April Story

1998 1h 7m JA

👍

7.1

SOLID

⭐

7.1

IMDB

★7.1TMDB · 142★7.1IMDB · 4,730

RomanceDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In spring, a girl leaves the island of Hokkaido to attend university in Tokyo. Once there, she is asked to reveal why she wanted to go there in the first place.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Takako Matsu
Uzuki Nireno
Seiichi Tanabe
Yamazaki
Kaori Fujii
Teruko Kitao
Rumi
Saeko Sono
Kazuhiko Kato
Kato
Ken Mitsuishi
Salaryman
Matsumoto Hakuō II
Father
Noriko Fujima
Mother

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Shunji Iwai
Writers: Shunji Iwai
Languages: Japanese, English
Countries: Japan

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

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 67-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

28 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Japanese, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "いわいしゅんじ Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Shunji Iwai, shot by Noboru Shinoda. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Takako Matsu and Seiichi Tanabe and Kaori Fujii carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Shunji Iwai directs. Noboru Shinoda behind the camera. Shunji Iwai cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 67-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
228 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Japanese, English.
4Part of the "いわいしゅんじ Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
6Directed by Shunji Iwai, shot by Noboru Shinoda. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Editor Shunji Iwai shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Takako Matsu and Seiichi Tanabe and Kaori Fujii carry the top of the cast.
9IMDB entry: tt0146271 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.