MesmeroWatch list, 0 saved

Movie
Poster for Casting Blossoms to the Sky

Casting Blossoms to the Sky

2012 · 160 min

A long, tender, dreamlike meditation on catastrophe and remembrance that asks patience and rewards it with quiet, aching warmth.

Directed by
Nobuhiko Obayashi
Genres
Fantasy, Drama, War
Starring
Yasuko Matsuyuki, Masahiro Takashima, Natsuki Harada
Tagline
If people made pretty fireworks instead of bombs there wouldn't have been any wars.
Overview
In the aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, a journalist arrives in Nagaoka, a city decimated during a WWII air raid and by the 2004 Chūetsu earthquakes, to report on the disaster; there, she learns about the experiences of its inhabitants and stumbles upon a stage play written by an enigmatic student of her ex-boyfriend.

Your rating is saved. See your suggestions, or find titles like this one below.

Rate it, and Mesmero finds titles that feel like it. You do not need an account.

Search YouTube for a trailer

Rent or buy in the UK
  • Amazon Video
More options Data from JustWatch
Directed by
Nobuhiko Obayashi
Genres
Fantasy, Drama, War
Starring
Yasuko Matsuyuki, Masahiro Takashima, Natsuki Harada
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • melancholicstrength 3 of 3
  • earneststrength 3 of 3
  • warmstrength 2 of 3
  • whimsicalstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • grief
  • memory
  • war
  • healing
  • death
Places
  • small town
  • home
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • nonlinear
  • ensemble
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex none
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action2
Horror2
Humour3
Realism6
Romance3
Tension4
Darkness6
Complexity7
Emotional weight9

More like this

Titles like Casting Blossoms to the Sky

Movie

Hanagatami

2017

A feverish, painterly plunge into youthful longing and loss, edited with restless invention and swelling with sorrow and defiance.

Same director: Nobuhiko Obayashi · Melancholic, earnest, slow-burn · about war and death · nonlinear

Also
Same director: Nobuhiko Obayashi
Via
  • melancholic
  • earnest
  • war
  • death
  • nonlinear
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
169 min
Details
HanagatamiHidden from your suggestions.
TV series

March Comes In Like a Lion

2016–2018

A quiet, tender immersion in loneliness and slow healing, warm as a kitchen table but heavy as a long winter.

Melancholic, earnest, slow-burn · about grief and healing

Via
  • melancholic
  • earnest
  • grief
  • healing
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Seasons
2
Details
March Comes In Like a LionHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Labyrinth of Cinema

2020

A kaleidoscopic, heartfelt plunge through cinema and war memory, playful yet deeply mournful, demanding patience but rewarding with emotional resonance.

Same director: Nobuhiko Obayashi · Melancholic, earnest · about memory and war · nonlinear

Also
Same director: Nobuhiko Obayashi
Via
  • melancholic
  • earnest
  • memory
  • war
  • nonlinear
Pacing
measured
Attention
demanding
Runtime
179 min
Details
Labyrinth of CinemaHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Rhapsody in August

1991

A quiet, contemplative summer where a family's gentle days stir deep memories of loss, ending in a storm of disorientation and grief.

Melancholic, earnest, slow-burn · about grief and memory · nonlinear

Via
  • melancholic
  • earnest
  • grief
  • memory
  • nonlinear
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Runtime
98 min
Details
Rhapsody in AugustHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Boy and the Heron

2023

A slow, dreamlike plunge into grief and wonder, where strange images linger and the heart quietly aches.

Same composer: Joe Hisaishi · Melancholic, warm, slow-burn · about grief and healing · nonlinear

Also
Same composer: Joe Hisaishi
Via
  • melancholic
  • warm
  • grief
  • healing
  • nonlinear
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
124 min
Details
The Boy and the HeronHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Hiroshima mon amour

1959

A hushed, hypnotic plunge into memory and grief, where fragments of the past keep surfacing through intimate conversation.

Melancholic, slow-burn · about grief and memory · nonlinear

Via
  • melancholic
  • grief
  • memory
  • nonlinear
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
92 min
Details
Hiroshima mon amourHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Island Closest to Heaven

1984

A gentle, wistful journey of grief and discovery, with a dreamy, sun-dappled atmosphere and a quiet emotional pull.

Same director: Nobuhiko Obayashi · Melancholic, warm, slow-burn · about grief and memory

Also
Same director: Nobuhiko Obayashi
Via
  • melancholic
  • warm
  • grief
  • memory
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Runtime
103 min
Details
The Island Closest to HeavenHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Nagasaki: Memories of My Son

2015

A quiet, tender ghost story that lingers in grief and memory, offering gentle warmth amid profound loss.

Melancholic, earnest, slow-burn · about grief and memory

Via
  • melancholic
  • earnest
  • grief
  • memory
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Runtime
130 min
Details
Nagasaki: Memories of My SonHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

In This Corner of the World

2016

A gentle, heartbreaking immersion into everyday life during wartime, where small acts of beauty and resilience make the inevitable losses almost unbearable.

Melancholic, earnest, slow-burn · about grief and war

Via
  • melancholic
  • earnest
  • grief
  • war
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Runtime
130 min
Details
In This Corner of the WorldHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

After Life

1999

A gentle, meditative film that unfolds like a quiet conversation, inviting you to reflect on memory and what makes a life meaningful.

Melancholic, earnest, slow-burn · about grief and memory · ensemble

Via
  • melancholic
  • earnest
  • grief
  • memory
  • ensemble
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
118 min
Details
After LifeHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Chizuko's Younger Sister

1991

A tender, bittersweet ghost story that lingers on family bonds and quiet heartbreak, blending gentle fantasy with raw adolescent emotion.

Same director: Nobuhiko Obayashi · Melancholic, earnest · about grief and healing · nonlinear

Also
Same director: Nobuhiko Obayashi
Via
  • melancholic
  • earnest
  • grief
  • healing
  • nonlinear
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
150 min
Details
Chizuko's Younger SisterHidden from your suggestions.
TV series

After the Quake

2025

A quiet, haunting watch that lingers in silences, blending everyday grief with strange, dreamlike moments that unsettle more than they explain.

Melancholic, earnest, slow-burn · about grief and memory · nonlinear

Via
  • melancholic
  • earnest
  • grief
  • memory
  • nonlinear
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Seasons
1
Details
After the QuakeHidden from your suggestions.

Where to watch in the UK

Rent or buy
  • Amazon Video

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
fantasy, drama, war
Directed by
Nobuhiko Obayashi
Written by
Nobuhiko Obayashi, Kôji Hasegawa
Starring
Yasuko Matsuyuki, Masahiro Takashima, Natsuki Harada, Minami Inomata, Saki Terashima, Toshio Kakei, Naoyuki Morita, Mansaku Ikeuchi
Music
Kosuke Yamashita, Joe Hisaishi
Cinematography
Hisaki Sanbongi, Yudai Kato
Runtime
160 min
Country
Japan
Languages
Japanese

TMDBIMDbLetterboxdWikipediaWikidata