Memories of Tomorrow

Memories of Tomorrow (Japanese: 明日の記憶, Hepburn: Ashita no Kioku) is a 2006 Japanese drama film starring Ken Watanabe and Kanako Higuchi, and directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi. The film is based on a novel of the same title published by Hiroshi Ogiwara in 2004. Toei Company released the film on May 13, 2006, in Japan,^[1] where it was a financial success.^[2] Watanabe won multiple awards for his performance in the film.^[3]

Directed byYukihiko Tsutsumi

Screenplay by

Hakaru Sunamoto
Uiko Miura^[1]

Based onAshita no Kioku
by Hiroshi Ogiwara

Produced by

Jun Sakagumi
Tatsuo Kawamura^[1]

Quick facts Directed by, Screenplay by ...

Memories of Tomorrow
Film poster
Directed by	Yukihiko Tsutsumi
Screenplay by	Hakaru Sunamoto Uiko Miura^[1]
Based on	Ashita no Kioku by Hiroshi Ogiwara
Produced by	Jun Sakagumi Tatsuo Kawamura^[1]
Starring	Ken Watanabe Kanako Higuchi Kenji Sakaguchi Kazue Fukiishi Asami Mizukawa
Cinematography	Satoru Karasawa^[1]
Edited by	Nobuyuki Ito^[1]
Music by	Michiru Ōshima^[1]
Distributed by	Toei Company^[1]
Release dates	May 13, 2006 (2006-05-13) (Japan) May 10, 2007 (2007-05-10) (United States) ^[1]
Running time	122 minutes^[1]
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Box office	¥2.2 billion^[2]

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Plot

The film begins by showing the inevitable outcome of the events of the film: the viewer is shown a scene of a man who is disabled by Alzheimer's disease, set in 2010. The story proper begins by switching back to an earlier stage in the life of the man, Masayuki Saeki in 2004. Masayuki Saeki is a brilliant and successful advertising company executive. Saeki is shown to be a prime example of an ideal Japanese white-collar worker. He is strict, well organized, hard working, devoted to his job, and sets very high standards for himself and his subordinates. However he is soon shocked to realize that he is failing to meet up to his perfect standards. He starts inexplicably forgetting things - appointments, details of his work, and his knowledge of the layout of Tokyo. Following this he is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, to which he reacts with great anger, disbelief and despair. What follows through the rest of the film is a tragic, emotional and very human portrayal of the suffering and the decline of this once powerful, soaring man to that of a pitiful state that resembles a second childhood as the disease wears him down. As the years pass, his memory worsens. He leaves work, and lives at home, where he is cared for by his devoted wife, Emiko. Inevitably, tensions surface between Masayuki and his wife and daughter, and it reaches the point where Emiko's life revolves around taking care of her debilitated husband.

Cast

Ken Watanabe as Masayuki Saeki^[4]
Kanako Higuchi as Emiko Saeki
Kenji Sakaguchi as Naoya Ito
Kazue Fukiishi as Rie Saeki
Asami Mizukawa as Keiko Ikuno
Noritake Kinashi as Shigeyuki Kizaki
Mitsuhiro Oikawa as Takehiro Yoshida
Eriko Watanabe as Kimiko Hamano
Teruyuki Kagawa as Atsushi Kawamura

Release

Memories of Tomorrow was released by Toei Company on May 13, 2006, in Japan.^[1] The film was a financial success, grossing ¥2.2 billion at the box office.^[2]

Reception

Roger Ebert praised the film, awarding it 3.5 out of 4 stars and writing, "The movie isn’t structured like a melodrama, but reflects a slow fading of the light. There are moments of almost unbearable sadness, as in what he reveals to a nurse at the end of a tour of a nursing home. And we observe the indifference of the company where he has been a salaryman all his life: Yes, thanks for your contribution, now go quietly, please, and don’t let the clients know. Some films on Alzheimer’s attempt to show an upside. I don’t think there is an upside. At least with cancer you get to be yourself until you die."^[4]