like this,
with the smocking.

I think this is
what the dress was like.

You liked western dresses?

Dresses?

I don't remember wearing one
before kindergarten.

But for kindergarten...

He bought me a pink dress.

I loved that dress.

It was pink?

It was embroidered here,

with smocking across the chest.

My friend yoshie had the same dress.

I remember jumping for joy
over that dress.

Did you ever dance in that dress?

Let's see.

Maybe I did.

I don't remember clearly.

It was really a little girl's dress,
that pink...

The sleeves were all puffed up.
Short sleeves.

In the springtime

it must be beautiful here.

It's beautiful in the spring.

Do the cherry trees blossom?

They do.

Do you like cherry blossoms?

Me too. I love cherry blossoms.

Look, this is my daughter.

Her name's sakurako,
because she was born in April.

She's three in this picture,
our last one together.

Don't her ears look just like mine?

I've been here three years now,
so she's already six.

Her grandmother's raising her.
I can't help but worry.

I only get to see her
on the day of the dead.

At least until her
adult day ceremony when she's 20.

Fourteen more years.

I've got to fulfill
my responsibilities as a father.

That's why I'm here.

She was only three when I died.

I think I was about three.

It was in the summer,

and the white wash
was drying in the breeze.

My head was resting
on my mother's lap

as she cleaned my ears.

I remember
how my mother smelled then

and the way
my cheeks felt against her lap.

She was so soft and warm.

It felt so familiar.

Say!

- What is it?
- Thank you so much.

It's better than Disneyland, right?

You can remember
how your mother's lap felt

and how she smelled.

Only vaguely.

Don't you remember?

I remember, for instance,

my father's back
when he was carrying me.

It was so broad and firm.

And the smell of his sweat,

and how his hair tonic stank.

Well, excuse me.

- Where are you going?
- Location scouting.

Give me a break, shiori!

You went to scout the bamboo grove,
but these are useless!

They were pretty.

Sure they're pretty,

but we can't use them
to recreate anything.

Can't you be more serious?
We shoot tomorrow!

What were the bamboos like?

- Just average.
- Average? Be more specific!

So the bamboo grows
from the ground up -

bamboo doesn't grow top to bottom!
It's not a root!

I told you it was average.

Absolutely useless!

Do you always have
to be so defensive?

How did your parents raise you?

Exactly like your daughter,
sakurako.

I'm what happens
when you don't know your dad.

Keep her out of this! You jerk!

She sure is demoralizing.

Don't let her get to you.

Not all 18-year-olds are like that.

I'm not cut out for this work,
but I do it anyway.

Oh, man.

You can't help
but wonder sometimes.

What's the point of all our work?

Recreating memories of the dead.

What are we doing it for?

He says the clouds looked
like tufts of the cotton candy

that they sell at fairs,
light and airy.

He remembers the wings
slicing through the clouds,

and the sky he saw
through the cockpit window.

I'd like to emphasize those.

Right now we only have
this type of plane.

Looking out the side,
all you see is wing, right?

We'll remove the wing.
It's removable.

Let's remove the wing,
bring it on set, and film it that way.

So from his point of view,
the wing will be above him.

Yes, use a fake wing.

We need to recreate

a kind of intense summer heat
inside the tram

and also blow in
a cool, not cold, breeze

through the window.
How about using a fan?

To get the feeling
of a breeze on him,

let's use the old one
stopped at the park.

That will feel like a breeze.

It's difficult
to convey temperature

with visual images.

Instead let's try
spraying his forehead

to create a little sweat.

Red is the only color.

If the background was monotone,

that might heighten
the effect of the red.

It's the red shoes and the dress
that are important in red.

The chicken rice
is also important.

It symbolizes her feelings
for her brother.

What are you doing?

I was just admiring
the beautiful moon.

The beautiful moon!

How terribly romantic!

Just your usual self, I see.

- Say?
- What?

Who's kyoko?

Who?

- No use pretending.
- I'm not hiding.

Someone from your past?

A lover?

It wasn't like that.

Whatever. You don't have to talk
about it if you don't want to.

It doesn't concern me anyway.

Good night.

Shiori!

You should apologize
to kawashima tomorrow.

Oh, it's you.

Got a minute?

Fine, but keep it short.
I'm going to bed.

Okay, I understand.

How beautiful the moon is tonight.

The moon is fascinating, isn't it?

Its shape never changes,

yet it looks different
depending on the angle of the light.

You came to my room
to talk about the moon?

I wonder if she got my point.

Friday

the electrical circuits
are overloaded.

Please refrain
from using hair dryers.

Good morning.

We're ready for you.

You sit there.

It's just as I remember.

This bed here and...

Yes.
It was shaped like a tray, yes.

When did you choose, gramps?

Haven't.

Oh, so you're watanabe-San?

I'm iseya.

It looks like we were the only ones
who couldn't choose.

Why couldn't you?

Look who's asking!

Why can't you choose?

For me...

Its not that I can't.

It's that I won't.

I won't choose. You see...

I decided this is the way
to take responsibility for my life.

Today's the shoot day,
so everyone's trying to look their best.

Combing what little hair
they have left,

putting on extra makeup.

Ended up blowing the fuses.

Actually, it's kind of sweet,

everyone working
so hard to look good.

I guess that's just how people are.

But it shouldn't be that way.

It should be like -

as you get older,
your looks start to fade.

They're trying to compensate

for the confidence
they don't have.

They're working so hard to fake it.

Which is why
the younger generation, like me,

makes fun of them.

Really?

I said that?

Yes, you did, wiping the sweat
with your handkerchief.

You said you like the movies.

I aid not!

Yes, you did!

You did so.

I really did?

Okay.

Once a month, the two of us
will go to the movies together.

Yes, yes.

What kind of response is that?

Well, you...

How rude'

here I'm trying fo -

okay, dear.
That's what we'll ao.

We certainly have plenty of time.

It's just an idle afternoon
in the park.

I'm happy for you.

At chuo park,
next to the movie theater in ginza.

It had been a while.

Actually, in the 40 years
we were married,

we never went
to the movies together.

As it turned out,
that was the last time

we went to the movies together.

I see.

I didn't make
the three-day deadline,

and I caused you
a lot of trouble.

No, no, please don't mention it.

Don't tell the others...

But everyone who works here
couldn't choose either.

So it's embarrassing
when you apologize to me like this.

You too?

Yes, me too.

I see.

That's why I'm certainly
in no position to judge you.

Oh, I see.

You've been here
ever since you died?

No, I came here three years ago.

Before that, I did the same work
in different facilities.

So that's how it was.

Please tell me:

Was it that you couldn't...

Or that you intentionally didn't?

The reason I ask the question

is that it occurred to me
that not choosing

might be one way
of taking responsibility.

Responsibility?

Okay. Rehearsal!

Ready... action!

- How about the wing?
- We'll hang it from above.

Clouds, please.

Raising it will -

lower it.

How are the clouds?

This is exactly like being “in cloud.”

“In cloud”?

When you're surrounded by clouds.

Even though
your field of vision is clear,

there's a patch of clouds
that you plunge right through.

So basically, you're flying
through a clear sky,

and there's
a clump of clouds ahead.

You plunge into them, and it's like
the clouds are racing past you.

So they're not coming at you.
They're flowing by.

That's right.

So it's summer,
in the summertime.

The window's open.

On this side is shinobazu pond
and the trees.

This side could be
a little brighter, right?

During the day
the light's not on inside, so it's dark.

The exposure here will -

- and for sound?
- I've prepared a cassette.

Oh, that brings back memories.

- Perfect, just perfect.
- Says it's perfect!

Rolling.

So the driver's sitting right here.

Yes. I'd be watching.
He didn't mind if I stood here.

I couldn't stand there.

So in fact you're staring
at the view outside this window.

This side too, of course.

Actually, this side's better.

A little bit more on this side.

Like this?

Let's try the breeze.

With the hat on.

Should he take the hat off?

It doesn't really -

maybe it's better with it on.

In reality, the hat would fly away.

I guess it might.

So maybe it's better off.

What's best?

Hold it in his hand?

It was hanging from about here.

This feels just like...

When we were playing
together then.

Too big?

- They used to be big, right?
- Even bigger.

Let's make them even bigger.

You can make one, shiori.

Just watch how grandma does it.

Nowadays young people go hiking,

but not when we were young.

So eating with my parents
in a bamboo grove was a real treat!

Weren't there lots of mosquitoes?

It was September,
so they were gone.

But when we spent the night there,
we slept under mosquito netting.

Mosquito netting?

Yes, we slept under the netting.

That night, the night
of the great quake on September 1,

was the night
of the Korean “riots.”

People went crazy.

They said
the well water was poisoned,

and there was a huge uproar.

I was more scared of that.

As it turned out, the Koreans
had gathered to run away,

but people thought
they were going to attack.

I see.
So false rumors had spread.

Some rumors are false.
They were just false rumors.

What are you going to do
for the clouds?

Are you going to use cotton?

I'm not sure exactly
how it's going to work.

Ready for numbers 5 and 6.

Is this spot...?

Can you stand
by the camera and have a look?

We're ready!

Ready!

Action!

It's just like I'm really flying.

The same feeling...

There's this sense of distance.

It's very real and amazing.

It looks really great from here!

Good. He says it's okay.

I'll be your brother.

Oh, I see. Thank you.

I'm a little old
to be your younger sister.

She's playing you.

So will you teach her the steps
to “the red shoes”?

I don't remember them very well.

Shall we? - Okay, here we go.

A little girl

in red shoes

a foreigner took her away

and you put your hand like this.

And twirl around once,

and then wave your handkerchief.

And you're done.

You wave the handkerchief like this.

Shall we try it?

She's so darling!

A little girl...

How was I -

how was I holding
the handkerchief?

I'm not holding it at the start.

A little girl in red shoes

a foreigner took her away,
and away she went

what did I do with the handkerchief?
Oh, dear.

Oh, well, just hold this.
Okay, dear?

And do a /itle girl...

She looks just like the doll
from “American-born celluloid.”

A little girl in red shoes

a foreigner took her away

and away she went

My brother will be thrilled.

When I prayed
at his altar this morning...

I told him
we'd be filming here today.

There really was a time
when I looked like that.

Do we need a few more leaves?

The area
you're dropping them on now -

and a little more colorful, please.

Over there. Yes, that area.

Saturday

Thank you, everyone.
Your week is over.

This is the last time
we'll all be together.

You'll move
to the screening room now

and watch the memories
that we recreated for you.

The moment
you relive your memory,

you'll move on to a place

where you can be sure

of spending eternity
with that memory.

By the time you read this letter,

you will have disappeared
from my memory.

There's not much time,
so I'll express my feelings briefly.

You were my wife kyoko's fiance.

When I heard your name
and the date of your death,

several images fell info place.

That my wife
had once been engaged

fo someone
who had died in the war -

she told me all this
when we first met.

Even after we were married...

She visited your grave
once a year, alone.

The fact that you did not discuss
kyoko with me

was a gesture of kindness,
for which I am grateful.

I would be lying
if I were fo say

that I was not jealous of how
kyoko cherished your memory.

But the years
we spent together as a couple

overcame that

it's only what I've understood
by coming here

that's allowed me
to choose a memory with her.

I really wanted you to know

that I was able to affirm
the 70 years of my life.

I didn't tell him the truth...

Not because I was being kind.

Nor was it that
I didn't want to hurt him.

I was afraid it would be
too painful for me to tell him.

The way kyoko
revealed herself to him...

The way he accepted her
just as she was -

I never let myself get
that close to anyone.

How can you just say that!

Maybe you were
deeply involved with kyoko

in a way you couldn't even see.

Found it.

“Kyoko watanabe.”

Nakamura-San handled her case.

It's the same park
that watanabe-San chose.

But it's dated...

August 3, 1943.

This is it.

She chose this moment.

You're going away, right?

You're going to choose.

I can tell.

You're going to choose
a memory with her, right?

Why did I have to help you?

I'm so stupid!

At the time...

I searched desperately...

Inside myself
for any memory of happiness.

Now, 50 years later...

I've learned...

I was part
of someone else's happiness.

What a wonderful discovery.

You too...

Someday, will find this.

I won't choose.

If I choose...

I'll have to forget
all about this place.

So I won't choose.

I'm going to keep you...

Inside me...

Forever.

I can't bear to be forgotten
by any more people.

Shiori...

I only came
to this understanding...

Through the time I spent here...

Through all the people
I met and said good-bye to here.

So I promise...

I'll never forget
what happened here.

Sunday

yesterday's set?

I was so happy yesterday.

Sitting alone on the bench
was the first time

I could look back happily
on the 22 years of my own life.

I see.

I understand.

We'll make a special exception
in your case. Congratulations.

Thank you, everyone,
for your help.

That mystery novel -
I only got partway through it.

Will you read it for me...

After the encyclopedia?

I wonaer how shell ao.

I wonder.

I hope she's up to it.

Excuse me. Bathroom break.

No, not that old trick.

It wasn't on purpose.

I swear!

Monday

after all that talk about women,

old man shioda chose
his daughter's wedding,

where she's handing
her parents the bouquet.

- How sweet.
- What's sweet?

After all that time
I spent with him.

All that talk was just a cover
for his embarrassment.

When old guys like that
get assigned a young woman,

they go on and on about sex.

The trick is never
to act embarrassed.

I'll be fine, just fine.

Good morning.

Shiori, it's cleaning time.

Good morning.

Last week we managed
to send off 22,

including mochizuki-San,

all because of your diligence.

Unfortunately...

Iseya, who was assigned
to kawashima,

will be joining you
for certain reasons.

He'll be working
as kawashima's assistant

for some time.

Please all help him out.

Okay, let's have
a word from iseya.

Iseyal

iseya?

Where'd he go?
He's going to be a tough one.

Kawashima...

Excuse me. I'll go look for him.

Iseyal

shiori, shall we start cleaning?

Iseyal

Good morning.

Oki-San... masayoshi oki.

You're number one.

I'm sadako araya.

You spell it a-r-a...
Yes, okay. You may go.

Shiori satonaka

please sit down.

Miyahara-San...

From the 35 years of your life,

I'd like you to select
your most important memory.

But today is Monday,

so you only have
until the day after tomorrow.

Today is Monday,

and Wednesday is the deadline.

The staff here will do their best

to recreate
the memory you select.

Erika oda

susumu terajima

Taketoshi naito

Kyoko kagawa

Kei tani

Takashi naito

executive producer yutaka shigenobu
planning producer masahiro yasuda

akieda

cinematography yutaka
yamazaki masayoshi sukita

lighting yuzuru sato sound
design osamu takizawa

art direction hideo
gunji toshihiro isomi

music yasuhiro kasamatsu

Stylist koichiro Yamamoto

still photographer
masayoshi sukita

Produced by TV man union, inc.
And engine film, inc.

Written, edited, and directed by
hirokazu kore-eda

subtitles by Linda hoaglund