Dear My Life

  Take Care of My Cat  (2001) – A tender portrait of friendship and growing pains among five young women with a cat navigating early adulthood in Incheon. 🌆 Introduction At twenty, how much of ourselves do we truly understand? Take Care of My Cat begins with this gentle question. This 2001 Korean coming-of-age film follows five friends who, after graduating high school, find themselves moving along different paths. One seeks stability in a full-time job, another chases creative dreams, while others bear family responsibilities or navigate uncertain futures. Over time, the closeness they once shared begins to waver, and subtle distances emerge. What makes this film enduring is its tender portrayal of these distances and the quiet acts of care that bridge them. Loneliness is a natural companion to personal growth, but the film reminds us that even in solitude, connection is possible through small gestures of understanding and attention. 🎬 Film Overview Title ...

  🎥 Film Overview Detail Information Title Our Little Sister (海街diary / Umimachi Diary) Director Hirokazu Kore-eda Genre Drama, Family Release 2015 (Japan) Runtime 128 minutes Main Cast Haruka Ayase (Sachi), Masami Nagasawa (Yoshino), Kaho (Chika), Suzu Hirose (Suzu) Based on Manga by Akimi Yoshida Awards Palme d'Or nominee (Cannes 2015) Language Japanese 📖 Plot Summary Three sisters—Sachi, Yoshino, and Chika—live together in their grandmother's house in Kamakura, a quiet coastal town near Tokyo. Their lives follow a gentle rhythm: work, shared meals, occasional bickering, and the steady presence of the sea. When their estranged father dies, they travel to his funeral and meet Suzu, their 14-year-old half-sister. Despite the complicated history—their father left them years ago for Suzu's mother—the three sisters invite Suzu to live with them. What follows isn't a story of dramatic reconciliation or explosive emotions. Instead,  Our Little Sister  quietly observes how ...

   The Dorayaki, filled with sweet red bean paste                                                                  🎥 Film Overview Detail Information Title An (あん / Sweet Bean) Director Naomi Kawase Genre Drama Release 2015 (Japan) Runtime 113 minutes Main Cast Kiki Kirin (Tokue), Nagase Masatoshi (Sentaro), Kyara Uchida (Wakana) Based on Novel by Durian Sukegawa Language Japanese Awards Un Certain Regard nominee (Cannes 2015) 📖 Plot Summary Sentaro (Nagase Masatoshi) runs a small dorayaki shop in Tokyo, living a quiet, detached life weighed down by his past as an ex-convict. His days are mechanical—mixing batter, filling pancakes with store-bought sweet bean paste, serving customers without joy. Everything changes when Tokue (Kiki Kirin), an elderly woman with gnarled hands, arrives asking for a job. Despite his...

  Sill Walking(2008) - Yokoyama family gathering 🎥 Film Overview Detail Information Title Still Walking (歩いても歩いても / Aruitemo Aruitemo) Director Hirokazu Kore-eda Genre Drama, Family Release June 28, 2008 (Japan) Runtime 114 minutes Main Cast Hiroshi Abe (Ryota), Kirin Kiki (Toshiko), Yui Natsukawa (Yukari), You (Chinami), Yoshio Harada (Kyohei) Cinematography Yutaka Yamazaki Awards Golden Astor for Best Film (Mar del Plata 2008), Asian Film Award for Best Film Rotten Tomatoes 100% (64 reviews) Language Japanese Note Created as a tribute to Kore-eda's late mother 📖 Plot Summary On a summer day, the Yokoyama family gathers at their parents' home to commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of their eldest son Junpei's death. He drowned twelve years ago while saving a stranger—a boy who was attempting suicide. Ryota (Hiroshi Abe), the surviving son, arrives with his new wife Yukari (a widow) and her young son. His sister...

                                        🎥 Film Overview Detail Information Title Toilet (トイレット / Toiretto) Director Naoko Ogigami Genre Drama, Comedy, Family Release August 28, 2010 (Japan) Runtime 109 minutes Main Cast Alex House (Ray), Tatiana Maslany (Lisa), David Rendall (Maury), Masako Motai (Baachan) Language English, Japanese Production Japan-Canada co-production Filming Location Toronto, Canada Box Office $102,273 worldwide 📖 Plot Summary After their mother's death, three adult siblings find themselves living together under one roof for the first time in years. Ray (Alex House), a 30-something engineer obsessed with Gundam toys, has spent his life avoiding emotional attachments. Lisa (Tatiana Maslany), a neurotic college student, tries to control everything around her. Maury (David Rendall), once a promising pianist, has beco...

  Savoring a quiet moment with warm bread and coffee — a small slice of happiness 🎥 Film Overview Detail Information Title Bread of Happiness (しあわせのパン / Shiawase no Pan) Also Known As Happy Happy Bread, Pan de Felicidad Director Yukiko Mishima Screenplay Yukiko Mishima Genre Drama, Food Film, Healing Cinema (Iyashi-kei) Release Date January 21, 2012 (Hokkaido); January 28, 2012 (nationwide Japan) Runtime 114 minutes (1h 54m) Country Japan Language Japanese Cast Tomoyo Harada (Mizushima Rie), Yo Oizumi (Mizushima Nao/Sang), Kanna Mori (Saito Kaori), Yuta Hiraoka (Yamashita Tokio), Ken Mitsuishi (Miku's father), Kimiko Yo (glass blower) Filming Location Lake Toya (洞爺湖), Hokkaido, Japan Cinematography Ryu Segawa Music Goro Yasukawa Theme Song "Hitotsu Dake" (ひとつだけ) by Akiko Yano & Kyoshiro Imawano (1980) Production Company At Movie Rating G (All Ages) Box Office $717,956 USD (as of January 29, 201...

A visual symbol of comfort and slowness: the iconic image from Ogigami Naoko's restful film, Megane. 🎥 Film Overview Detail Information Title Megane (めがね / Glasses) Director Naoko Ogigami Screenplay Naoko Ogigami Genre Drama, Comedy, Healing Cinema (Iyashi-kei) Release Date September 22, 2007 (Japan) Runtime 106 minutes (1h 46m) Country Japan Language Japanese Cast Satomi Kobayashi (Taeko), Masako Motai (Sakura), Mikako Ichikawa (Haruna), Ken Mitsuishi (Yuji), Ryô Kase (Yomogi) Filming Location Yoron Island, Kagoshima Prefecture (southernmost Japan) Cinematography Tanimine Noboru Music Taeko Onuki Production Company Nippon Television Network, Paradise Cafe Rating G (General Audiences) Awards Sundance Film Festival 2008 - Grand Jury Prize nomination; San Francisco International Film Festival selection Note Follow-up to Kamome Diner (2006); features same lead actresses (Kobayashi and Motai) 📖 Plot Summary For ...