Girl in the Sunny Place

October. 11,2013      
Rating:
6.7
Trailer Synopsis Cast

A new salesman named Kosuke Okuda happens to meet Mao Watarai, a friend from his middle school days. Back then, Mao was called stupid and bullied, but now she is an attractive woman. Kosuke and Mao fall in love and decide to marry, but Mao has a secret.

Juri Ueno as  Mao Watarai
Jun Matsumoto as  Kosuke Okuda
Tetsuji Tamayama as  Haruki Sindo
Masaki Suda as  Shota Okuda
Koji Ohkura as  Susumu Tanaka
Mitsuki Tanimura as  Yuri Minegishi
Takumi Kitamura as  Young Kosuke Okuda
Wakana Aoi as  Young Mao Watarai
Toko Miura as  Shiota
Kazutoyo Koyabu as  Department Head Sugihara

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Reviews

Console
2013/10/11

best movie i've ever seen.

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Afouotos
2013/10/12

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

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ActuallyGlimmer
2013/10/13

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

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Kien Navarro
2013/10/14

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

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Hombredelfuturo
2013/10/15

...this movie looks like the typical romance/teenager movie to pass the time but is not. Fantasy and a bit of "magic" is the formula to have a fresh approach to the conventional expectation of this genre. At first you would be submerged in these expected situations(but without relying on clichés)so is possibly to pass over the clues that the director let there to see what is going on behind this girl.The colors; the ambient; the lights are very well worked for the intended narrative.The final is OK and fulfill a positive end however this movie let me an emptiness and sadness sensation that the destiny is the destiny.

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meepishita
2013/10/16

The film is beautifully directed and the location is absolutely gorgeous. In the beginning the film develops quite slowly but is still interesting enough , It becomes a fun filled happy drama with elements of mystery in the middle and finally ends with a revelation . If you pay enough attention you can figure out what might happen . The acting is great and the actors do marvelous job at showcasing all the emotions required for the film.I adore this movie . I highly recommend watching it . (dont read for slight hints )Its fantastic if you love cats like I do ! ;)

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shawneofthedead
2013/10/17

On the surface, Girl In The Sunny Place - with its non-descript and oddly-phrased title - looks like just about every other Japanese romantic drama out there. Boy meets girl in a terribly cute fashion. Boy courts girl in a sigh-inducing way, and they fall head over heels in love. But boy and girl must inevitably be separated, either by (a) a terminal disease, (b) disapproving parents, (c) a deep, dark secret or (d) other. In the case of Girl In The Sunny Place, it's all of the above, kind of, which sets it apart from the rest of the pack - but also makes it an unusually complicated film to pull off.Salesman Kosuke Okuda (Jun Matsumoto) leads a boring, normal life, with no girl or happily ever after in sight. The last thing he expects is to run into Mao Watarai (Juri Ueno), a friend from his junior high school days, at a work meeting. As it turns out, Kosuke and Mao have a history together: she was the misfit new girl, awkward and slow, and he was the guy who stood up for her whenever she was bullied. Almost ten years later, they finally have the chance to fall in love. But, just as they're blissfully settling into their new lives together, they start to feel the consequences of a fateful decision made by Mao many years ago.There's a twist to this love story - one by which viewers might be puzzled, amused, fascinated or repulsed, occasionally at the same time. The revelation shouldn't really come as a big shock; in fact, clues to its nature are so obviously scattered throughout (there's a big clue in Mao's name) that it can sometimes feel as if the film takes an unnecessarily long time to get to its point. But it's so odd and fantastical that audience members might find themselves fretting over the metaphysics, biology and logic of the situation rather than really giving in to the love story.Twist aside, Girl In The Sunny Place is a solidly-crafted, if slightly plodding, romantic drama. Clocking in at 129 minutes, the film runs a little too long to support its rather slight story. At least the relationship between Kosuke and Mao is lovingly developed, and benefits from the sweet chemistry shared by Matsumoto and Ueno. It's largely due to their doe-eyed efforts that the film comes to pack the emotional punch that it does. The ending may be predictable but - if you give in to its sun-drenched, bittersweet charm - it can also be pretty darn heartrending.

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