Films - Cherry Blossoms

Cherry Blossoms - Hanami

Film Info

Germany 2008 Director: Doris Dörrie

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Cherry Blossoms - Hanami

Synopsis

Only Trudi knows that her husband Rudi is suffering from a terminal illness. It is up to her to tell him or not. The doctor suggests that they do something together, perhaps something they were long planning to do... Trudi decides not to tell her husband about the gravity of his illness and to follow the doctor's advice. She convinces Rudi to visit their children and grandchildren in Berlin. But once they arrive, they realise that their children are so busy with their own lives that they have no time for them. Then, suddenly, Trudi dies. Rudi is devastated and has no idea what to do next. From his daughter's girlfriend he learns that Trudi 's love for him had led her to forego the life that she had wanted to live. He begins to see her with new eyes and vows to make up for her lost life. And so he embarks on his last journey - to Tokyo, in the midst of the cherry blossom festival, a celebration of beauty, impermanence and new beginnings...

Cast & Crew

Director

Doris Dörrie
Producer

Molly von Fürstenberg, Harald Kügler
Screenwriter

Doris Dörrie
Director of photography

Hanno Lentz
Main Cast

Elmar Wepper (Rudi), Hannelore Elsner (Trudi), Aya Irizuki (Yu), Maximilian Brückner (Karl)

Director's comment

With this story I tried to investigate serious questions about life and death, love and loss in a light-footed and hopefully light-hearted way: does impermanence teach us to see things the way they really are? Is it possible to enjoy the present moment in the face of death? What makes us blossom? What makes us wither? How can we water our seeds of joy? We tried to apply these questions not only to the story but also to our way of shooting. We tried to discover beauty in each moment and let it pervade the story. For all of us, this blend of reality and fiction was strangely exhilarating. It was as if the line between waking and dreaming had been blurred and it wasn't quite clear where we were, but at all times we felt much closer to the essence - and I think this shows in the film.