Watch Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms

Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms is a heart-wrenching and thought-provoking Japanese film about two sisters who survive the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. The movie is based on a manga by Fumiyo Kono and is directed by Kiyoshi Sasabe. The story is divided into two parts; the first half is called Town of Evening Calm and is set in 1955, while the second half is called Country of Cherry Blossoms and is set in 1987.

The first half of the movie focuses on two sisters, Minami and Hiroshima. Minami is a young woman who works as a seamstress in Hiroshima, and Hiroshima is still in high school. The two sisters lost many of their family members in the bombing, and they are still living in the shadow of the traumatic event. The movie does an excellent job of portraying the aftermath of the bombing and how it affected the people of Hiroshima.

The story follows Minami as she tries to build a life for herself in the wake of the tragedy. She is fiercely independent and determined to live a normal life, even though she suffers from radiation sickness. She meets a man named Tatsuo, and the two develop a close relationship. However, their romance is complicated by Tatsuo's past and his tortured soul. The movie shows how the trauma of the bombing affected the psyche of the survivors and how they struggle to cope with the memory of the horrific event.

The second half of the movie takes place in 1987, and it follows the life of Nanami, who is the niece of Minami. Nanami is a young woman who is trying to come to terms with her family's history and how it has affected her life. She is determined to find out more about her aunt and the events that took place in Hiroshima. The movie does an excellent job of showing the generational impact of the bombing and how it continues to affect the children and grandchildren of the survivors.

The movie also explores the themes of loss, grief, and hope. The characters in the movie have all lost something or someone, and they are struggling to find hope in a world that seems dark and bleak. The movie shows how hope can emerge even in the darkest of times and how people can find the strength to carry on despite the odds.

Another notable aspect of the movie is the art direction and cinematography. The movie is shot in a way that emphasizes the beauty of the landscape and the cherry blossoms that bloom in the country during the spring. The contrast between the beauty of the natural world and the ugliness of the human-made tragedy of the atomic bombing is striking and poignant.

The performances of the actors in the movie are also noteworthy. Each of the actors brings a depth and complexity to their roles that make the characters feel real and relatable. Actress Kumiko Aso, who plays Nanami in the second part of the movie, delivers a particularly strong performance that showcases her range as an actress.

Overall, Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms is a powerful and poignant movie that explores the impact of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on the people who lived through it and the generations that followed. The movie is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the importance of hope in even the darkest of times.