Clock Store's Girl - Tokeiya no Musume Special (Japanese Movie w. English Sub - All Region DVD)

Technical aspects first as they might be of some interest:- Picture quality: as good as can be for a T.V. movie I think. Two small flaws though: First: During the movie on two occasions some kanji (Japanese signs) are show for a few seconds (I couldn't translate what they meant, maybe film credits, maybe written commercials), they did slightly distract me from following the movie during the few seconds of their appearance. Second: In the upper right corner of the frame the TBS logo is shown throughout the movie, however not in an annoying way as it's small and transparent. After a few seconds I didn't even take notice of it anymore.Sound quality: Good, but every ten minutes or so the sound goes away for a split second. But that didn't bother me either.Subtitles: You can choose between four options: no subtitles, Chinese, simplified Chinese, English. About the latter: Timing, readability, grammar and translation are excellent.Why these little flaws didn't bother me ? Because the film is so good!True, it's a sentimental story, but told in an honest way. There's no syrup oozing out. The atmosphere is calm, the soundtrack piano music is unobtrusive.Praise be to the two main actors, Erika Sawajiri and Jun Kunimura , who are present throughout the film, i.e. they are in almost every scene from start to finish. So if you are fans of them, this is the film for you to watch and enjoy. As the movie's style in terms of film language is very tame and mainstream, it is the ability of these two actors this film fully relies upon, and does rightfully so. They perform in an outstanding way. Kunimura plays this grumpy yet vulnerable old man very skilfully and sensibly, using subtle shifts in his facial expressions to great effect. Sawajiri, as always, is a sight for sore eyes (and she remains fully clothed here). What impressed me: She plays her part in such a natural, unaffected way, her character is so sympathetic, you just have to like her, yet not so long ago she played quite the opposite character in "Helter Skelter", and to me she was absolutely convincing in both movies.The price for this DVD was quite high, and first I hesitated to buy as there weren't any comments to be found on this film, neither here nor on imdb. But I took heart and bought the "pig in a poke". Now I'm happy and just wanted to share this experience with those who maybe still hesitate.