Heavenly Forest (Japanese)

This is a nice movie with a sad ending. When I watched it for the first time, I was fed up by constant sad endings in romantic films. So I couldn't handle one more sad ending. So I was like, 'not another sad ending please...'. And I didn't like this movie that much on the first watch.

But then, I watched it again one day, and felt it really nice. It has some nice feelings to it. Also is too beautiful to watch. The forest depicted is beautiful. Also the friendship that is depicted in the film is nice. Not many films depicts friendship in this direction. It takes a new angle to view friendship. And also how love inter-vines in friendship.

This film also tells how we fails to notice and appreciate the ones near us until we lose them forever. This is a nice message to be passed to everyone in the world because somehow we all do so.

The character of Shizuru is really really really really cute. Miyazaki Aoi has acted her best to live in that role, and hence I love this actress. Because the characters of Shizhuru of Heavenly forest and Nanae of Virgin Snow are too different. Yet she plays both of them so well that we don't feel that both these characters are played by the same actress. By that I mean, she doesn't leave her traces to a character. Some actors plays every role the same, just the name and what the characters does will be different. But Aoi doesn't. Nanae, and Shizhuru feels like two different persons.

The film's real Japanese name is, Tada Kimi o Aiztheruzu, meaning 'I love you only'.

Story line : Makoto, meets Shizuru on the first day of college. He just tries to help her telling that she can't cross the road easily from where she is standing and that it might be easier to cross from a traffic light ahead. He notices that Shizuru is oddly dressed like a child and also behaves like a child. But Makoto and Shizuru soon becomes friends.
Makoto notices other odd things about Shizuru as well, like she only eats small biscuits shaped like doughnut. And she says she still have milk tooth. He takes all these as her cute streaks and like her as a kid. Even though she keeps telling him that she is going to grow up soon, he just keeps a child like image of her in his mind.
Their friendship is strengthened by the presence of a forest near their college campus, which Makoto and Shizuru discovers together. Makoto likes to take photos, and he teaches Shizuru also photography, and they spend their free time photographing in the forest.

But also, from the first day onwards Makoto had liked a girl named, Miyuki, who is a beautiful and confident girl belonging in a popular group. When Makoto gets friendly with Miyuki and the popular group, he starts to spend less time with Shizuru.
Shizuru cutely tell him that he will regret that someday that he rejected a hot girl like her (Shizuru) and supports his love for Miyuki.
One day Shizuru asks Makoto for a gift and that is a to model for a kiss scene that she will photograph, and it is for a contest entry photo. Makoto agrees and they kiss in the Forest.
But that evening Shizuru disappears. Makoto search for her endlessly but can't find her. And by now he has realised that he loves Shizuru truly and deeply and can't forget her.

My Ratings of this Movie : 8.5/10