Awards:

2010 Dubai International Film Festival- Best Composer

2011 Asian Film Awards- Best Cinematographer

2011 Istanbul International Film Festival- FIPRESCI Prize

Nominations:

2011 Asian Film Awards- Best Actress, Best Costume Designer

2010 Venice International Film Festival Gala Presentation- Golden Lion

2010 Toronto International Film Festival- In Competition

Film Festivals:

2010 Venice International Film Festival

2010 Toronto International Film Festival

2010 Dubai International Film Festival

“Kikuchi is superbly pained in her many-sided depiction of emotional instability.“ — Variety

The sheer sense of romance is palpable as Toru and Naoko wander the countryside… the underlying sense of loss and torment is never far away.” — Screendaily.com 

Haruki Murakami’s bestselling nostalgic story of loss and desire is brought to the screen by Tran Anh Hung (The Scent of Green Papaya). Featuring Japanese rising star Kenichi Matsuyama and Oscar nominee Rinko Kikuchi, Murakami’s sensuality and poetry is given new life in this arthouse depiction of a college student haunted by one woman and fervently pursued by another.  

Originally published in 1987, Haruki Murakami’s bestselling novel is brought to the screen, painting a story of infinite loss and heartbreak in a time of global instability.

In late 1960s Tokyo, students around the world are uniting to overthrow the established order. Toru Watanabe’s (Kenichi Matsuyama) personal life is similarly in tumult. At heart, he is deeply devoted to his first love, Naoko (Rinko Kikuchi), a beautiful yet emotionally fragile young woman. However, their complex bond is haunted by the tragic suicide of their best friend years before. Watanabe then meets Midori (Kiko Mizuhara), a girl who is everything that Naoko is not – outgoing, vivacious, supremely self-confident – and Watanabe finds he must choose between his past and his future.