"Kirschblüten - Hanami" or "Cherry Blossoms - Hanami" is a German film from 2008, which means it will have its 10th anniversary 2 years from now. The writer and director is Doris Dörrie and this film (among others) turned her into what many probably consider Germany's most influential female filmmaker of the last decades. Her cast here includes E. Wepper, Elsner, Uhl, Minichmayr, Brückner and a handful other German actors that are somewhat known here in Germany, plus a couple Japanese actors because of the setting. The first third is about an old married couple (from Southern Germany) reuniting with their children in Berlin, but somehow not really succeeding in making a connection, especially the man. The scene when they struggle with the train ticket machine is possibly the most entertaining and it shows that they just don't fit there.
The first third of the film ends with the old woman's death and the remaining two thirds is about the husband taking a deep insight into the lifelong dream of his wife, namely going to Japan and becoming part of an ancient Japanese tradition. A lot of the film has to do with the culture clash between Rudi Angermeier (Wepper) and Japanese culture and tradition, how he goes on a journey into a world that is entirely new to him. Dörrie has made the movie "Erleuchtung garantiert" before this one (almost a decade) and very recently she made "Grüße aus Fukushima", which shows how strong Dörrie's connection to this Asian country must be. In my opinion, the quality is on par with the chronology. "Erleuchtung garantiert" is the best from the trio, "Kirschblüten - Hanami" is certainly inferior and "Grüße aus Fukushima" is easily the worst and a huge mess.
About this one here, I think visually, in terms of sets, cinematography and costumes, these areas is where it shines the most. Wepper is also pretty good, even if the awards recognition may have been a bit too much. There are better (German) lead performances from that year such as Matthias Brandt for example. The film itself has a couple pretentious moments and feels like style over substance on some occasions too, but I still feel it was a creative achievement, even if it should have been kept more essential at 105 minutes instead of over two hours. I would say it is indeed one of the best German films from 2008, but not among the very best and also not among the best from Europe. I love Japan a lot as well and, even if I recommend the watch, I would call it a bit of a lost opportunity and it is kinda sad how Dörrie's Japan-themed films got worse and worse over the years.
The first third of the film ends with the old woman's death and the remaining two thirds is about the husband taking a deep insight into the lifelong dream of his wife, namely going to Japan and becoming part of an ancient Japanese tradition. A lot of the film has to do with the culture clash between Rudi Angermeier (Wepper) and Japanese culture and tradition, how he goes on a journey into a world that is entirely new to him. Dörrie has made the movie "Erleuchtung garantiert" before this one (almost a decade) and very recently she made "Grüße aus Fukushima", which shows how strong Dörrie's connection to this Asian country must be. In my opinion, the quality is on par with the chronology. "Erleuchtung garantiert" is the best from the trio, "Kirschblüten - Hanami" is certainly inferior and "Grüße aus Fukushima" is easily the worst and a huge mess.
About this one here, I think visually, in terms of sets, cinematography and costumes, these areas is where it shines the most. Wepper is also pretty good, even if the awards recognition may have been a bit too much. There are better (German) lead performances from that year such as Matthias Brandt for example. The film itself has a couple pretentious moments and feels like style over substance on some occasions too, but I still feel it was a creative achievement, even if it should have been kept more essential at 105 minutes instead of over two hours. I would say it is indeed one of the best German films from 2008, but not among the very best and also not among the best from Europe. I love Japan a lot as well and, even if I recommend the watch, I would call it a bit of a lost opportunity and it is kinda sad how Dörrie's Japan-themed films got worse and worse over the years.