Natsu no niwa: The Friends (1994)

Three sixth-grade boys in Kobe, curious about death after attending a funeral, start spying on an eccentric old man living alone in a run-down house—secretly waiting for him to die. As they become regular visitors, helping him restore his overgrown garden, the man slowly opens up, sharing painful memories from his past in the war. Note: this is director Shinji Sōmai's acclaimed penultimate film, based on the beloved children's novel by Kazumi Yumoto, and is celebrated for its long, unhurried takes that became the director's signature style.
Director: Shinji Sômai \| Cast: Rentarô Mikuni, Naoki Sakata, Yasutaka Ō, Ken'ichi Makino, Naho Toda
🍿 Letterboxd 8.2 10.4K ⭐ IMDb 7.5 954 🎬 TMDb 7.1 26 🍅 RT - 🀄 Douban 7.9 2.4K