Always: Sunset on Third Street (2005)

No film in 2005 had a higher profile in Japan than Always - Sunset On Third Street, scooping twelve out of a possible thirteen awards at the Japanese Academy Awards in March 2006. The film uses a combination of elaborately constructed sets and cutting edge CGI work to recreate Tokyo in the 1950s. It is a heartfelt, nostalgic look back at a time when the country was changing and developing, soon to experience an economic boom that would forever alter Japanese culture. YesAsia Editorial Description

Always - Sunset on Third Street isn't particularly innovative when it comes to plot or characterization, but it is an effective melodrama, and in its affectionate and intricate recreation of postwar Tokyo, it's a technological marvel. Of course, its sepia-toned vision is romanticized, with even the churlish, arrogant candy shop owner/poet Chagawa, introduced urgently filling out losing raffle tickets with the words "No Luck" for the local children, eventually coming around to the power of love and sacrifice. His storyline has a good deal of emotional resonance, and it's far more carefully developed than that of Mutsuko, the country girl who comes to the city to find her fortune, and initially has problems with the Suzuki family at their auto repair shop. Director Yamazaki is not really about subtlety and restraint. He's a bit of a fantasist. The neighborhood tapestry he weaves has a few holes in it, but the movie still works on that "gut" level, as he pushes all the right buttons with crowd-pleasing aplomb. Josh Ralske, ALLMOVIE