This is a comment not on CHERRY BLOSSOMS which I enjoyed but the follow up CHERRY BLOSSOMS & DEMONS which, IMO, is even more affecting. The character Karl is a mess & the films combining of magical realism with his everyday struggles held my attention throughout. Perhaps this is not the place to comment here as this this is a sequel to the first film but the efforts of the character YU to try & show her love for Karl despite his ambivalence in dealing with his particular behavior concerning his family & his own uncertainty regarding his feelings for YU, makes for a touching & bittersweet film that is well worth one's attention. If rotten tomatoes had a place for comments regarding this unusual movie I would welcome posting this under the title: CHERRY BLOSSOMS & DEMONS if that ever comes to,pass. I leave that up to rotten tomatoes.

Honestly this is such a touching little movie about grief that I couldn't stop myself from crying a bit during it. It had its weak moments, as I expected it had a few racist scenes that I absolutely hated (the strip club and the massage.. just. NO), but I just feels like that this movie gets it, re: grief, and I happened to watch it before a big death anniversary to it just... resonated with me. The wife gives up on her dreams so she could please her family more, the husband is kind of emotionally absent, it kind of feels like a too known story, and Ii don't think it's fair to blame him or paint him as bad. Some people are just like that, they're not 'there', they're missing out on life and on being engaged in life because routine is easier and taking everything as it is for granted is the most comfortable way to live, so you really can't deem anyone bad for that, it's just sad. But what happens when it stops? And life gives you a slap on the face and you wake up to realise it is always a mistake to take stuff for granted, that you really have to LIVE, not just go through the motions of life in a very passive way. Rudi's journey and his grief over his wife was just so touching because you could see all that, you could see that wake up call, you could see how he realised how much he has missed and how much she has missed. The fact he is wearing her clothes to walk her around the places she always wanted to see, the fact he goes through all of this not knowing he is dying too (and therefore, they will be reunited soon) just to give her these experiences she never got to have, the fact he views her as being a part of him now after she is gone... this is just such a fantastic depiction of grief imo.

It's a quiet, very beautiful film about the duality of love and death. I love this movie.

Excellent; it is great from beginning to end. Loved it!

What a surprising film. I'm still drying my eyes. A moving look at loss and grief with strong performances by the whole cast. At times poetic, at times brutally honest. This small, intimate film packs a punch. Don't forget where you tied your handkerchief.

Naturalistic film about death and grief as we follow a man that's about too die. The wife knows it and she want's to treat him extra nicely and make sure he get's to have a lovely time. Suddenly, she dies. The kids of the family seem to dig their mother a lot more than they dig their father, so when she dies they struggle to deal with the devastated man. This is a sad and touching film. It looks a bit amateur-like, and I like that look. It's not like that at all but the photography feels very intimate at times, almost like a filmed diary. It's quite weird at times but always on point and the main thing stays strong. I can't connect with the actors and I fail to have the greatest sympathy for the man. It also takes a while to kick off, as the last parts are the absolute best parts. The sweet man is put in a wrong view, for everyone except from the viwers. That's a nice trick. A beautiful film about mourning, that lacks something that I can't point out so easily. 7.5 out of 10 butoh dancers.

Beautiful. Poignant. Emotional.

A recent German widower travels to Japan to fulfill some of his wives unrealized dreams. In the process, he becomes closer to the woman he realizes he did not know very well. Kind of a homage to Ozu, though not really anywhere near his league. Still, this is a rewarding film with some really wonderful, subtle characters and a fair number of pleasing plot surprises.

Truly remarkable movie.

This movie is a must see if you appreciate the deep bonds of human connection. It is a slow developing story that illustrates both missed opportunities for connection as well as extensively deep devotion. I highly recommend this film as it illustrates how commonality extends and retracts in unpredictable places. It is also a wonderful way to see Berlin and Tokyo from a non tourist angle.

A film of immense beauty and emotion - it explores often neglected themes with such love and gentleness.

Tender and poignant.

A bittersweet tale of loss and regrets realized by an aging couple (Trudi and Rudy) and the triumph achieved by overcoming these obstacles by immersing yourself in the very things you denied the love of your life (Trudi)! I swear there were several times during the film I wanted to smack their ungrateful children in the chops! Thankfully Yu came into Rudi's life to offer him the understanding and love his children were incapable of giving! I was truly moved by the film and yes it's handkerchief worthy!

Very good screenplay from elma wepper.

A most excellent art house film on beauty, impermanence and love. I truly enjoyed it. The compelling storyline and brilliant performance of both Wepper and Elsner made me examine the frailty of familial relations and people/causes we claim to love.

Amazing and deeply moving film. Widely relevant and emotionally accessible, as the story of loss and coping with grief is one that everyone can relate to somehow or other. It's not a very quick-moving film, but it altogether feels very whole, and feels very conclusive at the ending. A journey to find peace and contentment after you've lost something forever.

A transformação do fim da vida representada numa narrativa realista e ao mesmo tempo espiritual.

A wonderful film from German director Doris Dorrie, "Cherry Blossoms - Hanami" informs us of the brevity and beauty of life. When a German lady named Trudi (Hannalore Elsner) learns that her husband, Rudi (Elmar Wepper), has a progressive disease, she thinks she might be able to talk him into taking a trip to see their youngest son, Klaus (Felix Eitner), who is living in Japan. Trudi has always had a dream to visit that country; she wears a kimono at times and has long wanted to study Butoh dancing, but her sensitive nature is too often rebuffed by the down to earth and practical Rudi. On a peremptory visit to their older children living in Berlin, things do not go well, and Rudi indicates that he would prefer their young son come from Japan to see them, rather than go there themselves. Instead they decide to spend a few days together at a resort on the Baltic. Things take an unexpected turn at this point, and suddenly it is Rudi who must carry on alone. In an effort to "discover" the woman he loved, and as a tribute to her, he goes through with the visit to Japan, taking all his money and his wife's clothes with him. Klaus, who works long hours in a Tokyo office, has as little time for his father as did the older European siblings, so to pass the days, Rudi goes wandering through the city alone. In a city park he meets a young Butoh dancer named Yu (Aya Irizuki) and she, having lost her mother recently, senses a kindred grieving spirit in the cautious German. Though the dancer does not speak his language, and Rudi knows no Japanese, they can converse in broken English. But perhaps their deepest communication comes in the movements of the dance that Yu demonstrates to Rudi. They begin to meet daily in the park, and little by little they become friends, and it is through her that he begins at last to understand his wife... in the Butoh dance, in the temporary beauty of the cherry blossoms, in the attempts to communicate with someone who doesn't speak the same language, and in finally encountering all of the things his wife held dear. The transformation in him is marvelous to behold. The final scenes of "Cherry Blossoms" are filmed near Mt. Fuji, or as Yu calls it, "Mr. Mt. Fuji." The iconic landmark seems to be a reluctant player... shy and invisible, perpetually shrouded in misty clouds. Yet we sense that, with patience, eventually the mountain will be seen, as all of us are finally seen, no matter how briefly, by those with patience and forbearance, and that is the lesson of this film... with perception comes knowledge, with knowledge comes love, and with love comes the glorious flowering of compassion that like the cherry blossoms, magically transforms the landscape. Earlier in the film, we learn that Trudi would always feel sad if anyone killed a May fly, and she would recite a little poem to her children... "let him hover there undisturbed until the day ends; paradise lasts an eternity and he has only this brief time to make amends."

Truly amazing film... the best I have seen in a long time! This was such an emotional journey... showing the love that people have for one another.... PLEASE, MAKE TIME TO SEE THIS!!! A little long, but the acting, music, landscape..... absolutely wonderful.

supposed to be art but it fails at not being ridiculous