Water Flowing to the Sea (2023)

Being angry and don't falling in love do not solve the parental trauma...

It is a warm story in a humble house where the stern and mysterious girl hosted a new housemate who was abroad and landing newly in japan who were both unknowingly connected to the same story of family betrayal.

Naotatsu is a modest and kind boy who didn't know anything about this strange girl Chisa who doesn't seem likable, just cooking for him the painful plate upon his arrival which she had eaten the day her mother eloped with naotatsu's father...

Chisa had so many mixed feelings regarding her mother who hurted her in the past and accepting naotatsu who is related to her as being the son of her ex-mother lover but she considered him a little kind boy who didn't have any guilt to interfere him with her deeply painful problems.

Against what chisa thought, naotatsu was so loyal to chisa and sided with her at every time she was venting her anger when her mother was the topic of their talk.

Naotatsu was running from chisa when hearing the story from her talking with another one about her past but he found that there is no use from evading the truth so he decided to help her finding her mother by asking his dad so he didn't dare telling her that but when they reach her mother's house he wanted chisa to be strong and face her mother about her feelings and her unbearable pain especially when shocked as chisa's mother was building a new happy family with husband and step daughter and forgetting about her first child.

Naotatsu was a real great person understanding chisa and the scene he was crying she felt his innocent and genuine inner personality so she treasured all the moments with him as an amazing housemate.

Deciding not falling in love upon the betrayal of her mother, naotatsu was affected with what chisa was living after her mother left chisa and her dad, so not falling in love was naotatsu wanting to show his anger and pain to what the big fault his dad commited in the past but chisa doesn't want him to be like her.

Naotatsu though being a high school boy he was drawned to chisa who is oblivious to his feelings, she wanted him to find the right person having the same age as her.

The rain made them being together when he was running to catch her for not moving from the house so leaving his school just to decide confessing to her but she was smiling and at the same time didn't give a clear reply to him.

This is a healing story, learning to dig in food when you are terribly annoyed by the memories from the past (funnily speaking) like chisa did with naotatsu and they were not bad paired together just if he was a little older maybe it will fine but still he is a high school boy is considered so much younger as she is 8 years older than him in real life.

I enjoyed the movie in total and it is highly recommended for me and I wanted to write a review in the first as it was just one day ago uploaded subbed but in truth the end was great but wanted the female lead to be more responsive with him but not bad at all.

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"I'll remember it for you forever, so don't worry about it."

I came in blind, didn't watch the trailer nor did I even read the synopsis. I saw Hirose Suzu on the poster and said hey...why not give it a go? I've always liked her in melodramas and it seems like this would be one as well.
And genuinely? I was surprised.

First of all, I have to talk about the beautiful cinematography. It's shot with a very homey feeling, but at the same time you can feel the gaps of loneliness packed in a sharehouse full of people.

The plot might not be for everyone, and I've seen some say that it's a bit too bland. But I guess that's what the movie is trying to tell, that this bland setting might have bits of someone's real life in it, and sadly mine was reflected in this too. However I love how they have scenes where they have playful banter, the comedic insert balanced out how gloomy this film felt,

Another thing that I love was how much of an opposite Sakaki-san and Nao were, with one knowing for a long time and the other figuring it out recently. The contrast between Sakaki-san already going through it as an adult and wanting to just forget everything vs teenager Nao's pure naivety and wanting to be angry and confront everyone yet he couldn't find himself to act upon it just because he was a "kid" and ultimately decided to do (in my eyes, very adorable) questionable things to ven out was nice to see. Nao would always just nod at everything Sakaki-san said so when he shouted and cried I started crying too.

Hirose Suzu did an excellent job despite acting as an OL for the first time, and I was surprised (and love to see) that she's working with a much younger actor. To me, she's always been the patron of fresh, pure and naive child (as per her earlier works) but Ohnishi Riku's naive and clueless performance made her more "jaded" in my eyes.

This movie taught me that it's okay to not forget, and it's okay to not forgive and be angry. But it's also okay if you choose to let go, as long as you're happy. However the pain, the want, at the end of the day we all deserve to be happy.

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