Heavenly Forest

Heavenly Forest is another in a long line of Love Story derivatives -- the pure love of a couple undermined by the terminal illness of one of the partners. Makoto (Hiroshi Tamaki) is a loner teen freshman who meets Shizuru (Aoi Miyazaki) on a street corner on the way to class. Shizuru comes across as very young and immature for a freshman, but the two of them strike up a friendship. Shizuru develops a crush on Makoto who is content to find a pal whom they can explore the park beyond a no trespassing sign and take pictures. This friendship is disrupted by a third person, a gorgeous young woman named Miyuki. Makoto falls for her, and Shizuru is heartbroken, but all three form a little clique, friends one and all. Shizuru makes things more interesting when Makoto finds out that she is no longer living at home, and offers her a place to stay at his house. Overwhelmed with joy, she accepts, but when she offers herself to him, he is embarrassed, and nothing happens. She begins to drop hints about the fleetness of life, and how people should embrace the here and now. She manages to get a picture of her and Makoto kissing, and soon after, she vanishes. Makoto grieves for her disappearance, but it is several years before he hears from her again. He has become a freelance photographer, and one day he receives a letter from Shizuru. She is living in New York, and they make arrangements to meet there. Flying over, he reminisces about their past, and concludes that he is truly in love with her. But she does not meet at the arranged meeting spot. Miyuki does, and a puzzled Makoto goes to her place, where apparently the two women were roommates. Makoto discovers that Shizuru had died of an incurable genetic disease. Makoto goes to a group photo exhibition where Shizuru has her works shown, and finds that she had matured into a beautiful woman, and sees all the pictures of their past. Before returning home to Japan, he makes Miyuki promise to send the rest of her letters (she wrote a whole bunch) to him.

I was all prepared to hate this film, but what saves it is the acting of Aoi Miyazaki and some beautiful cinematography and tight direction by Takehiko Shinjo. Aoi carries this film with her disarming charm and vivaciousness. Watching the relationship grow was what kept my interest, until the usual 2/3 mark where that twist kicks in that undermines the film. I knew that she was going to die, but to have that expectation fulfilled was disappointing -- I wanted something different to happen. I would have preferred that he came to New York and not met her or Miyuki, and have some sort of existential conclusion, with a scene revealing to the viewer that only Miyuki knows what happened to their friend. Ah well. Otherwise, an above average romance film, which is saying a lot from me.