Cinematic Point Of View

I’m not sure how I came across this film. Did I find it or did it find me? Regardless, the 2013 film “See You Tomorrow, Everyone,” directed by Yoshihiro Nakamura, is one that showed up in my life and I’m glad it did.

The film tells the story of a boy named Watarai Satoru (Gaku Hamada) who graduates from elementary school, and then for reasons unknown at first, drops out of school. He lives in an apartment complex, the projects, with his Mother. He never ventures out of the complex. Ever. He can literally walk to the steps of the projects but is unable to make himself leave.

The news runs a story on him, making him a bit of a celebrity. It’s here that the heart of the story is revealed, and everything that seemed sort of funny starts to take a more dramatic turn. I don’t want to spoil.

The journey of this story takes place over a period of years (20, I think!) as we see Watari’s friends grow up and leave while he remains at home within the complex. He manages to date a few women and secure a job at a bakery within the projects. Relationships blossom and change.

He is a creature of habit and a protector. He studies martial arts on TV. He maintains a nightly patrol where he walks past every apartment to make sure everyone is safe and sound in their home. Some find this charming while others think it’s creepy.

This film unfolds at a leisurely pace like a novel because it’s based on one called “Minasang, Sayonara” by Takehiko Kubodera. You never know where it’s headed. Characters come and go. Life happens while Watarai mostly stays the same.

It’s hard to write about this movie without including important spoilers, so I have to paint a broad picture of themes within the film. This is a coming of age film. This is a film about childhood trauma. This is a film about friendships and sexuality and social class. It moves through a lot of areas.

Most of this film is light-hearted, but underneath, it is a story about PTSD. It gets pretty real and very heavy throughout. In the end, it’s about facing your fears, protecting the innocent, seizing the day, and being yourself. Everyone’s journey is different.

I recently bought a region free Blu-Ray player and purchased this movie on a whim. I reckon most folks won’t have a region free player and this film isn’t available in the US on physical media or streaming. Someone was kind enough to upload the entire film on YouTube and I’ve embedded it below. I wouldn’t normally encourage that but this film is pretty hard to find. You can use the CC option to get subtitles.

I would be very interested to hear from anyone who has seen this or watches it and get their take on it. Hope you enjoy!