Adapted from the best-selling novel by Takafumi Nanatsuki, this movie shares a similar thematic concern as the 2016 hit anime movie “Your Name”. However, unlike the anime movie, “My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday” felt long-drawn, rendering the effect of its potential ending sequence to be less than climactic.
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The movie features reputable stars Nana Komatsu in the role of a 20 years old student, Emi Fukuju and Sota Fukushi in the role of Minamiyama Takatoshi, a visual arts undergraduate who falls in love at first sight with the former. The premise of the movie may seem slightly oversaturated or melodramatic, considering the couple's mutual attraction and interest in each other. It may even seem a bit too automatic for both of them to be so interested, just as the movie portrays them to be. However, the clairvoyant or sceptical audience would have had a hunch that something is not right and surely, this was where the movie picks up its momentum.
The movie wastes no time diving into the romance between Takatoshi and Emi, while hinting at the possible misdirection it would take in the foreseeable future. These small little hints, most apparent in the intermittent yet regular cries of Emi are a gem in the movie. Others include several foreshadowing scenes such as Takatoshi's story of how he was saved by a woman when he was five, the slip-up by Emi when she revealed her recipe for Beef Stew, as well as the blue pocketbook she carries with her. These little instances of foreshadowing play a pivotal role in pre-empting the main secret that is to come. What's more, the fact that they were sprinkled with a tinge of humanity and feelings made these scenes rather painful to watch in retrospect.
In addition, the chemistry between both characters is well-developed. Although it might seem strange that both characters seemed automatically attracted to each other and hence, unnatural, this would all resolve itself when we learnt that the story revolves around the thread of fate and how it ties two characters who do not know each other. The story explores this concept very carefully, and if not for the extra screen time given to the recollection of Emi, the movie would have affected a more poignant and impactful ending. That being said, this was the weakness here, mainly that it overstayed its welcome. Naturally, the audience may have yearned for more interaction time for the couple but to stretch this out into a repetition of vignettes that last for more than five minutes seemed to suggest that the director, Takahiro Miki ran out of ideas. Otherwise, although the last portion was still rather impactful, it was, on the whole, quite unnecessary.
In essence, “My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday” ties together the premises of fate and love very strongly and looks at it in ways that one can only describe as “Japanese”. However, what seemed like a strong premise was distilled towards the end due to the movie's seeming reluctant to let go of the story or its obstinance in wanting to prolong and explain what could not be explained. Sota Fukushi played a schoolboy figure very well while Nana Komatsu shines with her telling eyes and vulnerable yet resilient psyche. The soundtrack was a great complement and the movie also strikes one with its memorable theme song by the rock band, Back Number. However, it was too long for its own good and this delay inevitably hampered the quality of the movie as a whole. Indeed, sometimes, it is better to let go what needs to be let go.
