Such a frustrating disappointment

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Blistering performances.

Niki Caro directed this romantic drama from New Zealand, adapted from Peter Wells' story, Of Memory & Desire, about the doomed affair of a Japanese couple on their honeymoon in New Zealand. The body of Keiji (Eugene Nomura) is pulled ashore on a New Zealand beach; his widow Sayo (Yuri Kinugawa) then tells the tale in flashback: Attracted to Keiji, Sayo marries him over the objections of his mother (Yoko Narahashi). Keiji becomes depressed when it seems he cannot consummate their marriage. However, they succeed in their hotel room and also later at a beach cave where Keiji carves the word "love" inside the cave before tragedy strikes. In Tokyo, Sayo rebels against Keiji's family. Returning to New Zealand, she suffers mental collapse as she constructs a shrine in the cave.