Original subtitles

Blue Lake Woman

Based on the novel by Kyoka Izumi

Screenplay: Rio Kishida

Music: Shigeaki Saegusa

Directed by Akio Jissoji

I had a terrible premonition.

An incident between Takigawa and I, involving this one woman.

I was the perpetrator and Takigawa the victim...

At least in terms of public opinion.

Getting remarried, huh?

What in the world is Takigawa thinking...

Hello? This is Nagare.

Oh, actually, it just arrived. Congratulations!

Please, forgive me. I know I should...

but I just can't bring myself to go to your house.

I don't care about what happened five years ago.

That's why I sent you an invitation,

and that's why I'm calling you like this now.

Please, come.

You'll regret it forever if you don't!

Mizue, Mizue, Mizue...

5 years ago...

I attempted to commit a lover's suicide with Takigawa's wife, Mizue.

But I cowardly let her die alone.

5 years ago

At Takigawa's request...

I had come to his village lo paint his father's portrait.

That summer, Takigawa was off in Europe, purchasing ad.

Because of his old age, every night at 8:00. ..

Takigawa's father would retreat to the detached guesthouse.

This left Taklgawa's wife and myself entirely alone in the spacious home.

The summer was hot.

And the nights were long.

There is something I want to ask you.

What has Takigawa requested of you?

What have you come to this village for, other than to paint my father's portrait?

What do you mean?

Takigawa had invited me to accompany him to Europe, but I told him I wouldn't go.

So Takigawa said he would have you come here. That you would guard me.

Why would I need to guard you?

L...

There is someone I'm in love with.

But he does not notice me...

Even though we've had hours...

Tens, hundreds, thousands of hours alone together!

- Have you tried to make him notice? - Must I tell him I love him?

Must I put it into words?

Would he not notice from my gestures, from my mannerisms?

Do you not know who he is?

I love you, Nagare.

When Takigawa first introduced me to you...

I immediately wanted to paint your picture.

I remember.

You look straight at me, for a longtime...

as though Takigawa were not standing there right next to you.

Then, you told Takigawa you would paint me as a wedding present.

I don't know how many times I went to your house to model.

You continued to gaze at me the whole time...

right up until the portrait was finished.

But... since then...

A man cannot gaze at another man's wife forever.

Yet I have kept my gaze on you the entire time.

Please, prepare yourself, Nagare!

Wait! Where are you going?

Stay away! Don't come any closer!

You're too much of a coward!

You won't help me and I can't run away from him!

You wanted a luxurious life!

I'm too poor to give you that!

That doesn't matter!

Liar!

I'm not a liar!

Are you really not a liar?

Let's kill ourselves!

You want to die?

Tomorrow Takigawa will be back. Tonight is the only chance we have!

Takigawa will find out about us. He isn't the kind of person that can forgive this.

He won't be able to tolerate society knowing about his wife's infidelity!

Take me with you!

Nagare!

It's fine!

You don't have to run from me.

If we need anything, I'll buzz you.

Please, do that.

Nagare...

It was an accident.

That's what I believe. That's how society sees it too.

I won't break off my friendship with you.

Things between us are as they've always been.

Did Mizue die?

Mizue, Mizue, Mizue...

Takigawa and I have known each other for more than 2O years.

Since the time we met each other in the same class of a University of the Arts...

Takigawa became something like a patron for me.

Whenever! needed money to get by ..

Even my graduation from University.

I owe it all to Takigawa.

After Takigawa's persistent invitation, I returned to this village after 5 years.

Welcome.

It has been a longtime.

Hey)'-

You should stay the night. I've already made preparations for you.

Let me introduce you.

This is my wife, Ameko.

It's good to meet you.

She looks...

just like Mizue.

I just can't understand Takigawa.

It's been 5 years since I allowed Mizue to die.

And over that time, I have continued to fear Takigawa's revenge.

Could I trouble you?

Mr. Nagare, I've heard that you're a friend of Takigawa's from University.

Yes.

Takigawa's always talking about you.

But...

What is it?

I've known you for a while.

I've seen your paintings.

This village, this tatami-floored house... Nothing has changed one bit.

H's the things that do not change that terrify me.

Leave it for tomorrow, it's already late!

We'll just take this to the kitchen.

- Have Okita take you by car. - But...

There was a lover's suicide up at Blue Lake.

Somebody was saying something like that.

You have to pass right by Blue Lake on your way back home, right?

Yes.

Most likely nothing would happen, but something doesn't feel right.

It'd be safer to go back by car.

Well then, we'll take the car.

Sir, is everything okay with Mr. Nagare?

He did not eat anything.

He's probably just tired.

Just let him sleep.

Alright.

Darling.

It's true.

What is?

About the lover's suicide.

Hmm.

Just a little while ago a child drowned up there.

Hmm.

L...

Huh?

I don't like that lake.

I feel that something frightful lives there.

Don't be silly.

But...

Don't worry about it.

Everyone talks of rumors.

What?

What kind of rumors?

Tell me.

Are they about Mizue?

That was an accident.

I told you.

- Do you not believe me? - That's not it.

Don't lend an ear to such absurd rumors.

Nagare.

Nagare, please, open up.

Opel'! UP---

This way...

It's this way...

Opel'! UP---

Nagare.

Mizue?

You've come back for me...

Nagare.

Forgive me!

Come with me...

Nagare.

Please forgive me!

Forgive me!

Please come to where I live.

Good morning.

Good morning!

What's wrong?

Dead.

What's wrong?

What happened?

Mizue came to me.

Really?

I saw Mizue's ghost, really...

Cut it out.

She looked just as she did when she died.

- She was completely soaked. - Quit it!

Mizue has a grudge for me.

In death her spirit remains.

She has become a ghost and is looking for me...

You?

I brought her there, to the lake.

I'm cursed.

Nagare, I've spent these 5 years trying to forget about Mizue.

And I forgot.

I'm the one whose wife was taken away by you.

But you tell me stories about seeing a ghost.

Back then, I was certain that you were after me.

But you forgave me. Why?

Whatever you may have done, I see something in you as a painter.

I may have a lot of things, but there's one thing I don't have.

Your talent.

I saw your paintings soon after entering University.

They were astonishing.

"How incredible," I thought.

I thought it was impossible that someone my own age could paint things like that.

Seeing your paintings made me reassess my own talent.

In the end, that was a good thing.

I couldn't keep creating works that were lesser than yours forever.

To that degree I limited you.

And thus I am indebted to you.

I even once thought it might've been better for both of us if I'd cut all contact with you.

Don't be so conceited.

I may have forgiven you, but I will never forget what you did.

In falling in love with Mizue you ended up killing her.

- It was a lover's suicide. - Yet you were saved while Mizue died.

Let's stop this.

And don't go talking to Ameko about how you saw a ghost.

She doesn't know anything about this.

You were talking for quite a while.

Yeah.

What were you talking about?

I was asking Nagare if he'd stay with us for a while.

Takigawa!

Well, this is the best season to be in this village.

I thought it'd be nice if you took it easy and stuck around for a month or so.

Yes, please do!

What you just said...

We didn't talk about anything like that!

I just suddenly thought of it.

And though I've said I've forgiven you...

you can't say anything about how Mizue's ghost appeared to you.

Othenlvise, I can't have any peace of mind in asking you to stay and paint.

I think it would be best for you to stay for a while and return to your old self.

It would be good for you.

I won't do it. I'm going back.

Are you scared?

Yes, I'm scared.

Of what?

Ameko, Nagare will be staying with us for a while after all.

- Takigawa! - Don't be so modest!

Please, treat this house as though it were your own home.

H's neither too hot, nor too cold.

It isn't too muggy, nor is it too dry.

The scent of Paulownia flowers drifts by and the landscape sparkles in the sun.

The wind that blows around here feels so nice.

Stay here for a little while and your neurosis will heal for sure.

And if you're here I can leave with peace of mind.

Soon, I may have to go to America.

You'd be so disheartened here on your own.

Nagare might not be the best bodyguard though.

When will you leave? I haven't heard about this trip.

It's not decided yet. I just meant that it might happen.

Oh...

You can see that she's having a tough time of it here.

Born and raised in Tokyo, she's never lived in the countryside.

I hope you'll get used to it soon!

Tokyo is a place to work, not a place to live.

Your life will be centered around here from now on.

Yes.

Takigawa said that even though he forgave me, he wouldn't forge! what I had done.

Even so, he pushed me to stay.

He asked me to watch over Ameko while he was in America.

Just like that time 5 years ago.

H's almost as though Takigawa is setting a trap for me.

The longer! stay, the more involved I become.

And yet, ! don't try to leave.

I want to draw Ameko... No!

I want to draw Mizue...

I want to go back and finish that drawing.

That desire is what is holding me here.

Please, come with me to Blue Lake.

Huh?

Takigawa told me to take you to Blue Lake.

Please, do come! Othenlvise, Takigawa will scold me.

I'm sorry, you were hesitant to come.

It's just that I was lost in thought.

I should be the one apologizing.

Takigawa is the type that has to have everything go as he wishes.

I've known him 2O years now.

I know all about his personality.

Takigawa said that you have a one-track mind.

I bet he said that there is nothing to me other than my artwork.

Takigawa is a very lucky man.

Why?

Because he found someone as wonderful as you.

After graduating high school, I was employed at a small commercial company.

I was there for 17 years.

My father had been ill for quite a longtime.

And my younger brother was in a car accident, so I could not quit.

Where did you meet Takigawa?

At a part?-

One of our clients was holding a party.

It was to celebrate the opening of their business. I was hired as a welcomer.

That's where we met.

And it was love at first sight?

I was coerced.

Every time we saw each other, he would always bring me presents.

And he'd take me places I had never been before.

Then, I had a dream.

A dream that you would be happy?

A dream that I could live without having to work.

That I wouldn't have to ride full trains everyday...

and wouldn't be pestered by debt collectors.

That dream has come true.

I see.

I think Takigawa is a fine man to choose as a husband.

Nagare, are you jealous of Takigawa's prosperity?

Sometimes.

I have no ability to earn a living myself.

- Surely you have some. - But I'll always be poor.

Maybe so.

But even so, I can't imagine you being jealous of Takigawa.

Maybe on the outside.

Is that so?

I actually think that Takigawa is more jealous of you, Nagare.

Nagare, what kind of person was Takigawa's former wife?

She was very single-minded.

Like me?

Yes.

I can't help but think that Takigawa is still in love with Mizue.

There's no way. He told me he had forgotten her.

Did he?

Yes.

I heard that Mizue drowned at Blue Lake.

Just like that child the other day.

Did Takigawa tell you that?

Is it not true?

Well...

I... heard a rumor.

What kind?

That Mizue committed a lover's suicide.

Madam!

You shouldn't lend an ear to such absurd rumors!

That's just what Takigawa says.

I think so too.

It's been three months since we married.

Unbeknownst to anyone I entered his family registry.

Soon after we went to Europe for two months, traveling to different countries.

Is that so?

And since we came back, the whole time, we've been living in this house.

Takigawa knows that we came here.

How?

I've had that feeling since a little while ago.

I like you, Nagare.

Thank you.

I just love your drawings of women.

I haven't drawn a woman for some time now.

Those works that Takigawa owns, I painted a long time ago.

Why don't you draw them anymore?

Well...

I don't have any reason in particular...

I'm sorry.

It's so rude of me to ask such things of someone I've only just met.

I must really be starved for conversation.

I have no one to talk to here.

No acquaintances.

- Is everything alright? - Yeah.

Please be careful.

You want to take a look?

These allow you to see really well!

Is that your only thought?

Madam Ameko and Madam Mizue really look so much alike.

Ah! She laughed!

Mizue's grave is inside this grove.

Would you like to go see?

Let's not.

I know you've brought me this far and all.

It's just, I'd never thought to come see her grave before.

And after all, I didn't really know her that well.

It's really up to you. I won't force you.

I'm sorry.

If Takigawa asks, please tell him we came to visit her grave.

He could take it the wrong way that we didn't.

Did Nagare cry? Or was he calm and composed?

He did not change at all.

Is that so...

Why would you want to know such a thing?

No matter.

You aren't hiding something from me, are you?

Everyone has one or two things they would prefer to hide.

Do you have nothing?

Surely you have something you'd prefer to hide as well.

And so, Ameko...

all that I ask of you...

is to be an obedient wife who thinks of our future.

You know that, right?

What did you have to talk to me about?

I didn't visit Mizue's grave.

But yesterday Ameko told me that the two of you did.

I asked her to say so.

It sounds like you asked her to lie to me.

- Takigawa... - The facts seem to point to that.

For 2O years now...

All the women that I've truly fallen in love with have been stolen away by you.

Those that I slept with and those that I didn't.

Women... they love to become your models.

Even those that don't become intoxicated by your seduction.

How do you seduce them?!

Or do you not even need to seduce them?

Do you just have to look at them and that is enough to make them want you?

Takigawa...

- I'd like you to tell me. - Listen to me, Takigawa!

Other than Mizue, I don't recall stealing any women from you!

I know that among the women I've slept with...

there are a few that have been with you.

But like a fool I had always believed that I was cleaning up after your affairs.

I believe that they were using my body...

to fill the hole left in them by being jilted by you.

I was the one who was jilted!

I didn't know.

Whenever you see a woman you want to draw...

you forget everything and only look at her.

That desire is clear to them!

I don't know what you're thinking, but please don't ask me anything else.

I don't feel anything for Ameko!

You think I'm in love with Ameko?

Please wake up, Nagare.

Please come with me.

- Where to? - To my home.

I do not rest beneath the grave that Takigawa made for me.

I am alive beneath the mud beside Blue Lake.

I'm sad.

It's dark and cold.

What do you want me to do?

I want you to commit a lover's suicide once more.

- I can't... - Why?

I tried to take my life.

But it didn't go according to plan.

I came back to life.

But I was scared, so scared.

The mud...the water...

They poured into my nose, into my mouth.

Mizue...

I couldn't revive you...

You had... had... died!

Takigawa...

Takigawa, wake up!

Takigawa, wake...

It's the middle of the night.

Please, do not speak In such a loud voice.

There's something I need to speak to Takigawa about.

- He went to sleep a longtime ago. - Shut up!

Takigawa!

Takigawa, wake up!

I need to speak with you!

Takigawa!

Takigawa, wake up!

Takigawa is keeping something from me.

I want to know what it is; I must know what it is.

I am Takigawa's wife, after all.

Takigawa!

Takigawa, please, wake up!

I'm coming in!

Where did they go?

I love you.

I can't forget about you.

To forget would be so cruel.

There's so much that I remember so clearly.

Your betrayal.

Your lover's suicide...

In the end, we never found your body.

I thought that even in death you didn't want to come back to me.

I resented you...

But that is why I built this grave for you.

So long as there is this grave, you shall be my wife.

Mizue Takigawa.

I was so resentful.

The man you promised to die with survived.

You went to a place where I couldn't reach, didn't you?

You didn't want to be mine in death...

I love you, Mizue.

Who's there?!

Where in the world did Takigawa and Ameko go at this time of night?

After the Steward woke up and I told him I was uncomfortable sleeping in this room...

he said he would keep night watch for me.

He's sleeping soundly for someone who promised to stay awake the whole night.

Mizue really did come here.

Though her body is dead, her love still lives on, taking human form.

She came to fulfill that which she left unfinished.

H's not such an uncommon story.

Countless men have been taken by their dead lovers in the middle of the night.

This is just the same.

But Mizue...

I cannot re-do your lover's suicide.

I'm scared.

What should I do...

What should I do?!

The master, his wife and Mr. Nagare are still asleep.

I know. It's such a waste to have to put everything out like this.

It's gone bad!

Please help me!

- What happened? - Last night, I followed Takigawa.

Takigawa is still asleep.

I put some sleeping medication in his nightcap.

I couldn't bear sleeping with him.

Ameko...

I know I'm asking you to listen to something you don't want to hear.

But there isn't anybody else I could consult with.

I think I can't be of any help to you.

That's alright.

After what I saw last night, if I were pent up in this house all on my own...

I would go insane!

Takigawa went to Mizue's grave.

He caressed the headstone...

as though he were caressing a woman's body.

He was murmuring, "I love you... I love you".

I can't take this anymore!

Nagare...

What?

You lied to me.

What lie?

Mizue committed a lover's suicide.

Takigawa told me the same lie.

Why?

You...

Me?

He just didn't want to hurt you.

But it hurts more to be lied to.

True.

I didn't care if Takigawa's former wife died in a lover's suicide or an accident...

as long as he could forget her and love me.

But Takigawa loves her even now.

I am nothing more than a substitute.

As he holds my body, he thinks of his love for Mizue.

Since Mizue died, he can'! hold her anymore.

So he holds me instead.

Even though she was the one who betrayed him and committed a lover's suicide!

I cannot bear being a substitute for such a person.

I was the one she committed a lover's suicide with.

We promised each other to take our lives and entered the lake.

But I was the only one who had second thoughts.

From the bottom of the lake, her spirit begrudges me.

Was it not a nightmare?

A bad dream seen in fear of your memory from what happened at Blue Lake?

No, it wasn't.

I've had bad dreams many times before.

I've even been unable to sleep over them, insomnia destroying my mind.

I was even taken to the hospital for it.

I was hospitalized for almost a year.

You think that my mental sickness may have come back?

That's not it either.

What happened yesterday and the day before was not a dream.

It was something real, something materialized from Mizue's resentment.

Her sadness at having died alone, her desire to be with me.

That's what I think.

Nagare, please leave this place.

If there's a frightful power being wielded by the dead, it's better you are not here.

Please go back to Tokyo.

And you? What will you do?

I don't know.

Could you take me with you?

If it's too much to ask, please pretend that I didn't ask.

You're his wife.

You can't see me as anything but Takigawa's wife, can you?

It's too much to ask you to go through that again after it already resulted in death.

I'm sorry.

That's not it.

L...

You are mine, Nagare.

I won't give you over to anyone. How could I!

Ah! That hurls!

I can't re-do our lover's suicide!

Stop!

I... I... I am Ameko!

Nagare, what are you doing! It's me, Ameko!

I'm not Mizue.

- Please take care. - Thank you.

- How is your wife? - The doctor said there was nothing to worry about.

Thank god...

Ameko told me what happened.

There was a loud noise, and she lurched over and fell to the floor.

Then, you chocked her, thinking you were trying to kill Mizue.

Please apologize to her for me.

Ameko doesn't mind. She's just scared.

I am too. I'm scared. if I stay here any longer I'll just be a burden to her.

And so that's why you're returning to Tokyo?

And what will happen then?

Is the power of the dead not such a mighty thing?

I think it is.

I don't think Mizue will obediently return to her grave once you're back in Tokyo.

I'm unattached.

Even if Mizue follows me to Tokyo...

even if she comes after me there, I'll be the only one that dies.

She won't be bothering you anymore.

Maybe that's so, but then maybe not.

Why?

Because Mizue was my wife.

The bond between a husband and wife is not dissolved by death.

As a husband I have to take an interest in my wife's manners.

Stop trying to upset me.

- I'm not. - It's not funny! - I'm being serious.

I've thought seriously on this and come up with a plan.

What plan?

To drive away Mizue's ill will.

This is so absurd.

An eye for an eye, eh?

As a spirit medium she's the best there is.

Such a creepy person.

Please take this chair.

What's happening?

She requested that I bring this chair to the hall.

Is that alright?

Yes, just do as she requests.

That's the chair Mizue liked.

Respectfully, I will now begin a chant.

I aim to connect with whatever spirits may live in this place.

Nagare!

Nagare, why must I suffer like this?

Nagare, please, get me out of here!

It's so dark!

No! No!!

I can't stand being shut up in here any longer!

You try to appease me?

You are not strong enough!

If you don't do what I want, I will kill Ameko!

Stop... Stop!

I'll go.

I'll go to Blue Lake.

I've come, Mizue.

You just wouldn't forgive me and have left me no choice.

So I have come to you.

Mizue!

You came... Nagare.

You...

I lived.

Just like you.

I was saved.

Saved?

The Steward saved me.

When I awoke from a deep, dark sleep, I was in a shrine.

He told me I had slept for 3 days and Z nights.

He told me that you had died.

- And you believed him? - Yes.

This is so absurd!

I thought that you had died.

And you believed that I had died...

This whole time...

It was a somehow long, somehow short 5 years.

Over that time, what were...

You want to ask what I was doing?

I lived like some kind of beast.

Simply eating and then sleeping.

I didn't have the strength to do anything else.

And I gazed upon my grave.

Andi...

You what?

I thought of you.

One by one I thought of all the things that happened during the time I spent with you.

I wondered if that was how the dead lived in the next life.

And so, 5 years passed.

You lost some weight, but nothing else about you had changed when you came.

Why...

Why didn't you come to me then?

It's not like you were chained down, right?

So then, why?

I just couldn't.

But why?!

For those 5 years the Steward kept me as his slave.

That was the price for his saving me.

! did not defy him.

I was more than half dead anyway.

When awake, I never even thought to refuse him.

That is why ! could not go to you.

But I missed you so much.

And I wanted to start over.

And so I invited you to come here.

To come hereto me.

So what appeared in my room was the real you?

It was the other me.

I prayed so resolutely to see you, my body, my heart, took me to your room.

When I understood that I was so happy.

- You were happy? - Yes.

Why?

Even though my body had been violated by the Steward, my heart remained unpolluted.

With that pure heart, I was able to reach out to you.

That is why...

Yes.

I wanted another chance to complete our lover's suicide.

Nagare, let us try once more.

Let's die together to be certain that we will not fail!

Stop!

I won't allow this!

I'm the one who gets a re-do!

I'll have my revenge for the harm you caused me 5 years ago!

5 years ago a letter arrived for me in Paris.

A letter from my father.

He told me all about your betrayal.

And so I returned from my trip early and snuck back to the house in secret.

My father kept me hidden away in the detached house.

And then... that night... I eavesdropped on you two discussing your lover's suicide.

I went down to wait for you at Blue Lake.

I was satisfied, seeing you sink into the lake with such a pitiful scream.

But when I searched for Mizue, I couldn't find her.

I thought she was dead.

And so I made a grave for her and visited it every night.

Such a foolish story...

For 5 years I was kept by the Steward.

But if it was you who had saved me and not him...

I surely would have found the courage to once more take my own life.

I could have died on my own.

Run! Mizue! Run!

Mizue!

Takigawa...

I'll kill you!

Mizue!

Mizue!

Mizue...

Mizue!

Kill him...

Kill him!

Nagare...

Please, submerge me in the lake.

Send me to the bottom of Blue Lake, where I was supposed to go 5 years ago.

I promise.

Thank you.

From the bottom of the lake the moon is so beautiful...

It's spellbinding...

Nagare...

Nagare...

What is it?

I've killed someone.

I've come to turn myself in.

You're Mr. Nagare, right?

The painter who tried to commit a lover's suicide 5 years ago.

Yes.

Who did you kill?

Takigawa.

Kanji Takigawa, the foreign merchant.

Where?

Do you not believe me?

If so, come with me.

Takigawa's body is up at Blue Lake.

I'll show you! Come with me! See for yourself!

The rain's terrible!

What are you saying! I'm a murderer!

Alright!

Where's Takigawa's body?

I killed him right here...

Stabbed him with a knife...

A knife? Where's the knife?

Mr. Nagare...

The lake has got you all flustered.

Let's go. I'll take you back.

Mizue...

Was it you?

Did you hide Takigawa's body...

to save me?

One year later

Nagare Kairi Individual Exhibition Sights of Blue Lake

There were many rumors about Takigawa's disappearance.

I bet he's probably loitering around Europe right now.

That'd be like him.

But what's the real reason he disappeared?

I can't even guess.

He had plenty of money, and a lot of power as an art dealer.

But I've heard that his wife committed a lover's suicide a few years ago.

It appears that he had been acting rather strangely ever since.

A lover's suicide... That would be so unbearable!

Nagare had been quite close with Takigawa ever since college.

He owed a lot to Takigawa.

But you could tell that had a big effect on his work.

Ever since he was released from Takigawa, he's been painting such great pieces.

This one has such a mysterious air to it.

It's as though you're being pulled into the lake.

What's wrong, darling?

Uh... nothing.

Mizue was there.

She was definitely there.

Mizue died 6 years ago.

You... you aren't Mizue, right?

I'm Ameko.

I'm the living Ameko.

Ameko's body was warm.

I could feel the blood running through her.

But as I held Ameko, I could not forge! Mizue's spell.

t was frightened that, as she was in my arms, Ameko would become Mizue.

To dispel that fear, I plunged into Ameko.

It's just like that time, one year ago.

T was the one who sank Takigawa's body to the bottom of the lake.

I did not want you to be caught as a murderer.

And I wanted Takigawa to be with Mizue.

That way Takigawa would watch over Mizue. ..

And make sure that she would not distress you.

Produced by Nippon Television Network Corporation

Cast:

Yoko Yamamoto as Mizue f Ameko

Jin Nakayama as Kanji Takigawa

Masami Horiuchi Chisako Hara

Izumi Shima Kiriko Shimizu

Minori Terada

Tatsumi Nikamoto Yumiko lshikawa Yoko Aimoto

Haruhiko Okamura Yousuke Enomoto

Yasu mi Hara

Ryo Tamura

Staff:

Based on the novel by Izumi Kyoka

Screenplay by Rio Kishida

Original Music: Shigeaki Saegusa

Director of Photography: Masao Nakabori

Directed by Akio Jissoji

PRODUCTION DANSO

WHEN TWILIGHT DRAWS NEAR

WHEN TWILIGHT DRAWS NEAR Are women flowers?

WHEN TWILIGHT DRAWS NEAR Are men butterflies?

Are men butterflies'?

As the flower withers and falls while getting kissed by the butterfly,

the butterfly also dies...

Damn it.

Man, he sucks at singing.

He always does.

Does he actually think he's good?

What do you think is the most important factor for a pop song to become a big hit?

They say the key point is the first line in the first verse.

You have to win the heart of the listeners in the very first line!

Like Hello, Baby or Sukiyaki, written by Ei Rokusuke.

Akashiya's...

Hey, that's not written by Rokusuke!

Which first line do you think is the greatest of all time?

It's your turn.

Don't know.

It's "when twilight draws near".

I see. That's good.

The phrase "when twilight draws near" stirs your imagination, no matter who you are.

No, damn it.

Yes!

I hate it when twilight draws near.

You know how the sunlight shines into this room on evenings?

Thanks to the effects of the light,

all the houses resemble matchboxes when you look out the window.

They look like tiny toys.

To think people live inside each one of those boxes like bugs...

It makes me think human lives are insignificant and fragile.

It makes me want to just jump out of the window and die.

You lucky bastard.

That's why...

I always come home at night,

or get in bed and sleep when I have to be in this room during sunset.

Then wake up at night.

Wake up and study?

Yes, here we go!

I wish.

It's over.

5, right?

We finally have a winner.

13.

Sammy won?

Sammy wins by 4 mon.

Only 4 mon?

Is that the total?

Yeah, 5 just now.

You'll never beat me.

Wanna play?

I'm tired.

You're tired?

I've been playing all day,

ever since I ran into you guys after the first period.

We've been playing the whole time.

We started yesterday, around this time.

Mahjong, pachinko, bowling...

More bowling and pachinko in the morning.

Geez.

I'm up by 4 mon in half a day.

Is it fun playing that much?

It's not.

There's nothing fun outside class either.

- It's fun. There's nothing fun outside class either.

What should we do now?

We've run out of things to do.

Even though twilight draws near.

Nothing we can do.

When twilight...

Wanna get out of here?

Doesn't look like we'll get any more food.

And the three of us can't just stay the night here.

Oh, why don't you at least drink some tea?

No, thanks.

Someone help me.

Give it to me.

It's not hooking up.

That gave me a scare.

Wait.

Leave it.

How about we let the gas leak?

We'll see who can stay in this room the longest!

Losers leave first.

Sounds fun.

Should we do it?

Is that all right with you?

Sure.

All right. Let's do it.

Let's make a bet if we're doing this.

All right! 500 yen?

I don't have that much.

300 yen.

Give me change.

Hurry UP-

Stop!

You're so annoying.

Okay, let's do it!

Let's go, Sammy!

Okay!

Idiot!

Oh, right.

It'll ignite and blow up.

But I want to smoke so bad!

I wanna take a piss.

Are you all right, Jun?

Yes.

Natural gas stinks, huh?

It's Auschwitz in here.

The concentration camp?

The gas chamber?

I saw it in the movies.

We're just playing here,

but what would happen to us if were really were in a gas chamber?

I wonder why they just waltzed into a gas chamber in the first place.

I'd fight before that.

You can't fight them.

It's already too late by then.

You have to prevent that from happening.

It's already over when it's your turn to walk into the gas chamber.

Are you sure about that?

I personally think we can't fight until we're in that kind of a situation.

We're actually very unlucky.

There are no concentration camps,

or the Gestapo here.

We lack the extreme circumstances that'll measure our limits.

That's why we don't truly know who we are,

and therefore, we don't have any passion in life.

We have no choice,

so we create an extreme circumstance like this as a game...

to kill time.

It's fine.

There's a certain someone who hates it when twilight draws near.

If we can kill some time doing this,

then it's all good.

When twilight draws near,

our worries knows no bounds.

Whose shadow covers the...

While we're wasting time playing a game like this...

somebody might be planning to throw us in a gas chamber for real!

And we'll never find it in ourselves to fight that...

I can't breathe.

Are you all right?

Don't push yourself too far.

I may look poor outside, but I'm rich in the inside.

My heart is more beautiful than any flower.

You're only young once.

Don't be scared if you're a real man.

Do something no one else can.

A man laughs to hide his tears.

Stop it.

That's not funny.

He's so annoying!

I wanna go take a piss.

You're not the only one.

Man, I wanna take a piss so bad.

This little game of ours...

is pretty dumb.

But...

Pussy!

Just leave!

I'll be waiting in the hallway.

What is it, Jun?

Fresh air.

Are you all right?

You all right?

Don't push yourself too hard.

Shut up!

Are you all right?

Don't push yourself too hard.

Are you all right?

You're going to die!

Shut the hell up!

Sammy!

That's dangerous.

Hey, are you all right?

I feel cold.

Same here.

It's dark.

Why don't we turn on the lights?

It's more calming to be in the dark.

It's not my fault if you guys die!

I'm out!

Why?

You think this is stupid, too?

Yeah.

It's pointless if I die.

Smoke! Time for a smoke!

Good, good.

Are they still at it?

Yeah.

Masaaki.

Do you think this is stupid?

Well, I guess it's sort of stupid,

but it's not stupid enough to make me want to quit.

Why do you try so hard?

The whole point of this game was to see who tries the hardest.

So I have to try.

Is that all?

What do you mean?

Your reason for trying?

That's all.

Liar!

Even if it's just a game,

even if it just started as a game,

there will be a point when it's no longer a game.

There will be a deep moment.

You're trying because you're waiting for that moment, right?

Jun.

Are you hoping this game would become something serious?

That's absurd!

A game is just that, a game.

Yes, something... something will come out of all this.

It could be a tragedy, or it could be an epiphany.

You know, the stuff you hear all the time.

But don't get your hopes up!

Nothing good will happen from all this.

At the very least, not what you're hoping...

What are you hoping for?

I wonder.

Could it be...

one of us asking you out?

No, that would be too ordinary.

I would've asked you out already if that was all it took.

Even Yana would've done it.

Sammy's a player, so maybe he already...

Then again, you wouldn't be satisfied by simply being asked out.

What you seek is...

Right, a wonderful way of being asked out.

I guess a wonderful encounter.

Some kind of wonderful connection with another person.

A connection that would light up the whole world.

A burning love...

You wouldn't be satisfied by simply being asked out.

What you seek is...

Right, a wonderful way of being asked out.

I guess a wonderful encounter.

Some kind of wonderful connection with another person.

A connection that would light up the whole world.

A burning love.

It's not going to happen.

There's no way it would.

Definitely not from a game like this.

Then... you're not expecting anything from this game?

Yeah, nothing more than winning the bet.

- They're dead. Yeah, nothing more than winning the bet.

Then... how can you try so hard?

- They must be dead, huh? Then... how can you try so hard?

- They're so stupid. Then... how can you try so hard?

Then... how can you try so hard?

Hey, give it up already.

Because I have no expectations.

That's actually why I try.

Just as I have no expectations from this game,

I have no expectations from anything in life.

That's why I don't think this game is stupid compared to other things.

You only think it's stupid because you expect something more wonderful elsewhere.

Like the guys who walked out.

I have no choice...

but to try my best at every challenge...

that comes my way.

He is the love of my life, who H! never see again.

A sad figure disappearing into the fog.

With forget-me-nots somberly wrapped around my arms,

H! light up the lamp by the window and wait for his return.

I'll light up the lamp by the window...

Jun.

You're physically at your limit.

You're probably trying hard because of some unwarranted expectations,

But such expectations...

Expectations from others are absolutely meaningless.

You should stop doing it.

I surrender.

Come in!

Did you guys hear that?

Jun admitted defeat.

Ba-bum! Jun lost!

She was pretty stubborn.

Thanks.

It's yours.

I'll open the window.

Don't!

Watch it!

Don't!

I'm going to do it if you don't stop.

I'll blow us up!

We'll all burn to ashes.

Jun...

A game is just that, a game.

That's what Masaaki said.

Do you agree?

Yeah.

You too, Yana?

Yeah.

He might be right, if you have great expectations from somebody else.

Thanks for the lesson.

But if one of us wants to turn it into something more than just a game,

then what happens?

What are you trying to do?

We might all die, depending on your actions.

Cut it out.

It's not funny.

Are you out of your mind?

Maybe I did,

but othenlvise I'll accomplish nothing in this day and age!

You say a game is just a game,

but we might run into something more important.

Admit that.

Show me your true colors, you posers.

Well?

Tell me what you really think!

Tell me to not light the match!

Yeah.

Say "Jun, don't light the match."

This isn't a game.

I want to hear it from your heart!

Say it and mean it.

I'll set you free if all three of you say it.

You'll be free.

But... you have to mean it.

I'm sure the desire to live on will have a great impact in your lives.

I think it will change you.

It may have started as a game,

but now you're placed in a life-or-death situation against your will.

It may have started as a game, but...

come on...

Say m

You're not going to say it?

Say "Jun, please stop."

Jun. Please explain what you mean one more time.

I have a feeling that I understand what you're trying to say.

One more...

Just one more breath and she'll pass out.

Make her talk,

and buy some time.

Explain to us.

I think I'll understand what you mean.

This is ridiculous!

I don't need an explanation!

A game is nothing more than a game to me!

As if blackmailing will force me to beg a nutcase to stop!

A life-or-death situation against my will?

That's too stupid to even give it a thought!

I don't give a damn.

Let's see you do it.

I won't hate you for it. It'll be beyond my control, just like the Hiroshima bombing!

Come on.

Do it, Jun!

Wait.

Stay away from me!

What do you think, Yana?

I don't care.

Let's her do it.

Wait, Jun.

Just for a minute. One minute.

Explain what you mean again.

Man up, Masaaki.

You're the one who said it's just a game.

No.

You guys were half-assed even for a game.

That's because you think there's something else that's more meaningful.

You're still not serious, even though our situation has changed.

You behave the same way, whether it's a game or not!

At times, whether or not you can be serious

without expecting things from others...

and the ability to face the reality decides the winner.

You two have already lost.

But... I can't afford to lose.

What do you think, Jun?

About what I said?

Say something!

You saved us.

It was an all-or-nothing bet.

It was better than not trying.

When twilight draws near,

our worries knows no bounds.

Whose shadow covers the wavering heart?

I'm in love with you, but our lips will never touch.

Another night approaches as tears stream down

I'm here!

Whatever!

But I...

Hurry UP!