Crying out Love, in the Center of the World
begins by showing a typhoon approaching Shikoku, Japan.
And during this worsening weather,
a woman named Ritsuko Fujimura found a tape in her old jacket while cleaning up her new apartment.
She vaguely recognized the tape
but didn't know how it got inside the jacket she wore when she was little.
So, out of curiosity, Ritsuko bought a walkman at a shop to listen to its contents.
And sure enough, she recognized the voice of the person who recorded the tape,
which turned out to contain the audio diary of a teenage girl.
The diary is very short,
with the girl on the tape claiming that she can't sleep for fear of tomorrow.
She was afraid that she would die when tomorrow came.
And for some reason, Ritsuko's tears ran
down her cheeks when she heard that as if the girl's words evoked some kind of regret in her.
She felt she had to do something to get rid of that regret.
And so, Ritsuko rushed back
to her apartment and wrote a note on a slip of paper for her fianc , Sakutaro Matsumoto.
In that message, she wrote that she was going away for a while, so he didn't have to worry about her.
Sometime later, Sakutaro, or Saku for short,
found Ritsuko's notes as soon as he got home from work,
and he immediately realized something was wrong with her.
But in the end, he decided to wait for her to come home,
and for the time being, he would go out to eat at the cafe run by his friend.
He was starving, after all, and it was time for dinner.
Arriving at the cafe,
Saku told his friend about Ritsuko's disappearance,
and his friend felt a little worried.
He suggested that Saku call her quickly if she got into trouble,
and Saku finally agreed.
But just as he called her, his friend asked him to see the news on television.
To his surprise, Saku saw Ritsuko caught on television
as she walked behind the reporter reporting on the typhoon that was approaching Shikoku.
The reporter was at Takamatsu Airport,
and Saku had a hunch that she would most likely go
to their hometown if she was at the airport.
And so, without waiting for the food to be prepared,
he went to follow Ritsuko to their hometown.
The scene then rewinds to the past, in 1986,
when Saku was still in high school.
One day that year, he attended the funeral of his headmaster.
However, he paid little attention to the funeral procession,
as he was completely drawn to the student in charge of being a eulogy reader,
Aki Hirose, the school's famous athlete.
He was really fascinated by her.
It's just that they weren't that close even though they were classmates.
And the opportunity to talk to her finally came when one day, while Saku was pushing his motorbike
after school, he passed Aki, sitting leisurely on the steps of a temple.
However, it wasn't him who started the conversation, but her.
She even casually sat in the back seat of his motorbike,
asking him to take her to the river bank.
And although he initially pretended to be annoyed with her behavior,
he was willing to take her.
There, the two of them were engaged in conversation,
and Aki was very casual with him as if they had known each other for a long time.
Saku, of course,
wondered why a popular girl seemed to want to talk to an ordinary boy like him
and even asked him to ride her.
But the answer she gave really surprised him.
It was because she had wanted to talk to him from the start.
It's just that she's never had a chance all this time.
And she finally found a good
chance when she saw him pushing the motorbike in front of her.
Since then, they have grown closer and have even started traveling together on Saku's motorbike.
Saku and Aki like to visit the photo studio owned by Saku's uncle,
Shigezou, who turns out to be the ex-boyfriend of their late principal.
In fact, she was Shigezou's first love, and he still loves her to this day. Hearing
the shocking story, Saku and Aki became curious how he could love the same person for 50 years,
even though he was not her husband. They thought it was beautiful and romantic, but still, they
were curious. And that's why they asked Shigezou to tell them. He was willing to tell them his life
story, but it wasn't free. He only wanted to tell it if they took the bones of the late headmaster
from the grave and gave them to him. Despite their reluctance, curiosity overcame their fear.
So Saku and Aki set off for the graveyard in the middle of the night to carry out Uncle Shigezou's
task. Luckily, they managed to complete the task and provide the principal's bones,
though they were almost caught by a couple who chose to date in the graveyard for some reason.
Then, one day, after they saw an expensive walkman on display in a shop window, Aki challenged
Saku to send stories to a local radio station. Radio listeners love romance or tragic stories,
and the station will even give a walkman prize to the winner whose story is chosen to be read.
Saku accepted the challenge, and his letter was selected for the radio announcer to read.
However, he chose a treacherous way to win. He made up the story that his friend,
who was chosen to play the main character in a school play, had leukemia. And he was sad
because his friend would never be able to perform on stage because of her illness. Incidentally,
Aki was chosen by her classmates a few days earlier to play Juliet in the school play.
Of course, she was angry when she heard Saku win the walkman by making up a story like that. She
wouldn't even talk to him when they met at school. But as time passed, her anger subsided a little,
though Aki still didn't want to talk to Saku directly for fear of her anger erupting. So
instead, she gave him a tape which contained the reasons why she was so mad at him. Realizing his
mistake, Saku apologized to Aki the next day. She had actually forgiven him even though she didn't
say it outright. Instead, she told him to imitate what she did by recording his thoughts on tape.
Since then, they have started exchanging messages using tape. And through the tape, Saku finally
confesses his feelings to Aki and asks her to be his girlfriend. Without having to think twice, she
accepted his confession. She always wanted to be his girlfriend. Back to the present, Saku finally
arrives at his family's house, and the first thing he does as soon as he arrives is to look
for the tapes from Aki. Then, while listening to the tapes, he started to visit the places where he
had spent time with her. It turned out that even after dating, they still often exchanged tapes. At
first, Aki filled the tapes by introducing herself to Saku because she felt he still didn't know much
about her. He still doesn't even know when is her birthday or what is her favorite movie.
However, on the tape, dated August 25, Aki fills the recording with her experience when she went
on vacation to an uninhabited island with Saku. At that time, the teenage Saku and Aki found an old
camera in an abandoned hotel. And interestingly, the camera still has an undeveloped film in it.
They took the camera home, hoping to find some amazing photos inside. However, when their friend
came to pick them up the next day by boat, Aki suddenly fell unconscious with blood pouring from
her nose. Panic, Saku, and his friend immediately took her to the main island, and then as soon as
they arrived, his friend went to call Aki's father to pick her up. Her father was angry that she
was going with a boy. Moreover, she didn't tell him she was going to an uninhabited island. So,
before taking Aki to the hospital, Aki's father felt the need to vent his anger by hitting Saku.
Back in the present, Saku goes to his old school while listening to Aki's recording
after she returns from the uninhabited island. Through the recording, she tells him how angry and
disappointed her parents are in her. Even so, she was happy to spend time with him in a new place,
especially since she had never traveled far from her house. Saku kept walking through the school
listening to the recordings until he finally set foot in the gym, where Aki had once played
the piano for him and where she told him about her illness, which was why she fainted on the island.
Like the story Saku sent to the radio station, it turns out that Aki has leukemia.
But she was sure she wouldn't die of the disease and wanted him to believe it. Unbeknownst to him,
Ritsuko was at school now, and she saw how Saku was immersed in listening to Aki's recording. But
she decided not to bother him and chose to leave the school. At this time, the typhoon was getting
closer. Heavy rain and winds hit the city, forcing Ritsuko to take shelter in Shigezou's studio.
But it was there that she saw a photo of young Saku and Aki wearing wedding clothes. Shigezou
claims to have taken the photo shortly before Aki's death. Aki was eager to be photographed
before she died because she didn't want to be forgotten. At least people can remember her
if they see her photo. The scene returned to the past when Aki was hospitalized due to her illness.
And coincidentally, Ritsuko's mother was admitted to the same hospital, and even their rooms were
close. That's why Ritsuko became acquainted with Aki, and they quickly became friends,
close enough to make Ritsuko want to take her tapes to Saku's shoe locker regularly.
She also took the camera Aki found on the island to Shigezou and asked him to develop the old
films in it. It turned out that the camera was storing photos of Uluru in Australia.
Aki was so fascinated by the photos when Ritsuko brought them to her. So when Saku visits her,
Aki enthusiastically shows him the photos, explaining that the aborigines regard Uluru
as a sacred place. She considered Uluru sacred and even viewed it as the center of the world.
That's why she wanted to go there one day. Hearing all these explanations, Saku responded simply:
He promised to take her there later. But then, Aki and Saku realize that they don't have passports.
So they went to Shigezou's studio to take photos for their passports. At this time, after her photo
was taken, Aki saw many wedding photos on the studio wall, and she wanted herself and Saku
to be photographed like the bride and groom. She wants people to remember her as beautiful as in
the photo, with a wedding dress wrapped around her body. So, the two of them changed their clothes
into suits and wedding dresses. Uncle Shigezou didn't mind lending them the wedding dress because
he owed them a favor. And from then on, a photo of Aki and Saku in wedding attire was displayed in
Uncle Shigezou's studio. After returning from the studio, Saku escorted Aki to the hospital lobby.
But just as she climbed the stairs to the floor where her room was, she ran downstairs again
and hugged him while sobbing. One of her friends who suffered from leukemia recently died,
although he still looks fine this morning. And now Aki was afraid that she would die suddenly
like her friend. Some time passed, and Aki's condition worsened. She lost all her hair and
had to be transferred to a sterile ward. Seeing how pitiful she was from the gap in the door,
Saku felt that he would not be able to face her at this time. So he closed the door to her room,
got out of the hospital, and cried his heart out. After Saku calmed down, he returned to
the hospital with a piece of paper. Since they were now not allowed physical contact, he showed
the paper by sticking it on the screen. It was a marriage permit application document. He wanted
to propose to Aki. But before they get married, he wants to fulfill his promise by taking her
to Uluru. And he knew he didn't have much time to fulfill his promise. So the next night, Saku came
to pick Aki up despite the typhoon approaching Shikoku and then took her to the airport by taxi.
Unfortunately, when they arrived at the airport, they found that all flights had been canceled due
to the typhoon. It made Saku's anger explode, and he unwittingly let go of Aki's hand so he
could protest to the airport staff. But then, while venting his anger on the poor officer, Aki
collapsed. Seeing that, he rushed back to her and promised he would take her to Uluru another time.
But she knew there wouldn't be another time, and her sadness returned when she remembered that she
had only a short time left. Her tears flowed down, and then, with the last of her strength,
she said she was still alive as if she wanted to remind herself. After that, her eyes closed,
and she fell unconscious, forcing Saku to take her back to the hospital. Upon returning to the
hospital, Aki records her last tape, the same one Ritsuko heard at the film's beginning.
In the recording, she does open her diary by showing her fear in the face of inevitable death.
But at the end, she closes the diary by expressing her gratitude for being allowed to get to know
Saku, and she really enjoys every time she spends with him. She wished she could dream of what he
would look like in the future when she fell asleep that night. Then, after finishing the recording,
Aki gave the tape to little Ritsuko, asking her to give it to Saku. But little Ritsuko was
not careful while crossing the road, resulting in her being hit by a car. In the end, she failed to
deliver the tape to Saku, and her leg was crippled due to the accident. Ritsuko feels guilty after
finding the tape at the film's beginning, which is why she returns to her hometown to look for
Aki. When she was little, she didn't know that Aki was dying or that Aki was Saku's girlfriend.
She didn't even know that the person Aki sent the cassette to was named Sakutaro Matsumoto.
Therefore, after discovering everything, Ritsuko called Saku and apologized to him for failing
to deliver Aki's last tape. He did the same. He apologizes to her for not looking for her after
she disappeared. He wanted to make up for it. He asked where she was now so he could pick her up.
Saku then rushed as fast as he could to Shigezou's studio. But when he got there,
he found only Shigezou alone. Ritsuko had gone to the airport, and she left Aki's tape to Shigezou
so he could give it to Saku. Being in the studio made Saku's sweet memories of Aki come back,
especially after he saw his photo with her. He confessed to Shigezou that he could never forget
Aki and hated himself for it. He was no longer a teenager. Now he has a fianc , but he still
keeps thinking about another woman, a long-dead woman. Here, Shigezou tried to comfort him,
saying that when someone they love dies, the memory of that person will surely stick in
the memory like a stubborn stain. But that doesn't mean they can't untie their bond with that person.
After all, those still alive had to move on with their lives. Shigezou himself chose to
remain single because he believed he would be reunited with the principal when he died.
But it's different with Saku. He most likely won't die anytime soon. He is young, and he has a fianc
waiting for him. And so, keeping Shigezou's words in mind, Saku rushed to the airport,
where he later reunited with Ritsuko. Luckily all flights were canceled due to the typhoon,
leaving her stuck there. Ritsuko, however, keeps apologizing as soon as she meets Saku, so he has
to calm her down by hugging her. He didn't blame her for not delivering Aki's last tape. Instead,
he was the one who felt guilty because he still couldn't move from Aki. But he promised he would
release the bonds that bound him with her. And he needed to do one thing to fulfill that promise.
At the end of the film, Saku and Ritsuko are seen visiting Uluru, where he then listens to Aki's
final recording. Turns out Aki slipped a request in her message to Saku: she wanted her ashes to be
scattered in the center of the world. And now, Saku and Ritsuko had come here to fulfill her
last wish. The moral that can be learned from this movie is simple: if you cross a street,
look around you. If there are vehicles, wait for them to pass before you cross. But seriously,
this movie illustrates how impossible it is for people to forget their loved ones. All we can
do is try to forget our relationship with them. Even though that is not something easy to do.