Casting Blossoms to the Sky (2012)

Profile

• Movie: Casting Blossoms to the Sky (English title)
• Romaji: Kono Sora no Hana: Nagaoka Hanabi Monogatari
• Japanese: この空の花　長岡花火物語
• Director: Nobuhiko Obayashi
• Writer: Nobuhiko Obayashi
• Producer: Chiga Watanabe, Kyoko Obayashi
• Cinematographer: Katsuhiro Kato, Hisaki Sanbongi
• Release Date: May 12, 2012
• Runtime: 160 min.
• Genre: Fantasy / Drama / War
• Distributor: PSC, TM Entertainment
• Language: Japanese
• Country: Japan

Synopsis

Reiko Endo  (Yasuko Matsuyuki) is a local newspaper reporter in Amakusa. She then visits the city of Nagaoka for different reasons. One is to find out why Nagaoka accepted displaced victims from the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami so quickly. As a news reporter she examines the city carefully.

Another reason why Reiko Endo is visiting Nagaoka is due to a letter from ex-boyfriend Kenichi Katayama (Masahiro Takashima), who works as a high school teacher. In the letter, Kenichi Katayama writes about a stage play, related to the bombing of Nagaoka prior to the end of WWII, written by his high school student Hana Motoki (Saki Terashima). Kenichi Katayama wants Reiko Endo to watch the play.

In the process of her visit to Nagaoka, Reiko Endo meets many of the locals and experiences unexpected events.