CHERRY BLOSSOMS

Year: 2008
USA: Strand Releasing
UK: Dogwoof Pictures
Cast: Elmar Wepper, Hannelore Elsner, Nadja Uhl, Maximilian Bruckner, Aya Irizuki, Birgit Minichmayr, Felix Eitner, Floriane Daniel, Celine Tannenberger, Robert Döhlert, Tadashi Endo
Director: Doris Dörrie
Countries: Germany / France
Languages: German / English / Japanese (English subtitles)
USA: 124 mins
UK: 120 mins
USA Release Date: 27 September 2008 (Limited Release)
UK Release Date: 3 April 2009)
US Distributor
ICA

Synopsis

CHERRY BLOSSOMS from German filmmaker Doris Dörrie (NAKED) is an emotionally intense and profoundly moving drama of marital love and centres on the long, married relationship of Trudi (Hannelore Elsner) and Rudi (Elmar Wepper).

Travelling from the countryside to Berlin to visit their children and grandchildren they realise that they have grown apart over the years and are emotionally distant from each other. When Trudi unexpectedly dies, this motivates a grief stricken Rudi to honor his wife's unfulfilled desires by embarking on a life-changing journey to Japan, a place Trudi often dreamed of but never visited.

The trip to Tokyo coincides with the cherry blossom festival and instigates an unlikely friendship with a young Butoh dancer who helps connect Rudi with his wife's lifelong love for the dance, which culminates with a pilgrimage to the iconic fog-shrouded Mount Fuji.

CHERRY BLOSSOMS is a poignant celebration of beauty, new beginnings and the ultimate metaphor for the impermanence of life.