This film hits me in a way that feels very personal. The first TV drama I watched, about ten or twelve years ago, was Byakuyako, starring Haruka Ayase and Takayuki Yamada, which also starred Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World. Although she played the 'villain' in the first one, I really, really fell in love with her. I loved everything about her and fantasized about going to Japan years later and meeting her by fate. It's embarrassing, but I’ve identified with the feeling of Kenji watching Princess Miyuki through the screen. Damn, he even had the chance to be with her, fall in love, and have his love returned as well.

The plot might be a bit cliché, but they just don’t make films like this anymore. Although it’s Japanese, the film draws many references and inspirations from Western cinema (Audrey Hepburn herself), even in the way it portrays and understands love. But all in all, I loved it.

I love you, Haruka Ayase. I hope that one day you’ll see through the camera screen the admiration I feel for you. You, or one of your alter egos.