Heavenly Forest (2006)

Too much of everything

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Heavenly Forest is by far the sweetest love movie I have seen in a long time. I'm a movie buff especially in this genre. Every moment has it's nostalgic feeling into it, the transition from one phase to the other blends well and never did lose it's hype. Although, the movie doesn't draw tension as much as compared with other Romance movies but it is meant to be in that way so it portrays meaningful happiness instead of sob tearjerker that drives the audience downhill.Although this movie has strong influence on Japanese cultures (dialects, humbleness etc.) but that's what keeps it at it's sweet and delicate momentum.There is nothing lacking in this movie, as it is sweet in every sensible way it displays. This is the kind of movie that Hollywood could never provide.Modestly Warm and Delicatively Meaningful.

What happens when you have so many talented actors, and a writer get together to make a movie ? The result is rather obvious.Based on a novel by Takushi Ichikawa, "Tada kimi o aishiteru" is a love story that spans several years featuring Aoi Miyazaki from her days as college student until she matures as a woman. Hiroshi Tamaki also puts in good performance as he usually does.However, the story follows a pat formula, and is rather bland. What makes it worth watching is the beautiful scenery the movie is shot under. Japanese really knows how to capture beauty in nature like nobody else.It's a bit artsy love romance movie shot at great timing when Tamaki, and Miyazaki were at the height of their youth. One of the better movies to come out of Japan in the past 10 years.

I was a bit surprised by the sometimes frank and honest dialog coming from Aoi Miyazaki's character in what for the most part is a very family friendly bit of Japanese young love/first love cinema. But it is appropriate for her character, a set-to-mature-at-any-moment young woman deficient in some necessary growth hormones needed to push her over the edge (that when triggered by a first kiss could ultimately be her ... undoing) and seems trapped in young adolescence. It's a very cute and cute-funny, and really sad, sad, film. Miyazaki teeters the edge between coy and seductive so well it made me dizzy ... with delight. I could, however, understand her pouty lipped attempts at cuteness turning some folks off. She does slip out of it each time very quickly, though. That's part of her charm, I guess.The film is beautifully photographed. The 'heavenly' forest is fairy-tale gorgeous, as are the three young actors we spend time with. The story is engaging too, clearly a novel-adapted one.

Tada, kimi wo aishiteru is definitely one of the most beautiful films ever made. A simple story between two brilliantly presented characters: Makoto (Tamaki Hiroshi) and Shizuru (Miyazaki Aoi) conveys a powerful message of life.Photography as an art form is really beautiful because it captures the little memories - of things that may seem simple to people but are in fact meaningful to us. Memories like a smile of a loved one, our friends, of good times, and of nature.Featuring incredibly artistic photography by Miyazaki Aoi (who dragged random people away from their busy lives in New York, to take their photos), stunning cinematography, beautiful music and one of the best acting performances ever captured on film, this is the perfect film for today's world that is suffering the cost of excessive greed. It is a magnificent film for promoting environmentalism and of treasuring the beauty of the things we take for granted.