Moonlight Shadow (2021) - full transcript

The sound of the bell...

keeps ringing in my ears.

That tinkling bell started everything.

So...

That sound is filled

with Hitoshi

and all our time together.

All the days and nights...

All the sun, rain, cloud, and snow...

The movies we saw.

The books we shared.



The fights we had.

Our smiles and our tears.

Our touches.

Our talks.

And I bet...

our secrets, too.

Ku?

Oh...

Gimme your hand.

There.

Oh, it's that charm?

It's good on you, Hitoshi.

Thank you.

I'll treasure it.



You better.

It's cute.

Look...

I have a little brother.
And he wants to meet you, Satsuki.

You have a brother?

Yep, Hiiragi.
He's three years younger.

That makes him seventeen?

Yep, a sophomore.

Hiiragi...?

And this Hiiragi wants to meet me?

I told him about you,
and he said he has to feed you.

"Feed" me?

Feeding people is
his special etiquette.

His etiquette...

You'll see.

See what?

- Oh, Hitoshi.
- Hiiragi.

I'm Satsuki.

I'm Yumiko.

I'm Hitoshi.

- Hi.
- Hi.

The river flows underground here.

You mean our river?

Yep, the one where we met.

But that's so far from here.

The river we see is just one part.

Subterranean rivers connect
like cobwebs underground.

This is a special place.

Where I live too?

I guess. Most of the town sits
above these rivers.

All this time, I had a river below me?

Few people know our town's secret.

I'm from here,
and I've never heard it.

See? People just don't know.

How come you do?

That's 'cuz Mitsuru told us.

Who's Mitsuru?

Mitsuru used to dig wells.
He's an old man now...

Hitoshi...

Can you help?

Sure, I'm coming.

I can help.

Me, too.

No need. Lunch will be ready soon.

All set.

I thank you for your company.

Bon appétit.

Thank you.

I heard, when you meet someone,
you like to "feed" them?

Yes, I do.

Why's that?

Watching someone eat,
I can see their deepest inside.

What?

So... you figured me out?

Pretty much.

What do you see?

I can't say.

C'mon, spill the beans.

You haven't told me, either.

Oh, really?

Same here.

You, too?

Basically, Hiiragi's not a guy
who'll disclose details.

Right?

Of course, not.

Dig in.

Here.

- Okay, it's good.
- Ready?

Here we go.

Go.

- We messed up.
- Uh-oh.

Using two's a bad idea.

The probability decreases.

You okay, Hiiragi?

It's too hard.

Yumiko...

How's it going?

I'm adding a balloon.
Could you blow it up?

Sure thing.

Let's put it here...

The balloon goes here.

So this is the start.

It's like a hammer.

Yumiko... ready?

I blew it.

Satsuki, it's started.

It's coming!

Way to go.

Go, go, go...

- It made it.
- It's working.

Nice!

Yes!

It stopped.

What's with you?

You conked out?

He'll sleep like a baby.
Let's call it a day.

He behaves like some little kid.

Wake up.

You'll catch a cold.

Wake up!

He's sound asleep.

What a funny face.

Moonlight Shadow Phenomenon

It's fishy.

The whole site is.

Not that Moonlight stuff, again?

It just came up naturally.

You're obsessed with it.

That's not true.

You were going on about a Shadow Guide
for two hours yesterday.

It's not like you're busy.

Well...

What's so special
about the Moonlight Shadow?

It's a miracle that's also
just a coincidence.

That's what makes me curious.

A miracle that's just a coincidence...

It's like throwing dice and getting
the same face 100 times in a row.

That's how you meet the dead?

Our daily lives are just
a chain of coincidences.

We live inside a miraculous balance.

And, the slightest thing
could disrupt that balance.

The reverse is also true.

If one cog in the Wheel of Fortune
engages another cog,

something might happen.

If the Moonlight Shadow's for real,
who'd you wanna meet?

For me,

it'd be my middle-school
science teacher, Mr. Baba.

I want to see him again.

Back when I was thirteen,

I was a very timid boy.

I had friends, but still,
I was pretty much a loner.

He watched out for me.

Like, he would eat lunch with me,
or do batting practice with me.

He really cared as a teacher,
and he loved his students.

He made me want to become
as caring a person as he was.

Yeah, I wanna see Mr. Baba again.

The Moonlight Shadow...

I am not a believer.

The one person I want to see
is next to me now.

I don't need the Moonlight Shadow.

If I could be reunited with anyone,

it'd be my grandparents
on my mother's side.

My mother didn't get along that well
with her parents.

They opposed her marriage.

So we barely saw each other.

She had me and got married
despite their disapproval.

I've always doubted
whether my grandparents loved me.

But they passed away young,
so I never found out.

I guess the Moonlight Shadow
would give me a chance,

even if it's a quick glimpse.

If I raise my collar and listen hard,

the surrounding noise
starts to fade away.

It all becomes sound particles.

I can feel the particles piling up
inside my body, little by little.

Then those particles begin to flow.

The current just starts.

It's like there's a river inside me.

Its flow swamps my body,
so I just surrender to it.

The time the four of us had together
was precious, too.

Yumiko would always say,

"I wanna hang out with you forever.
Don't ever break up with Hitoshi."

So I'd tease her, "What about you guys?"

"Never," she'd smile back.

He's devouring it.

It was going like this,
and I was sitting in front...

What Is the Moonlight Shadow Phenomenon?

Hotaru, you're studying abroad?

That's right. Starting this spring.

I'll miss you.

Come visit me!

Yeah, I will.

There's just one problem...

What's up?

I don't know what to do
with my apartment.

Your parents own it, right?

Yep, but nobody in my family
wants to live in Tokyo.

That's a nice problem to have.

Don't you think
it'd be perfect for you?

Me?

Or, maybe a couple with a cat?

You even got a telescope.

Yeah.

You have nice furniture.

It's all my brother's.
I wish I could change it.

That would cost a lot.

Exactly, I can't afford it.

Oh, I'll make some tea.

- Cool.
- Thanks.

Satsuki.

It's a nice offer, but how do you feel?

You love your place so much.

And big spaces make you lonely, right?

That's true, but...

Hitoshi,

I want us to start living together.

I don't need an answer now.

But...

everything's falling into place.

Maybe now's the right time.

That's what I feel.

And that bridge...

The bridge that parted us forever.

Look. It's beautiful.

Thanks. Today was so lovely.

Yep. I'll call you tomorrow.

Bye.

I'll call you tomorrow.

I've had the same nightmare ever since.

I run after him as he crosses,
trying to bring him back.

Satsuki...

What's up, calling me so late?

Hiiragi, what's wrong?

An accident...

There was an accident...

What accident?

Are you okay? What happened?

It's 'cuz I conked out.

Hiiragi? What're you saying?

Hitoshi drove Yumiko home.

And they both...

died...

Yumiko used to do this.

Did she ever show you?

The river thing, too?

The river flowing in your body.

Sound particles.

Could it flow inside me, too?

I need to try.

Well?

I guess everyone's got a river inside.

But since it's usually hidden deep,

it's tough to find.

I'll have to try other ways.

I wonder what Hitoshi's river was like.

She and I wore each other's clothes.

It was hard to keep stuff separate.

This uniform?

Everyone accepts me with this.

Because it's your "therapy"?

Without this,

I would go insane.

But it's bad for the uniform.

Why's that?

Yumiko would be upset.

She loved clothes.

Is your "therapy" working?

I finally learned how to breathe.

Is it easier to run now?

I don't need it easy.

How about some bread?
Freshly baked.

Do you wanna eat?

I asked if you wanted to.

Thank you.

But not now.

You haven't been eating...

I don't have any appetite.

I knew it.

You can tell that?

I don't know about others.

But I saw you eat my cabbage rolls.

To me, it's apparent.

I forgot what it's like to eat.

I'm going this way.

Satsuki.

We should go see Mitsuru.

Mitsuru?

The well-digger.

The one who told you about the aquifer.

Yes.

Shall we go hear his river story?

Sure, let's.

There was one time
when the well water burnt.

I'm not joking.

We lit a match near the water
and it caught fire.

It stunk to high heaven.

Some idiots drank it and died.

Let me explain. You see...

There was oil mixed in with the water.

Some got excited we'd struck oil,
but that wasn't the case.

Fuel for the warplanes
was leaking on base.

The wells are all connected.
So the whole town suffered.

All polluted.

Everyone needs water.
The townsfolk were upset.

But the jerks told us
to keep our mouths shut.

We had no other choice.

The well-diggers united in action.

We dug for water from a deeper source.

We kept digging...

We went some 150 meters deep.

We hit it.

We found such clear, pure water.

But it, too, was river water.

All our water is connected

deeper than you could ever imagine.

Right, Urara?

Are you collecting voices?

I don't collect them.
I just listen to the voices I meet.

What happens to those voices?

Nothing, really.

Well, maybe I should say...

it depends what each voice wants.

Each voice...

has its own will,
independent of the speaker.

Sometimes, it leads me.

Here you go.

Thank you.

Here.

What's the matter?

I just felt...

It's so beautiful.

It tastes good, too.
And the temperature's perfect.

Why don't you release your voice?

You can talk about anything.

Or nothing at all.

Follow your voice.

The sound of the bell...

keeps ringing in my ears.

That tinkling bell started everything.

So...

That sound is filled

with Hitoshi

and all our time together.

All the days and nights...

All the sun, rain, cloud, and snow...

The movies we saw.

The books we shared.

The fights we had.

Our smiles and our tears.

Our touches.

Our talks.

And I bet...

our secrets, too.

But...

that sound...

exists only in my mind.

I'm hungry.

Huh?

What...

My gosh.

My stomach feels so empty.

Bon appétit.

My folks want to meet you.

They wanna talk about Hitoshi.

I bet they do.

They asked me to ask you.

Thanks.

Actually...

I told them you'd visit
when the time was right.

Thanks. You're sweet.

Believe it or not,
I am Hitoshi's brother.

Have you heard about
the Moonlight Shadow?

What is it?

At twilight after a full moon,
the dead can rejoin you.

But it's not that easy.

The conditions have to all line up.

First, you have to be near a river.

And most people don't even notice.

To be honest...

I don't really get it.

But I can't stop thinking about it.

Why ask me?

Because we've heard...

the Moonlight Shadow needs a guide.

I've got something to tell you.

The day after tomorrow,
meet me by the bridge before daybreak.

What?

There'll likely be one
under the next full moon.

You mean...

Nothing is certain.

But if it's going to happen,
it will be then.

Your next chance might be

a hundred years later.

Hiiragi?

Since you're suggesting it,
I'm confident it will happen.

Even so,

I've got no desire to see her.

Why not?

Because...

she'll never forgive me.

I must remind you nothing is certain.

It's nothing more than a possibility.

But...

to see her, you must come.

I understand.

Hiiragi.

Satsuki, sorry.

Let me be alone.

I want him to come see me.

And prove it to me.

After he was gone,

I realized I didn't know
very much about him.

The more I try to know,

the more the unknown part grows.

And I'm left knowing nothing.

But, I did my best in my own way
to stay by his side.

I wonder how he felt.

If he could,

I want him to show that to me.

I'm surprised

you're so greedy.

I don't care.

I mean...

how can you not be greedy
for someone you love?

Take care.

Thanks.

Remember when we decided
to wait one year before moving in?

I was too embarrassed to say so,

but I wanted to leap for joy.

I was ready to move in the next day.

But back then, Hiiragi wasn't
doing so well psychologically.

He takes every little thing
so seriously, right?

I kept the balance in our family.

And Hiiragi barely left my side.

But thanks to Yumiko,
he was becoming more stable.

I thought maybe in a year
we could start living together.

I was so excited.

From time to time,

I recall the conversation we had.

I wish we'd had more time alone.

Making some coffee,

sitting like this...

we'd just stare outside.

Ku, where's the bell?

Hello?

Did you catch a cold?

You're in pain.

Don't talk. Just listen.

A fever means it's the hardest time.

Maybe harder than death.

But it never gets much worse.
Each person has their limit.

You'll have a fever again and again.

The same hardship may overwhelm you.

But if you stay strong, you'll be fine.

That's how things work.

I came to tell you that.

Sleep tight.

Look! Something's down there.

There! You see them?

Wow, you're right.

Did they pass out?

Maybe they drifted here?

Come on! No way!

No?

Hello?

They woke up.

They're up!

Good morning!

Good morning.

They see us now.

Are they okay?

Bye-bye.

See you around.

See you.

Hitoshi,

I can't stay here any longer.

I keep moving forward step by step.

You see...

It's the flow of time
you can never stop.

I take my leave.

One caravan ends,
and another begins.

People I can see again.

People I can never see again.

People I meet, not realizing.

People I just pass by...

As I greet each of them,

things get clearer and clearer.

I see the river flowing,

and I move on in life.

May the shadow of that younger me...

always stay by your side.

That I pray.

Satsuki: Nana Komatsu

Hitoshi: Hio Miyazawa

Hiiragi: Himi Sato

Yumiko: Nana Nakahara

Urara: Asami Usuda

Based on the original novella "Moonlight Shadow" by Banana Yoshimoto,
published in Kitchen. © 1988 by Banana Yoshimoto. All rights reserved.

Screenplay by Tomoyuki Takahashi

Directed by Edmund Yeo

English Subtitles by
Ayumi Kageyama & Jonathan M. Hall