It was a blessing to see The Invitation from Cinema Orion by Kenki Saegusa as the last film of my weekend film marathon. After five films in less than 48 hours, anything heavier than this one could be the last straw.

The film is about a Platonic love between a young man and a widow. The young man came to the cinema, hoping to see a movie but did not have enough money. The wife, who was then running the cinema with her husband, decided to let the young see the movie for free. After the movie, the young man pleaded to the couple, asking them to take him in as an assistant or trainee. That was how the story started.

I remember that night when my classmate and his wife came to have a dinner with me at the Miami South Beach. After the dinner, we took a walk along the streets that were full of night clubs and restaurants. In the middle of the sidewalk, stood a couple who were embracing and kissing each other. "That is the expression of love. Do you see this often in Taiwan?" asked my classmate's wife. "Of course not!" I replied almost spontaneously. More precisely, I did see that a few times on the streets in Taiwan, and it seemed to be increasingly frequent. Nevertheless, my response was a highlight of cultural differences.

There are different ways to express love. In this Japanese "pure-love" film, the love between the young man and the widow was expressed with their dedication to keep the cinema running for forty years, after the young man lost his mentor and the widow lost her husband.

See also:

• Official Site (Japanese)