Cherry Blossoms (film)
Encyclopedia
Cherry Blossoms is a 2008
German
film directed by Doris Dörrie
.
in the midst of the cherry blossom season, a celebration of beauty, impermanence, and new beginnings.
Trudi (Hannelore Elsner
) and Rudi (Elmar Wepper
) are an affectionate, long-married couple whose children have grown up and moved away. They live in a small Bavarian village. Trudi learns that her husband is terminally ill. The doctor suggests a final adventure, which the two wanted to have for some time, but never managed.
Trudi decides to keep the disease secret from Rudi. She manages to convince him to visit their children and grandchildren in Berlin. But when they arrive, they realize that their children are too busy with their own lives to take care of the parents. Then they decide to drive to the Baltic Sea
. But there, Trudi suddenly dies. Rudi is thrown completely off track and doesn't know how to go on. After he learns from a friend of his daughter that Trudi has actually sacrificed her life out of love for him, he starts to see his dead wife with new eyes.
Rudi tries to make up for the loss of his wife. As her secret passions were Japan and the Japanese Butoh
dance expression, Rudi travels to visit his son in Tokyo. As the situation gets too claustrophobic, his son wishes his father to go away. Then Rudi goes to a park full of cherry blossoms. He meets an eighteen-year-old Japanese girl named Yu (Aya Irizuki). She catches his eyes because she dances Butoh there every day. Yu lives in a tent and has lost her mother only a year ago, so she understands Rudi's feelings. She helps him get by in the big city. Despite the language barrier--they have to speak English-- and huge cultural differences, they soon get along very well. Since Trudi has always talked about how much she wanted to see the sacred Mount Fuji, Rudi persuades his new companion to travel there together with him. Mount Fuji is so "shy" that it constantly hides behind clouds, so they put up in a hotel room beside a lake and wait for better weather. Rudi's health is deteriorating. One day, when he wakes up in the night restlessly and stands in front of the door, the mighty Mount Fuji greets him in the bright moonlight. Rudi lies down on the clothes of his wife, puts on make-up like a Japanese dancer, and begins to imitate the slow movements of Butoh at the lakeside. In his last vision, his dead wife appears to him and holds his hand. Then they unite to create a dance before the sublime backdrop of mountain and water. The next morning, when Yu sees Rudi's empty bed, she looks for him and finally finds him dead on the shore of the lake. In his luggage, there is a parcel written "For You, Yu". Inside the parcel, Rudi has left her his life savings.
Two contrasting scenes conclude the film: On the one hand, in a solemn cremation ceremony, his son and Yu are balancing the remaining ashes of Rudi's bones with chopsticks in a Japanese urn. On the other hand, the film ends with a table discussion by his children out of complete misunderstanding of their father – their indignation at his grumpiness and adventures with Yu, and his scandalous soft spot for Trudi's clothes.
2008 in film
This is a list of all major films made in 2008.-Highest-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008...
German
Cinema of Germany
Cinema in Germany can be traced back to the late 19th century. German cinema has made major technical and artistic contributions to film.Unlike any other national cinemas, which developed in the context of relatively continuous and stable political systems, Germany witnesses major changes to its...
film directed by Doris Dörrie
Doris Dörrie
Doris Dörrie is a German film director, producer and author.-Life and work:Dörrie completed her secondary education at a humanist Gymnasium. In 1973 she began a two-year attendance in film studies, in the drama department of the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. She then studied...
.
Plot
The story culminates in a pilgrimage to Mount FujiMount Fuji
is the highest mountain in Japan at . An active stratovolcano that last erupted in 1707–08, Mount Fuji lies about south-west of Tokyo, and can be seen from there on a clear day. Mount Fuji's exceptionally symmetrical cone is a well-known symbol of Japan and it is frequently depicted in art and...
in the midst of the cherry blossom season, a celebration of beauty, impermanence, and new beginnings.
Trudi (Hannelore Elsner
Hannelore Elsner
Hannelore Elsner is a German actress. After finishing drama school she worked in theatres in Berlin and München. Later she starred in films and TV series such as Die Schwarzwaldklinik...
) and Rudi (Elmar Wepper
Elmar Wepper
Elmar Wepper is a German actor. His television credits include Der Kommissar, Unsere schönsten Jahre and Zwei Münchner in Hamburg, the latter starring with Uschi Glas. His film credits include Cherry Blossoms, Café Europa, Lammbock and Dreiviertelmond....
) are an affectionate, long-married couple whose children have grown up and moved away. They live in a small Bavarian village. Trudi learns that her husband is terminally ill. The doctor suggests a final adventure, which the two wanted to have for some time, but never managed.
Trudi decides to keep the disease secret from Rudi. She manages to convince him to visit their children and grandchildren in Berlin. But when they arrive, they realize that their children are too busy with their own lives to take care of the parents. Then they decide to drive to the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
. But there, Trudi suddenly dies. Rudi is thrown completely off track and doesn't know how to go on. After he learns from a friend of his daughter that Trudi has actually sacrificed her life out of love for him, he starts to see his dead wife with new eyes.
Rudi tries to make up for the loss of his wife. As her secret passions were Japan and the Japanese Butoh
Butoh
is the collective name for a diverse range of activities, techniques and motivations for dance, performance, or movement inspired by the movement. It typically involves playful and grotesque imagery, taboo topics, extreme or absurd environments, and is traditionally performed in white body makeup...
dance expression, Rudi travels to visit his son in Tokyo. As the situation gets too claustrophobic, his son wishes his father to go away. Then Rudi goes to a park full of cherry blossoms. He meets an eighteen-year-old Japanese girl named Yu (Aya Irizuki). She catches his eyes because she dances Butoh there every day. Yu lives in a tent and has lost her mother only a year ago, so she understands Rudi's feelings. She helps him get by in the big city. Despite the language barrier--they have to speak English-- and huge cultural differences, they soon get along very well. Since Trudi has always talked about how much she wanted to see the sacred Mount Fuji, Rudi persuades his new companion to travel there together with him. Mount Fuji is so "shy" that it constantly hides behind clouds, so they put up in a hotel room beside a lake and wait for better weather. Rudi's health is deteriorating. One day, when he wakes up in the night restlessly and stands in front of the door, the mighty Mount Fuji greets him in the bright moonlight. Rudi lies down on the clothes of his wife, puts on make-up like a Japanese dancer, and begins to imitate the slow movements of Butoh at the lakeside. In his last vision, his dead wife appears to him and holds his hand. Then they unite to create a dance before the sublime backdrop of mountain and water. The next morning, when Yu sees Rudi's empty bed, she looks for him and finally finds him dead on the shore of the lake. In his luggage, there is a parcel written "For You, Yu". Inside the parcel, Rudi has left her his life savings.
Two contrasting scenes conclude the film: On the one hand, in a solemn cremation ceremony, his son and Yu are balancing the remaining ashes of Rudi's bones with chopsticks in a Japanese urn. On the other hand, the film ends with a table discussion by his children out of complete misunderstanding of their father – their indignation at his grumpiness and adventures with Yu, and his scandalous soft spot for Trudi's clothes.