The movie is called Kanseitou and came out in Japan the 9th of April. I stumbled across this movie because I’m a big fan of Hashimoto Ai (the actress well-known for playing Kitahara Mizuki in the movie Confessions/Kokuhaku). First I actually watched the music video for the song “Kanseitou” by Galileo Galilei, which I think this movie is based upon. The clip had a lot of clips from this movie and became really intrigued by the cinematography, as well as the beautiful winter landscape of Hokkaido :O And then of course also because of the pretty actors. Hashimoto Ai is beside being an actress also a model and began at the age of 12! I find it amusing her name in this movie is Mizuho (was her nickname in the Confessions movie xD).
Here’s more info about the movie:
Loosely based on the origins of the rock band Galileo Galilei, “Kanseito” (Control tower) tells the story of a pair of teenagers who fall in love in Wakkanai, the northernmost spot in Japan.
Shot entirely in the middle of a cold Hokkaido winter, the film describes the loneliness of the two protagonists, who somehow find a way to communicate through music.
The movie takes the same name as Galileo Galilei’s first big hit song, “Kanseito.”
In the film, Kakeru (Kento Yamazaki) is a 15-year-old junior high school student born and raised in Wakkanai. He doesn’t feel that he has anything interesting to do with his life.
One day, Mizuho (Ai Hashimoto), also 15, transfers to his school. She too feels lost and lonely; she has repeatedly transferred from school to school because of her family circumstances. The two become friends.
One day, Kakeru finds an old guitar in storage at his home. He decides to learn how to play it and asks Mizuho to help him form a band.
In 2008, the band Galileo Galilei shot to fame after winning the top prize at a rock festival contest that was just for teenagers. Brothers Kazuki and Yuki Ozaki are the founding members of the four-piece band. They too discovered rock music after learning to play instruments they found at their home.
The band’s first album, “Hamanasu no Hana” (Flower of Japanese Rose), came out on SME Records in 2010. It has been downloaded more than a million times.
Actor Yamazaki has starred in “Clone Baby” and other television series, while model-actress Hashimoto grabbed the spotlight last year in Tetsuya Nakashima’s “Confessions.”
Director Takahiro Miki is noted for his many music videos for J-pop stars such as Ikimonogakari and Kaera Kimura. His first feature film was the 2010 live-action adaptation of the manga “Solanin.”
I like movies like this and I love Hashimoto Ai, so I really want to watch this movie! xD
Here’s a trailer :)
And here’s the music video “Kanseitou” by Galileo Galilei ^^
I really hope this movie comes on DVD fast xD I wanna watch my Ai >o<