Mr. Masayuki Saeki is a 49 year old hotshot boss in an advertising firm who just landed a big account. However, at the same time, he was already getting disturbingly forgetful about where he puts his things, when his appointments were, where a familiar place was. His repeated purchases of the same shaving cream spurred his worried wife Emiko to bring him to a Neurologist. His medical interview and MRI leads to a most depressing diagnosis. Not yet 50 years old, but he already has early-onset Alzheimer's Disease.
This movie hits very close to home for me, as Mr. Saeki is just a few years older than me, and I must admit to being forgetful once in a while. I never knew that Alzheimer's can hit people so early as the film explained. It is a very sobering realization of an impending lifelong prison, which you wish would never happen to you.
The actors who played Mr. and Mrs. Saeki (the intense Ken Watanabe and the luminous Higuchi Kanako)really captured perfectly the depth of desperation and exasperation when one is trapped in such a dire situation in the prime of one's life. Those riveting scenes in the stairwell, then at the wedding, and at the dinner table are simply unforgettable.
On a slightly negative note, I felt the film went on a little too long, and the scenes depicting the progress of his Alzheimer's became a bit repetitive and excessive already. However, that is just a minor quibble. The film, as it was executed, is compelling and touching. It can definitely hold your attention to the inevitably tear-jerking progression and conclusion, told as only the Japanese can.
This movie hits very close to home for me, as Mr. Saeki is just a few years older than me, and I must admit to being forgetful once in a while. I never knew that Alzheimer's can hit people so early as the film explained. It is a very sobering realization of an impending lifelong prison, which you wish would never happen to you.
The actors who played Mr. and Mrs. Saeki (the intense Ken Watanabe and the luminous Higuchi Kanako)really captured perfectly the depth of desperation and exasperation when one is trapped in such a dire situation in the prime of one's life. Those riveting scenes in the stairwell, then at the wedding, and at the dinner table are simply unforgettable.
On a slightly negative note, I felt the film went on a little too long, and the scenes depicting the progress of his Alzheimer's became a bit repetitive and excessive already. However, that is just a minor quibble. The film, as it was executed, is compelling and touching. It can definitely hold your attention to the inevitably tear-jerking progression and conclusion, told as only the Japanese can.