A Tribute to Takeuchi Yuko Kenta, a young pianist who has just lost his job, is drowning his woes at a bar when he meets a man in a Hawaiian shirt named Yamaki. He invites Kenta to work with him, and the next thing he knows, Kenta wakes up to find himself in a room he has never been in before. It is a strange room that seems to have no connection to life. He descends a staircase to find many shelves of books. Yamaki appears once again and tells him that this is Heaven's Book Service, and Kenta is going to start working a short-term, part-time job here. In addition to selling books, this bookstore, owned by Yamaki, provides a service of reading aloud to customers. Although he is unsure of his new surroundings, Kenta follows their actions and starts to work in his new part-time job. Edit Translation
- English
- 中文(简体)
- Español
- magyar / magyar nyelv
- Native Title: 天国の本屋～恋火
- Also Known As: Tengoku no Honya~Koibi
- Screenwriter & Director: Shinohara Tetsuo
- Screenwriter: Inukai Kyoko
- Genres: Romance, Drama, Fantasy
Cast & Credits
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![Takeuchi Yuko in Heaven's Bookstore Japanese Movie (2004)]( "Takeuchi Yuko in Heaven's Bookstore Japanese Movie (2004)")
Takeuchi Yuko Main Role -
![Tamayama Tetsuji in Heaven's Bookstore Japanese Movie (2004)]( "Tamayama Tetsuji in Heaven's Bookstore Japanese Movie (2004)")
Tamayama TetsujiKentaMain Role -
![Karina in Heaven's Bookstore Japanese Movie (2004)]( "Karina in Heaven's Bookstore Japanese Movie (2004)")
KarinaYuiSupport Role -
![Arai Hirofumi in Heaven's Bookstore Japanese Movie (2004)]( "Arai Hirofumi in Heaven's Bookstore Japanese Movie (2004)")
Arai HirofumiSatoshiSupport Role -
![Harada Yoshio in Heaven's Bookstore Japanese Movie (2004)]( "Harada Yoshio in Heaven's Bookstore Japanese Movie (2004)")
Harada YoshioYamakiSupport Role -
![Takeshima Yasunari in Heaven's Bookstore Japanese Movie (2004)]( "Takeshima Yasunari in Heaven's Bookstore Japanese Movie (2004)")
Takeshima Yasunari[Bookstore customer]Support Role
Reviews
Good vibes but lacks bite
This fantasy movie is about closure for the deceased, and moving on for the living. It is also about a pianist who discovers his reason for living by the end of the movie. Romance is auxiliary.MC was forcefully recruited to work in Heaven, a place where the dead were waiting for their rebirths. After settling in, he met a female pianist and learnt of her past. ML had a lingering regret after her death. As the two became friends, they worked to resolve this last regret of hers. The romance element in this movie was between the ML and her boyfriend who was still alive. Herein lay the problem!
The movie gave good vibes from start to finish. However, there wasn't any attempt to engage emotionally with the audience at any point in time. I was not emotionally invested throughout the movie. ML's love-story with her boyfriend was only sketched out in flashbacks and the boyfriend's character was not fleshed out. The romance element was only auxiliary in the plot and it seemed as if ML's love-story was recited out of necessity to explain her regret.
In my opinion, the plot would have been much better if ML and MC had a budding romance with the complete omission of the boyfriend character. The ending would still end with the same hope (but a lot more poignant) with the same final scene/act in the movie. This was a missed opportunity for a good romance movie!
Acting and the piano music in the movie were good.
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