Threads of Destiny

Genre: Romance, Drama
Language: Japanese
Director: Shousuke Murakami (Train Man)
Cast: Nao Minamisawa, Junpei Mizobata (Dive!!), Ryo Kimura (Sugar & spice)
Runtime: 108 min

Official Site: http://www.akai-ito.jp/

Plot:

Mutually attracted Tokyo teens Mei and Atsushi share the rare birthday of Feb. 29. Their romance is about to blossom during a school trip to Nagasaki when Atsushi is called home to care for his alcoholic mom. Consequently, the abandoned Mei takes up with Atsushi's possessive rival, Riku, to disastrous effect.

Watched the movie on 2 July evening @ Cathay Cineleisure with Sylvia.

A pure-love（纯爱）movie. Based on a Japanese mobile novel, I assumed it could be the author's true story since the lead female's name is the same as the author's.

The backdrop is a middle school, where teenagers are exploring their love. However, this young couple believed they are destined to be bond since they shared the same birthday, a date that comes only once in 4 years. They described their destiny as the red string of fate. Originating from Chinese legend, "the red string of fate" myth states that the gods tie an invisible string around the ankles of men and women who are destined to be soul mates and will one day marry each other.

The male lead, Junpei Mizobata, reminds me of a Korean actor - Lee Wan. Both shares the sad dopey look. He mentioned about a person will meet 30,000 person in his whole lifetime, 3000 in school and work, 300 become friends. Have I met my quota?

The pace of the movie seems swift but certain parts was not very clear. Another impression was a classmate who took her life by jumping off the roof, ended up losing her memories instead, seems quite unrealistic.

ah-deng says: 3 / 5 Yet to find another person who share the exact same birthday as me, although I know quite a few who have birthdays near me. Bonding...