電影「生命最後一個月的花嫁」(April Bride) 觀後感

What are we all looking for in our lives? What's the meaning of the life? Is it love, friendship, self-actualization, helping others, fame, fortune or health? The answer varies from person to person. However, the Japanese movie, April Bride, which is based on a true story, is really a wake-up call to me. It not only reminds me of the meaning of my life but also gives me more strength to live my life without fear and confusion.

The leading actress, Chie Nagashima, and leading actor, Taro Akasu, meet each other in an exhibition dry-run, and shortly fall in love with each other. As Taro asks Chie to go out with him and things seem to develop swimmingly between the young lovely couple , Chie's diagnosis of breast cancer is like a cloud hanging over the relationship. Although she tries to keep the truth from Taro, Taro is taken by surprise by Chie's great loss of hair one morning before they two head to work. While Taro wants to stay with Chie and takes care of her, Chie pushes him away and choose to totally vanish from his life. However, Chie's refusal doesn't stop Taro from loving her. Instead, Taro stops at nothing and tries to find her with greatest love. While Taro makes efforts to look for Chie, Chie has recovered after the therapy. One day, they bump into each other on a small island. Their love makes them totally open up to each other, cast away their fears and confusion, and vow to take care of each other for good. However, they don't live happily ever after just like those characters in fairy tales. Chie has to experience the recurrence of breast cancer and receive medical treatment. She starts taking chemotherapy and undergoes a lot of pain, both emotionally and physically. Her only crutch is Taro's full support and love. Taro does keep his promise, does all he can to put a smile on her face, and keep her company until the day she passes away.

This is a sad and true story. In the real world, before Chie passed away, she was still very strong and tough, making each day count. The first thing she often asked Taro about every morning was whether she was still alive. She was afraid that she couldn't wake up alive in the next morning. However, while the fear didn't go away, she chose to conquer her fear with her strong will and love. To encourage people with similar experience to toughen up, she even invited a TV station to record and reveal to the general public how strong and positive she was when she fought cancer and tried hard to cheat death. Although she couldn't beat cancer eventually, the documentary has encouraged a lot of people and I beleive her spirit will live on forever.

One scene in the movie really blew me away. Before Taro discovered Chie had breast cancer, they had a wonderful life. When they went biking together in the evening and shared happiness together along the road, they looked like they were on the top of the world. After Chie was hospitalized, one night while Taro was wandering on the street with his bicycle, all the sweet flashbacks became so ironic and painful. To me, this movie reminded me again of how important our loved ones are and how often we ignore them, get lost in our busy lives and work on something trivial. It's based on a true story. I 'd recommend this movie to all of you. But before you see the tear jerker, dont' forget to get yourself a box of tissues. Hopefully you will like it and don't hesitate to show your love to your loves ones.

If you are into this movie, just feel free to click on the hyperlink below and watch the trailer.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDT5rE0hjIk