Wonderful character development!

Good concept, poorly executed.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

In my mind, I have a list of five of the saddest films I've ever seen. Four minutes into watching Be With You, it had already made the list, so you can imagine how emotionally powerful this feature is. The combination of romance and drama, alongside science-fiction and fantasy, was developed especially well, while the focus on promises, family, sacrifice and happiness, as the film's central themes, made the experience all the more entertaining, every second of the feature having a pertinent part to play.Yuji (Yuta Hiraoka) is an 18 year old gentleman, who continues to have fond memories of a beautiful moment that happened when he was six. That year, he (Akashi Takei) lived with his widowed father Takumi (Shido Nakamura), who, while also suffering from an illness, had become a disillusioned and incomplete wreck without the presence of his adoring wife, Mio (Yuko Takeuchi), who had passed away a year before. Both however, lived in hope that the promise Mio made before her passing, that she would return during the rainy season, would come to fruition.When Mio miraculously appears, as promised, she has no memory of the past, Yuji and Takumi seeing this as an opportunity to start over, while reminding Mio of the love they once felt. Despite their rekindled happiness, father and son wonder what may come of Mio when the rainy season passes.The three lead actors were outstanding in their roles, the depth of their emotions creating a genuine on-screen family. Yosuke Asari and Chihiro Otsuka as Takumi and Mio during their adolescence, are equally talented in their roles, despite their minimal dialogue, convincingly showing their emotions through gesture and expression. Moreover, Karen Miyama as Takumi's co-worker, Aya, and You as Yuji's teacher, both deserved more on-screen time, as did Fumiyo Kohinata as Doctor Noguchi, who was especially appealing in his role.Moving on, the musical score heightened the emotional moments of the feature, though never at the expense of other production elements, while the directorial decisions pertaining to the use of camera were equally brilliant at increasing the film's beauty.By the end, I was very impressed how the film managed to bring everything together, so, despite the unique peculiarity of the plot, it actually made sense. I'm always on the look-out for films that will touch my heart, and Be With You will astonishingly do just this, while remaining in your thoughts long after the credits have rolled - safe to say, BRING LOTS OF TISSUES! On a side note, there is a scene in which you see a young boy's penis - those easily shocked by nudity may want to take precautions.

I have not seen such a touching and romantic movie in a long time! I watched a lot of movies but this one is definitely near the top of my list of all-time favorites. The story line is really original, you may find it difficult to understand the movie at first but the way the story unfolds is simply perfect. The acting of the lead actor and the actress is outstanding, the two of them just have so much on-screen chemistry. I especially love the actress, she has this angelic aura around her, I completely fell in love with her beautiful smile. Oh and the kid Yuji and his "girlfriends" were really cute too. I strongly recommend this movie to everyone, a great one to watch with your girl/boyfriend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unfortunately I fall mostly into the "cynic" category, so I didn't enjoy this movie nearly as much as I should have. My fault and my loss, I know. I tip my hat to those of you who were swept away by the magic, but there's always some jerk in the crowd (like me) who sees the strings & trap doors that betray the illusion.So here's why it didn't work for me: everyone is such a good person. They're all perfect boyscouts and girlscouts who love one another and dedicate themselves to self-sacrifice. 2 hours of that can get a wee bit sappy. There is no conflict with the dirty underbelly of humanity which we all know exists. Granted, I'm not saying that the movie should've had some ridiculous evil character like Emperor Ming the Merciless or Dr. EEEEVil. I'm just saying that I would have liked to see these characters portrayed in a realistic, human way instead of like angels and saints.There is one scene in the movie, my favourite part, where the heroine actually does show her humanity. She confesses her dark inner side to a friend at a restaurant. It's very brief but powerful. Unfortunately we don't get enough of those powerful moments, and instead we're given a glossy, rosy perspective of everyone.I have nothing against fairy tales; in fact that's my favourite kind of movie. But I like them with just enough grit to sustain my belief. Otherwise they run the risk of degenerating into an ABC afterschool special. This film was not as bad as that, but it heads in that direction.I suggest the following marvellous fairy tales for your review:French: Beauty & the Beast (1946), Orphee (1950), City of Lost Children (1995)Japanese: Kaidan (1964), Dolls (2002)Korea: Siworae (2000), Welcome to Dongmakgol (2004)America: Portrait of Jennie (1948).These are films that will tickle the romantic in all of us, regardless of what bitter, cynical old curmudgeons we are. They portray life in realistic manner and allow us to disseminate the magic in the truth we see.

I always liked Japanese TV shows and movies. The directors have great techniques and the images are unbelievably crisp and clear. They really know how to pick the sights to film. Everything is beautiful and feels like paradise. They know how to create a cinema experience that allow the viewers to leave the weary world and indulge in the fantasy for a little while.Usually I am not a big fan of romantic movies or chic flicks. Many of them are corny and many of them are too idealistic. You know that the story just could not happen in real life. You know love never happens that way in real life. You know that it is just a big fantasy created by the writer and director. You know it is too ridiculous to be true. This movie...well, my feeling towards this film is hard to describe. The plot fits the unrealistic bill (there are some time travel involved and a time limit). It fits the corny bill. It fits the fantasy bill. It fits everything I dislike about romance films; yet, I really like the film. I guess it was the underlying idea of everlasting love and what one would do in the name of love is what moved me. The idea is realistic enough that one feels it is possible and one hopes would happen to him. Who would not want someone, even knowing that the decision would kill her, still going through with it all because she loves you? The idea is so beautifully and sentimentally portrayed that the typical aspects of a chic flick (the corniness, the unrealisticless) can be ignored.I guess everyone is a sucker for love. At least the audiences in Japan seem to think so. It is the 3rd highest grossing film in Japan in 2004. I really recommend it. It is a pretty good date movie. It might be slow at times, but the slowness only helps the sentimental aspect, which is what this movie feeds on. Possibly even the hardest critic on love would love this film.8/10