Purely Joyful Movie!

Just what I expected

From my favorite movies..

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

This film is about a train departing Osaka Station at midnight to an unknown destination. The people on this train all have some difficulties in their lives, and they end up on this train. Hanoko is suicidal, Yuka has caught her boyfriend with another woman, Michiru is aimless, Mr. Wakabayashi has just been fired, and one other man just lost his wife. They take the train to Kazumachi, a small village. They decide to stay and enter a small world of discovery about themselves, courtesy of the inhabitants of the village, all of whom are engaging. The tag line of the film is "Can One Trip Change Your Life". Ah ha! This is a good film which verges on the sweet and sentimental. The lead actress Hanoko is the person that needs the most help, as she agreed then backed out of a suicide circle in which four young people were found dead in a car. Yuka is sweeter than Hanoko, unlucky in love. She becomes much more interesting as the film progresses, as she keeps bumping into the village's young doctor. Michiru needs someone to love her, not necessarily a man, anyone. I like the pace of the film, slowish, but forward. The actors are all good. If you want to see a film that is about feeling struggling to find themselves and gaining perspective in their lives, this is for you. I liked it, it held my attention throughout.