T K I watched this movie on a flight from Tokyo to Los Angeles, and I'm really glad I did. This movie is one of those Japanese ones that I've come to really enjoy. It combines great acting (the two main characters, a couple, have a genuine chemistry), has a nice, steady pace, and puts many important things into perspective that we often overlook, such as what it means to love one another, what a marriage means, and the serious nature of depression. The movie also has many humorous moments, along with serious ones, and left me both laughing and wanting to shed a tear. This movie is fictional but could pass as a biopic or documentary about how a couple overcame the disease together. The movie runs 2 hours but did not have any slow moments for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish.

Kicino I became interested in this movie because my friend committed suicide reportedly of depression. There was no note left or symptoms detected beforehand. We were all shocked and sad. I thought watching this would be therapeutic as well as educational of the disease so we can beware of it when help is needed.The film turned out to be very informative, supportive and heartwarming. It made me want to get married – to someone like the wife Haruko Takazaki (Aoi Miyazaki) in the movie. It would be so nice to have a supportive company! She is instrumental in the curing process as she accepted her husband Mikio (Masato Sakai) and tried her ways to cope with the illness (such as getting work) without exerting pressure on him. The most important thing was that she offered a different and reasonable perspective based on what his was and built a more positive one. When he said he could not even cook (he usually made his own lunchbox), she said you are already a better cook than I was. When he did not know what to do for the day, she told him to take a nap. When he said he cannot do many things, she said it is OK not to be perfect. Haruko might appear to be a lazy person: she was not a good cook and almost always slept in. But on salient matters such as curing her husband, she was determined to have him choose between a stressful job versus divorce, or accepting her husband as who he was, or relieving his financial stress by her own way. She just did not give in and yet she did not put pressure on herself. Her way of dealing with stress was going with the flow. Her believing in herself originally came from her husband so she tried very hard to help him get back on his feet. Apart from Haruko, their family was also very supportive in helping them. What I have learnt from this movie on depression is that it already helps to tell others/talk about our problems. There might not be an immediate solution, but at least the stress would be out of our body. It would also serve as a learning opportunity for others. There seems to be a meaning for everything. Depression may be tough to deal with, but if we can find its meaning and make good use of it, maybe it is not at all such a misfortune. The art-direction is superb. Their house itself is perfect in this setting with the cramped yet tidy interior, echoing the suffocating psychological state of the depressed patient. When Mikio's condition improved, they had a nice chat in the courtyard, symbolizing they had stepped out of that suffocation and added in more freshness for a boundless future. We need to be aware that depression illness can be cured. It just needs more patience and positive attitude from the patient and people around. This is a romantic, heartwarming, bitter-sweet and educational type of entertainment. You will gain one way or the other watching it.

Victoria Warhus I've seen this movie for more than 1 month and wanted to write a review for that right after I saw it. It's probably one of my most appreciated movies that I can understand how to treat this disease without feeling too much burden of it. Like lots of people has wrong perception about AIDS that this disease won't actually be contagious if you didn't share blood, syringe and have sexual activities with AIDS patients. Since AIDS virus is really weak after exposing to open environment. I sometimes think if people has this kind of wrong perceptions about certain disease, these patients may even die earlier with depress instead of that disease.I finally decide to finish this article because I learnt from my family that one of my cousins committed suicide just yesterday due to depression. I tried to remember the scenes in this movie and tried to imagine what kind of life she had before she decided to jump into the river, leaving her families behind. Depression can be caused by lots of factors – stresses (from work, relationship, and financial issues), hereditary gene, hormone imbalance, other diseases and even personalities. It's been called cold for mind and everyone will have the chance to get it anytime. Besides patient him/herself, the ones get infected mostly are his/her families, lovers and colleagues.In this movie, the wife's strong and continuous supports saved her dearest husband. The people around the patient will affect the seriousness of the disease ongoing, too. Of course that the closed ones have their own lives and emotions, so it's really extremely difficult to have this disease cured since it's not as easy as other diseases. The husband in this movie tried to commit suicide after the wife didn't care him "too much". The fact also indicates that there are 10% to 15% of the patients will choose to end their lives like this. And leave more sorrows for the ones left behind.The ones have depressions need more care and support than normal people. It's kind of funny that one of the clients of the husband's previous job seems like to be another patient, too, who comes to the couple's pep talk for their new book about treatment for depression and said their book is a good job. Patient with depression needs more acknowledgements more than others. Sometimes the patient will be a child whose reactions might be misunderstood as being emotional only. Parents should pay more attention not to ask for a "perfect" kid with too much pressure.For the ones with more positive attitudes, it will be a good deed to do to encourage others while you can because you'll never know your 5-min. talk sometimes can save a person's life. Scolding and asking are easy but are harmful sometimes, too. Targets should be set within one's limitation and it is really OK sometimes to have OK instead of perfection. If your life is really stressful, try to walk out of it for a while. If you're with a depression patient, please give support so you won't regret for the rest of your life, too. Supporting is the best love and care you can give as priceless gift.