April Story

Uzuki arrives in Tokyo from Hokkaido, newly enrolled at university and knowing nobody. The film follows her first weeks: moving her things in, greeting the neighbours, joining a fly-fishing club by mistake, sitting alone in an empty cinema, and going again and again to one bookshop. Why she goes there becomes clear at the end: the person working there was at her school. The whole film moves towards that one revelation and runs sixty-seven minutes. It constructs no events; what interests it is the strange lightness of the first weeks of being alone. Cherry blossom, packing boxes and rain are all the material it has. Shunji Iwai wrote and directed. Takako Matsu plays Uzuki. The rain at the end is often cited in Japanese cinema: a red umbrella, a hole in it, and a smile, all in one shot. Who it is for: anyone who likes quiet Japanese cinema and coming-of-age stories. Who it is not for: anyone looking for plot. Almost nothing happens, the film is very short, and apart from the last scene there is not one dramatic moment that stays with you.