Crying Out Love, In the Center of the World

I wonder if I'm a horrible person. I wasn't nearly as moved by this movie as I should have been... and I was ready to cry, I was ready to watch something hopelessly depressing, and get lost in its overwhelming sadness. But for some reason, with this movie, I just couldn't get into it.

Honestly, I'm not sure why.

The story itself was sad and touching, and it painted a beautiful picture of first love... yet, in the end, I wasn't affected by it. And I'm a HUGE wimp when it comes to these type of movies, so I'm kind of at a loss as to why this one affected me as little as it did...

The characters were well-rounded, believable people, who you could easily sympathize with. And it was heartbreaking seeing Saku struggling to come to grips with Aki's death, even after 15 years have passed.

I think my main problem with this story is that I've seen it all before. I've seen plots very similar to this one in movies and in dramas, so it was a lot harder for me to get into since it seemed like I was watching something I'd already seen before.

I guess I've become sensitized to these types of movies. I really can't figure out why else this movie didn't get through to me...

But it was good. I don't want to belittle its story, or the acting, or directing. It was put together wonderfully, and I just love how he transitioned between the present and the past through use of the cassette tape.

I must admit though, that I thought their sudden (obsession? fascination?) with Australia was a little silly. I mean, they see one random photograph from some old camera, and suddenly they deem it the center of their world? I mean, I guess I can understand why Aki is so fascinated by it... but still, it just sort of came out of nowhere. In the end, I really couldn't understand why that place--out of all the places in the world--became so important to them.

And then, their obsession with actually going there had me distancing myself somewhat from the movie. For some stupid reason, all I could think of was, "how can they afford that? Aren't they in high school? They couldn't even afford a new Walkman, but they suddenly have enough cash for a trip to Australia?" And of course, from there, I started wondering what the whole point of taking a trip like that so late into the movie would accomplish anyway. Is traveling to Australia a form of escape? Is it a way to force them on a physical-type-journey, so that they're not completely entrapped within the emotional and psychological?

I admit, it was a good way to end the film, but it seems like the same could have been accomplished somewhere in Japan. Why go all the way to Australia?

Err, maybe it's just me... so don't take my opinion on this movie too seriously. ^_^

My Rating: