San Diego Asian Film Festival--Day 2

If pure love is your thing, Crying out Love, in the Center of the World should be on your menu. Directed by Yukisada Isao and written by Shinobu Yaguichi & Junko Yaguich, this story is of a kind that we don't really recognize in the West. It is the story of a true and deep love that exists despite being platonic. The story begins with Ritsuko finding a cassette in an old sweater--a cassette with great meaning (in fact, it could be argued that the film was sponsored by SONY as cassettes and Walkmans play large roles in this movie). There are secrets that Ritsuko (who is about to marry Saku) harbors. But there are secrets that Saku harbors that concern a certain Aki in his past. This is one of those stories that will have you crying and then sobering up for no reason at all--then, crying again... The Greeks understood melodrama, but so do the Japanese. Mukul Khurana