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Japan, 1998, 35mm, 67 minutes, colour, sound Dolby digital DTS, 1:2.35 Cinemascope, 6,026 feet, Japanese, Date of first performance March 14, 1998
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Director
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Shunji Iwai
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Produced by
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Shunji Iwai
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Screenplay
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Shunji Iwai
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Cinematography
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Naboru Shinoda
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Editor
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Shunji Iwai
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Production Design
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Yuji Tsuzuki
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Production Company
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Rockwell Eyes Inc.
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Kaori Fujii
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Kazuo Kuroi
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Seiichi Tanabe
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Takako Matsu
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It is spring. Uzuki Nireno bids goodbye to her family in Hokkaido - in the very north of Japan - and climbs on a train bound for Tokyo to attend the university of her choice. She deals with her new situation with poise and strength. She flirts with the movers, sets up her apartment, buys a new bicycle and admires her view of the cherry blossom-filled yard. Nireno approaches her suspicious neighbour and ultimately befriends her.
She is shy at school, not responding to the jocular teasing of the boys in front of her. She is particularly embarrassed when a teacher asks her to explain why she chose this university. A mystery for most of the film - as she gets close to a slack-jawed tomboy and joins the (surreal) fly-fishing club - we finally learn that a floppy-haired young man in her local book store has more to do with her higher education than anyone suspected. A beautifully conceived climax involving broken umbrellas subtly tips her hand.
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