Eiga Sai 2013

When I first saw the huge tarpaulin of Eiga Sai (Japanese Film Festival) hanging on the ceiling of Edsa Shangrila, I immediately texted my friend Luthien and told her that we can't afford to miss this one because we already missed last month's French Film Festival in Greenbelt. 

Here's the huge tarp I'm talking about:

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So yesterday, we headed to Shangrila together with our two other office mates, Adz and Nina to watch, Always Sunset on Third Street. 

Though the movie was quite long (150mins) and dragging in the beginning, it is one of the best foreign family dramas I have seen. The scene where Hiromi (Betty) was inside the train reading a chapter of the book Authentic Blue written by her sweetheart Chagawa was so heart warming, I found myself teary-eyed. 

Here's the message in that chapter:

The Dancer

"No matter how others may see you.. I know you. Though you talk like a shameless flirt. you dote on a stranger's child, cooking him curry rice.. You shed tears staring at an imaginary ring calling it beautiful. With each passing day, with each passing hour, the memory of your tears clutches my heart. I want to see you, all I want is to see you. Someday, I want to slip a real ring on your slender fragile finger. I want to fulfill the promise of your fleeting smile with genuine happiness. If only we two clumsy souls could have nestled our lives together. If only I could have lived my life, seeing your face, hearing your voice, my heart yearns for nothing else.."

You can watch the heart warming scene here:

http://vimeo.com/17861510

Eiga Sai (the annual Japanese Film Festival) staged by the Japan Foundation Manila as part of the Japanese-Filipino Friendship month celebrations  has been shown here in the Philippines since 2011 and this is my first time to watch it.