Sekai no Chuushin de, Ai wo Sakebu

Info: imdb

Alternative Title: Socrates in Love / Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World
Genre: Drama, Romance
Runtime: 138 min

Cast:
Takao Osawa as Sakutaro Matsumoto
Kou Shibasaki as Ritsuko Fujimura
Masami Nagasawa as Aki Hirose
Mirai Moriyama as Sakutaro Matsumoto (High School)
Tsutomu Yamazaki as Shigezou Matsumoto
Kankuro Kudo as Ryunosuke Ooki
Kanji Tsuda as Johnny
Issei Takahashi as Ryunosuke (high school student)
Rio Kanno as Ritsuko (girl)
Tetta Sugimoto as Aki's Father
Katsutaka Furuhata as Johnny (high school)

In the movie version, an adult Sakutaro, reflecting on his relationship with Aki, plays an important role. The original story unfolds through his memories. The film opened in wide release in Japan on May 8, 2004, and brought Masami Nagasawa recognition as an actress. The film was a huge success, and its theme song, Hitomi o Tojite by Ken Hirai had record sales as well.

Ritsuko Fujimura, who appeared in the film but doesn't appear in the novel, is Saku's youthful fiance and last people who sees Aki with life. Even in this film-only situation, however, Saku still isn't able to let Aki go, causing tension in his and Ritsuko's relationship.

Plot:
In 1980s Kyushu, two teenagers fell in love, and exchanged their secrets and thoughts by way of sending tape recordings to each other. More than a decade later, the boy (now grown-up and bittered) rediscovers the last recording of his long-dead lover's voice. Her words trigger a series of flashbacks illustrating the joyful beginning and tragic end of their relationship.

DL Link: 001 | 002 | 003 | 004

Hardsubbed....