April Story (1998) User Reviews

Young love, idealism, and hope. Simply beautiful.

[sitenoise · 8/10 · 21 June 2010]

A sweet slice of life portrait of a girl's transition from a high school in Japan's northern countryside to university in Tokyo. It's a series of vignettes that begins with her family seeing her off and ends with a reveal of why she went to this particular university. In between we watch her move into her new apartment, cook meals for herself, meet her neighbors and classmates, buy a bike, and browse a bookstore. It may not sound like much but it's very well crafted. Takako Matsu is as endearing as can be. It was a pleasure to see her, as a teenager, play this naive young girl after having recently seen her, at thirty-two, play an archetypal Japanese woman in Villon's Wife.

This is a short film, at just over an hour, that doesn't attempt much more than capturing a few moments in the life of a girl who is not only changing her outward surroundings but also following her inward desires. The reason she chose to go to the university in Tokyo is because her unrequited crush on boy one year her senior is attending it. The film could have been longer and explored their relationship but then it wouldn't have ended as poetically as it does right at the moment they meet. Broken umbrellas, a rainstorm, and a barrel full of young love, idealism, and hope. Simply beautiful.

exquisite Asia-type love story

[zephyr_00 · 7/10 · 23 March 2006]

the plot is quite simple:a Hokkaido's girl enters a Tokyo's university cause the man she unrequited love with is also in Tokyo. As an Asian,this movie make me reflect lots of my adolescence. there are 2 scenes are my favorites 1:girl with neighbor (the loneliness of the modern citizen) 2:the umbrella-borrow (Nireno is really pure)

PS the film's name which translate 'story about April' in Chinese make me think another film 'pieces of April'also is a great film

all in all if you want to relax for a easy plot movie it's a nice choice

*****/*******

Little gem

[david-rf · 8/10 · 30 December 2014]

This movie felt like something unfinished. It surely deserved to be developed into something bigger. But what's there is fascinating, sweet, and somewhat unique. The way it portrays the first days of college for a girl who's alone in a big unknown city, with unfriendly and opportunist people, is just awesome. I really felt sorry for this cheerful, shy and friendly girl who couldn't manage to get a decent social relationship in this new environment. The lead actress was really good and always had that "sweet and awkward" aura that's just perfect for the character. Some great scenes in this movie, but who's familiar with the work of Shunji Iwai shouldn't be surprised about that: this guy can pull off memorable stuff.

One Hundred Everyday Views of Tokyo

[chaos-rampant · 14 February 2012]

I was very recently exposed to this filmmaker and utterly captivated by another one of his films, so that alone ensures I'll want to see everything by him at some stage. He seems like one to follow and devote serious time to: a vibrant new voice that embraces damaged worlds with the gentle ardor of Zen. He makes the films Mizoguchi ought to have made but for drowning still reflections in overbearing dramatics.

This is even more sparsely arranged than that other film. Once more the point is that it's seemingly about nothing, purely episodic life from a teenage girl's journey into young adulthood and love. Once more the point is that there is no solid core to explain from, only glimpses from a floating world. Nothingness permeates, but a sweet, Buddhist nothingness that is pregnant with life.

The world is still new that she enters, the mind is clear, fresh. There is a lot of idle perambulation but no vexation. Solitude that is sweet enjoyment of the present moment. Being that is still magnificent in its simplicity.

Against this backdrop the smallest gesture rings far and wide with meaning, say a smile beneath a red umbrella for the joy of being able to freely smile or the feeling of being wet but safe. It is the best cinematic Zen I know of.

Spontaneous joy without pleasure. A world that makes sense because the senses are open, receptive. Astute viewers will pick up a connection to old landscape compendiums from the Shogunate era, the title of this post is a reference to one; those were intended for tourists passing through Edo, but were the training ground for cinematic perspective, more deeply intended for the travelling eye.

On a technical level, I believe this was solely conceived as an exercise where the filmmaker got to work out a few shots and atmospheres he had in mind: spring rains, clear evenings, bird's eye views, calligraphic sweeps, many worlds fleeting from the windows of a speeding train. A lot of that paid off in Lily Chou-Chou, there in a longer form.

This is small but full and ripe, a rare thing. I'm even more eager to follow his work.

Tastes great, less filling

[esprit9 · 6/10 · 1 March 2004]

High school graduate from Hokkaido infatuated by now-graduated senior applies and is accepted at the same university as the subject of her infatuation. Goes to school, tries to fit in, and works up the courage to talk to her crush for the first time.

The story has great promise, but at 67 minutes, nothing feels developed and many story lines just end abruptly. It feels more like a TV series pilot than a standalone movie.

The movie itself is fairly unremarkable. Many things are suggested but not said. Moves fairly slowly. Lots of sepia tones and misty whites. Ok if you're prepared to just relax and not expect too much in the way of story.

The simplest may be the most beautiful!

[henryand · 9/10 · 5 October 2003]

Everything in this movie is beautiful! The scenery is, the actress is, the whole story is. Although it's a very very simple love story, you can feel the internal beauty that the director want to express if you can calm very down to see it. Sometimes while seeing it, I even think the plot is no more important. All you should do is to feel the beautiful things in it. Takako Matsu is famous most because of her lovely performance in many Japanese soaps. However, we can still see her excellent performance in this movie. Meanwhile, Shunji Iwai shouldn't be forgotten. He is a very gifted young movie director. He is simply an artist. You can know more about Japan movies after seeing his works. Frankly, I love this movie completely due to Shunji Iwai and lovely Takako Matsu.

Those memories of time

[w-71474 · 7/10 · 19 April 2020]

Carrying a schoolbag and riding a bicycle across the flyover across the wilderness. The streets of this city are clean and overwhelming. Strangers stop talking. live alone. Some were caught off guard. Anticipate and guard against. book. the film. Fishing club. Life is simple and rich. Will throw the fishing rod over and over again in the open field. I often go to that bookstore to buy books. Watching movies occasionally. It is a girl who is easily accessible but not easy to get close to. Brave. Guarded his own field. chase. do you know. That's my little secret.

meet. Time solidifies in such an instant. Are you from Hokkaido High School? Are you still in the school band? I know you will choose that one. Suddenly. Red, bright. There is a beautiful face under the old umbrella. The smile is gentle. Slightly raised his eyes. If this is really a miracle, I would say that this is a miracle of love. It's a confession or whisper of self-talking love. But this does not seem to matter. That, that is you, so perfect for me. The sun is pouring. wind. Sakura rain. The splashes from the sneakers are so high. Skirt. You smile brightly. I know you meet happiness. Such a fairy tale, in my heart, finished the ending early in the morning.

Filled with the subtle meanings that help us grow.

[howard.schumann · 10/10 · 30 September 2007]

For those who can remember or those who have yet to discover, the first few weeks at college away from home can be the most unsettling, scary, and challenging time of our life, yet few films have chosen to dramatize this commonly shared experience, preferring instead to dwell on outrageous varieties of anti-social behavior. In April Story, a 1998 film, Shunji Iwai continues his sensitive interpretations of the difficulties young people face in stepping gingerly into the adult world. This 68-minute film has little plot and no big events, only the small struggles of daily life that are filled with the subtle meanings that help us grow.

Set amidst the blossoming of the spring flowers in Japan that signal the start of the new Japanese school year, April Story, aided by a solo piano and the beautiful cinematography of Shinoda Noboru, has a calming and meditative effect. For the shy and innocent Uzuki Noreno (Takako Matsu), however, coming to Musashino University in Tokyo from rural Hokkaido may be the psychological equivalent of landing on the moon. In the first week alone, she faces the not too delicate questioning of fellow students about her background and why she came to college, the loneliness of being away from home for the first time, and the confusing time of signing up for classes and studying such strange topics as Investment in the Japanese Economy and Cultural Anthropology.

Although withdrawn, Uzuki is adventurous enough to join a Fly-Fishing Club at the urging of her only friend Saeko Sano (Rumi), but is embarrassed when she confuses one Brad Pitt movie for another in a discussion with the group leader. One of the loveliest scenes takes place when the newly recruited club members stand in an open field and cast their fishing rods rhythmically into the air. Uzuki's exploration of her surroundings brings daily trips to the local bookstore (where she is intrigued by a bushy-haired young clerk), an encounter with a harassing gentleman in a movie theater, and the inviting sounds of a street band. Fearfully, she reaches out to her neighbors but achieves little result. It is only late in the film that the real reason for her attending this particular university emerges and in a heavy spring rain that paints the city with a refreshing glow, the magic of first love begins to unfold.

Meeting big anonymous Tokyo

[Atavisten · 6/10 · 18 October 2005]

A girl moves from Hokkaido in the north to attend university in Tokyo. Shigatsu Monogatari shows how difficult this can be in terms of meeting new friends, socialize with the neighbours and a Shunji Iwai topic, love.

This is slow moving, some times very real-like. Some times it gets too slow, and at 67 minutes running time that is not too good. I have respect for the director, but what I have seen from him up until now has been not more than promising. It sometimes has the realism of Ozu, but not his actors or visuals. That said, its still a great movie. The sequence with the red umbrella was beautiful.

a wonderful slow paced movie

[Noclador · 10/10 · 23 November 2002]

This is not a movie for everybody. It is very slow-paced and takes a long time to establish its main characters, their behavior and their feelings to each other. The movie observes the first days of a young Japanese girl after she has moved from Hokkaido, the Japanese equivalent of Kansas, to Tokyo to attend University. At first the girl is very insecure and nervous about her new situation, but gradually she becomes more secure and falls in love with a fellow student. That's all the Plot there is, but this movie is not about a big story, it is about a person. Over the course of the movie we feel and share the girls insecurities, loneliness and finally opening up. Seldom has a movie so masterfully and with so much passion for its characters captured the problems of leaving home, being lonely in a unknown mega city and to be for the first time on one's own feet. I can fully recommend this movie for everybody who likes films about life and people, that move at life's speed.

The Cutest Movie Ever

[Jalow547 · 7/10 · 11 November 2020]

April Story is about the cutest movie I can recall having seen. I don't mean that as a good thing, but it's not necessarily a bad thing either. It's just a nice cute little film where cute stuff happens. The ending especially is obnoxiously cute.

A Subtle and Sweet Little Gem

[cloudsponge · 10/10 · 23 September 2009]

On first viewing I was reminded how Japanese people often use language not to communicate in words but to hint at deeper ulterior meanings. For example, when Uzuki asks how late the bookstore is open, what she is really asking is, "What are the chances I'll be able to see today the man I am in love with?" I felt that this movie was a lot like literature in that we had the opportunity to fill in a lot of details with our imaginations. With this in mind, the second viewing was a remarkable experience. Check out the group of people for whom the moving van has to reverse for. Here we have what will ultimately be (off screen and after the credits) the happy ending, but we see it implied at the beginning of the movie.

The name Mushashino itself (as in both the university and bookstore): It refers to the wide plains upon which Tokyo has been built. Even more than a thousand years ago, in what some say is the world's first novel, "The Tale of Genji," Mushashino was considered a poetic place of exile and romantic yearning.

That jarring samurai movie may have been well-chosen as well for its symbolic ramifications. It was about Oda Nobunaga, who was the first person to come close to achieving a unification of Japan until he was assassinated by Mitsuhide Akechi: A story of ambush and treachery, just as what was going on with the creep making moves on Uzuki in the movie theater. But in the samurai movie Oda Nobunaga, through trickery of his own, survived that ambush, as did Uzuki. Her fleeing brings to mind Ieyasu who, in the historical time depicted, rapidly fled that dangerous situation with the assistance of the ninja Hattori Hanzo. So we can even make this part of "April Story" into a kind of ninja movie if we wish, with the protagonist successfully fleeing danger and later establishing a grand unification (with her soon to be lover) of her own. Like the one passing in front of the moving van.

Not only the movie theater creep was a threat to her fulfilling her chosen destiny but also the leader of the fly-fishing club who wanted to "catch" her. He even got the hook of a lure into her sweater. But what did he want with her after all? He wanted to use her: "If you get one other person to join our club this reel is yours for free."

Here in the U.S. young lovers have been known to write or carve their initials within the outline of a heart. In Japan they write their names vertically under an umbrella, on either side of the "handle." And the color of the umbrella she chose: the Japanese character for crimson can be synonymous for passion.

I found that the movie resonates deeply if we apply some attention and imagination.

What a pleasure it is to watch it, and the amazing performance of Takako Matsu who expressed so much and so deeply with so few external manifestations.

By the way, if anyone wondered about the location, she rides her bicycle over a blue pedestrian bridge that had written on it that it was in Kunitachi in the western part of Tokyo next to Tachikawa.

Very light movie....

[dark_stars2002 · 1/10 · 3 July 2005]

This movie is very short, 1hour , it looks almost like a short.

First of all the story is very basic... a girl quits her village to study in Tokyo because of a guy she likes. the movie tries to describe loneliness but its just not deep enough, poor symbolism and poor dialogues. It brings nothing new, the director made a very basic job. The photography is average, nothing new there. The acting is OK but the characters are very basic and not complex so its normal the actors performance is not blazing. However if you don't wanna think and just relax this movie is OK. I recommend Dolls of Takeshi Kitano and Fallen Angels of Wong Kar Wai if you want to see deeper movies, well directed and with an extraordinary photography.

A beautiful story

[tvbj · 3 September 1999]

"Shigatsu monogatari" (aka April Story), is one of those rare films which concentrates deeply on the feelings and personality of a character. Takako Matsu displays brilliant acting as Uzuki Mireno, a university student who experiences life on her own. The film shows the ups and downs of Takako's life at university. Despite the fact that I am an action fan and that the movie has a "strange" ending, this film did not fail to please and entertain me. I highly recommend this film for people into quiet, beautiful and emotional films.

there's always poetry when a child becomes a woman...

[Edward717071 · 9/10 · 16 July 2005]

This was my third Shunji Iwai experience...richer than 'Picnic' and far richer than 'Undo'...once you get a glimpse of the artist you already know what to expect...beyond lyrical brilliance there's always a sense of sadness in a way that never really meets the eye...maybe is the music (classical masterpieces wonderfully chosen) or maybe is the loneliness of the characters depicted in a very personal manner...the fact that remains is you can not pass-by such movies w/o being deeply touched in a cathartic way... I somehow knew what to expect from 'April Story'....I have to admit that i red some of the comments posted here prior to seeing the film...and i went seeing it with some preconceived ideas on my mind...and nevertheless i was utterly satisfied...because the master done it again...but take my advice and go see that movie w/o knowing anything about it...it's deeper than a symphony and far insightful than an exhibition...and it's an exceptionally vibrant homage to whatever being a pure woman represents....highly reccomended...9/10

An excellent piece of Japanese film making!

[Dave-689 · 10/10 · 19 September 1999]

This is a delightful film that I fell in love with on a flight to South East Asia. Because it is so short I must have watched it five or six times and consequently I grew to love it more and more.

It has a lovely distant calming quality on you, which is reflected in the slow pace of the film, yet the pace does not make the film any less enjoyable, it actually brings you closer to the central character of the girl and makes you feel a part of her life. This film also had a poignant effect on me as I was going to see my Asian girlfriend and as a result brought a lump to my throat at times.

In summary an excellent piece of Japanese film making, that captures the mood of going to University, making friends, feeling lonely at times, being in love and happy.

I just wish I could find a copy on video!

A bit of romantic fluff, but very well done fluff!

[freakus · 8/10 · 23 August 1999]

This small (67 minutes) romantic story breaks no new ground but it is like a piece of candy. Sweet and thoroughly enjoyable while it lasts. I would have liked to see more develop but I think Shunji told the tale he wanted to tell, the loneliness of a girl starting college and how she finds a bit of happiness. The sort of thing high school girls fall in love with.

Top Notch Romantic Story!

[qyan · 10/10 · 7 February 2001]

Just rent the VCD tonight and falling in love with it immediately. Sweet and beautiful, it is one kind of the movie that makes you smile in the heart and feel how beautiful life becomes... since there is a thing called *love*. The movie is presented in such a sentimental yet subtle way that IMHO none of the hollywood/western film makers can achieve. Being an oriental, I am wondering if western audience will be able to appreciate the movie as much as I am... also highly recommend Love Letter (1995) from the same director.

Unremittingly dull !

[sharptongue · 2/10 · 5 October 2000]

To describe this film as gentle is quite an understatement. It is slightly more interesting (and similar to) a home movie of a girl who moves to the city to attend Uni.

Meandering, totally lacking in drama or interest. Clearly, I cannot recommend this film.

Lovable, sweet and romantic

[cseabhi · 8/10 · 13 May 2020]

April Story is all about how simple and sweet a movie can be. You will be at total calm, quite and emotional while watching this movie. As a university student Uzuki Mireno has done a great job. She brilliantly potrays the character in the movie.

Put a smile on my face

[FlorianLaur · 8/10 · 19 September 2023]

Ever since I saw "Yentown" in a store and decided to buy and watch it, I felt mesmerized by the works of Shunji Iwai.

Japan released some very, very beautiful and deep movies in that time after the bubble years and before the recent years that saw a lot of shows or movies from Japan flood Netflix.

This is one of those movies from that partially forgotten, but beautiful era.

There's not much plot to talk about, nor is there even much talking (at least in the first half of the movie) and it is quite "Japanese". Western viewer might not understand some behavior or why our female lead doesn't act more "aggressive".

But that's what I love about those kind of movies. They can help to give you an idea of a different culture, a different approach at love, a different way of flirting.

The first half of the movie shows our lead as a very shy, timid young woman who doesn't seem very confident and who even seems lonely at times.

However, after her attempt to reach out to her neighbor seemingly failed, but eventually doesn't, things start to turn around in all aspects of her life.

The ending isn't a real "end", but the last couple of minutes put a smile on my face.

Iwai creates those beautiful every day situations that COULD happen in real life (although sadly, they never do, at least to me) and that are oddly sweet, romantic and beautiful. And those situations aren't necessarily "romantic" in a usual way. But Iwai finds a way to show us the beauty in the mundane.

Just like Yentown, April Story is also beautifully shot. The Cherryblossoms, the rain...and yet it remains a slightly grainy look that I love about this particular time period that give me a yearning for a past time in Japan I never actually experienced, but that he makes me wish I had.