Journey of a Dying Wife

"Why is it a sin for two people to be together?"

2011 1h 53m JA

Drama

Synopsis

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Why is it a crime for two people to be together? In the silence so profound that you could even hear the sound of falling snow, the man buried his wife alone. That was what his wife had wished for. When a loved one is dying, what can one do for them? 272 days, 6000 km—this is the true story of a couple's extraordinary love. December 2, 1999. A small article about the arrest of a man appeared on the social page of the newspaper. The charge was "abandonment resulting in death"—the crime of abandoning someone who needed assistance due to old age, childhood, physical disability, or illness, and causing their death. The man had been wandering around Japan for nine months with his wife, who had terminal cancer, in a van. In the fall of 2000, the monthly magazine "Shincho 45" published the memoir of the arrested man, Hisanori Shimizu, in two issues, which caused a great sensation.

“Why is it a sin for two people to be together?”

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Cast

Tomokazu Miura
Shimizu Hisanori
Yuriko Ishida
Shimizu Hitomi
Aki Nishihara
Saori
Baiken Jukkanji
Hisanori's older brother
Reiko Tajima
Hisanori's older sister
Fujio Tokita
Old man traveling by bicycle
Yutaka Izumihara
Young Hisanori
Denden

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Yukinari Hanawa
Writers: Kota Yamada
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

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Fun facts 🍿

1 / 6

ERA

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Released 15 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 6

CRAFT

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Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 6

DIRECTOR

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Editor Nobuko Tomita shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 6

CAST

Did you know

Tomokazu Miura and Yuriko Ishida and Aki Nishihara carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 6

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Why is it a sin for two people to be together?".

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 6

WILD

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IMDB entry: tt1479361 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Yukinari Hanawa directs. Nobuko Tomita cuts. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 15 years ago.
2Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
3Editor Nobuko Tomita shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
4Tomokazu Miura and Yuriko Ishida and Aki Nishihara carry the top of the cast.
5Marketing tagline: "Why is it a sin for two people to be together?".
6IMDB entry: tt1479361 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.