The Garden of Words

PG-13 7.4
2013 0 hr 46 min Animation , Drama , Romance

Takao, who is training to become a shoemaker, skipped school and is sketching shoes in a Japanese-style garden. He meets a mysterious woman, Yukino, who is older than him. Then, without arranging the times, the two start to see each other again and again, but only on rainy days. They deepen their relationship and open up to each other. But the end of the rainy season soon approaches.

  • Cast:
    Miyu Irino , Kana Hanazawa , Fumi Hirano , Takeshi Maeda , Yuka Terasaki , Takanori Hoshino , Suguru Inoue

Similar titles

Made in Abyss: Journey's Dawn
Made in Abyss: Journey's Dawn
First compilation movie of the TV series which covers episodes 1-8 with new scenes added for the introduction. It covers the period from when Riko descends into the Abyss with her robot companion Reg, reaching the second layer where they meet the White Whistle Ozen who reveals information about Riko's mother.
Made in Abyss: Journey's Dawn 2019
Made in Abyss: Wandering Twilight
Made in Abyss: Wandering Twilight
Second compilation movie of the TV series which covers episodes 9-13. Riko and Reg descend to the third and fourth layer where Riko has her first experience of the Curse.
Made in Abyss: Wandering Twilight 2019
Wonder Boys
Wonder Boys
Grady is a 50-ish English professor who hasn't had a thing published in years—not since he wrote his award winning 'Great American Novel' 7 years ago. This weekend proves even worse than he could imagine as he finds himself reeling from one misadventure to another in the company of a new wonder boy author.
Wonder Boys 2000
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Picnic at Hanging Rock
In the early 1900s, Miranda attends a girls boarding school in Australia. One Valentine's Day, the school's typically strict headmistress treats the girls to a picnic field trip to an unusual but scenic volcanic formation called Hanging Rock. Despite rules against it, Miranda and several other girls venture off. It's not until the end of the day that the faculty realizes the girls and one of the teachers have disappeared mysteriously.
Picnic at Hanging Rock 1975
Thirteen
Thirteen
Tracy is a normal 13-year-old trying to make it in school. After befriending the most popular girl at school, Evie, Tracy's world is turned upside down when Evie introduces her to a world of sex, drugs and cash. But it isn't long before Tracy's new world and attitude finally takes a toll on her, her family, and old friends.
Thirteen 2003
Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem
Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem
Four talented alien musicians are kidnapped by a record producer who disguises them as humans. Shep, a space pilot in love with bass player Stella, follows them to Earth. Reprogrammed to forget their real identities and renamed The Crescendolls, the group quickly becomes a huge success playing soulless corporate pop. At a concert, Shep manages to free all the musicians except Stella, and the band sets out to rediscover who they really are -- and to rescue Stella.
Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem 2003
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie
After the conclusion of the Battle City Tournament, deep below the sands of Egypt, an ancient evil has awakened. Anubis, who was defeated centuries ago by Yugi’s mysterious alter ego – the ancient Pharaoh – has returned for revenge. Wielding the power of the Eighth Millennium Item, Anubis is determined to destroy Yugi and take over the world.
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie 2018
Lego Friends: The Next Chapter: New Beginnings
Lego Friends: The Next Chapter: New Beginnings
While trying to survive the chaos of the first day of school, new friends get to know each other through baking for the Welcome to School Festival.
Lego Friends: The Next Chapter: New Beginnings 2023
13: The Musical
13: The Musical
After moving from New York City to Indiana, a 12 year old navigates his parents' divorce, his impending bar mitzvah and his new school's social circles.
13: The Musical 2022
The Male Gaze: Fleeting Glances
The Male Gaze: Fleeting Glances
A release that features 7 shorts from Italy, Israel, Tunisia, New Zealand, the United States and France, exploring those furtive first steps that men take as they decide to act on their sexuality. The 7 short films are: The First Time [La prima volta] (2012); Kiss Me (2022); Nidhal [نضال] (2022); Sparrow (2016); I Am Mackenzie (2019); The Place Between Us [Il posto fra di noi] (2010); By the End of the Night [Que la nuit s'achève] (2018).
The Male Gaze: Fleeting Glances 2022

Reviews

Jeanskynebu
2013/05/31

the audience applauded

... more
Tedfoldol
2013/06/01

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

... more
Reptileenbu
2013/06/02

Did you people see the same film I saw?

... more
SpunkySelfTwitter
2013/06/03

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

... more
mattkerr-73017
2013/06/04

An often underutilized element when it comes to rating a film is its length. A lot of critics (official and self-appointed internet forum nerds) would happily sit through films that push over 3, 4, or 5 hours long and not blink an eye. Usually, this is because the directors that make films that push these running times are out to make a magnum-opus. Very often, the product of the art is enough for not only the length not to be criticized, but praised in a manner that these films would not have the same impact without them (see Napoleon (1927), Gone with the Wind (1939), Ben Hur (1959), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), and many more). However, a good amount of these critics would also be more than willing to say that your average film pushing above as little as the two-hour mark is overlong and bloated. On the flipside of the above arguments for a longer viewing, if the content of the film does not justify anything more than a short afternoon pastime, then most people aren't happy about it invading upon the rest of their day; sure, you COULD spend 2 hours watching the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice directors cut (2016), however do you really want to waste an extra 30 minutes of your day when the original is already wasting a whole 2 and a half hours of it? The same thing could be said about even some anime that has a strong following and community. Sure, I COULD try and catch up with One-piece, and finally be in the loop about what some of my friends and other fans mean when they reference it, but am I willing to sit through *quick google search* 848 episodes of it?! (a feat that clocks in at just over 339 hours of my free time).However, as often discussed the ambitiously lengthy runtimes may be, people tend to neglect the effect the runtime plays at the other end of the spectrum with short films. Take The Garden of Words (2013) as a case and point; clocking in at around 48 mins, its around the length of an average episode of any drama show you can find provided Netflix or the like. This is easily one of the most beautifully animated films I have ever laid eyes upon. Every single frame of this movie could be taken out of context, framed and hung up on a wall and it would most likely catch the eye of anybody passing by. The backgrounds of urban Japan that give way to the green trees that provide the backdrop for where much of this movie is set - which plays into the plot by providing private security to our characters as they spend their rainy days together - are beautiful. Even the way that the raindrops hitting the ground are breathtakingly beautiful to watch. This level of consistency is rare in any animation, which often can have beautiful moments but can be standard outside of these. If movie anime tends to blow TV anime out of the water on this point, then this movie is another tier beyond that.Surely with a longer running time, these elements would be spoiled, correct? With the painstaking effort and time that must have went into each of these frames, surely making a longer film would compromise on these points? What could one gain from doing so? I'm going to be harsh and say, probably a lot more in terms of the characters and the plot. I often think that one of the very few advantages a TV show can have over a film is the amount of time that can be put into characters and their development, if not also lending way if done correctly to a richer plot. The plot is... fine, from the standpoint of delivering a story. Not much beyond the conversations between the two main characters and their own thoughts when alone are really shown for the first half of the film. In the second half (trying hard not to spoil anything so here we go), we are given a twist, and then we are given the elements of the plot that really drive the changes that bring about forward momentum to the plot. These elements do open us up to one of the characters more, however I don't think it was precisely necessary to do it the way that the movie did... though maybe, again, I'm being harsh. Overall there is just not as much going on here as I may have hoped. Which is fine, because we have all the interactions and dialogue between the main cha...For a "Garden of Words", there aren't all that many words that we get to hear. We get some introductions, a lovely haiku (yes, I know these are the titular "words"), and then some more dialogue, but a lot of what should be bonding that we see is merely shown quickly in montage. This doesn't work to the effect of the film, and means that we don't have as strong a connection to the characters as we maybe could have by the end of the film. I think this is my main gripe with the film; that if we had maybe been shown a bit more of these two bonding, then maybe by the end of the movie we would feel the sympathies of the characters some more. HOWEVER, doing this would lengthen the film, which means that the animation may have went downhill, or at least we would not be given the same amount of great backdrop for the plot.So do I think the movie could have been longer? When rating this, do I take the length into account and ignore some of the elements that I feel are missing, or do I rate this the same way I would any other film, including those that extend beyond the three hour mark? Honestly, it would be harder to do the latter; while I have some issues with the way that the film is presented, I don't think that it could have been presented in any other way. If it became more plot and character focused, and hence longer, we may have ended up with a mid-length average to good movie, rather than a shorter-length good to great one. And that doesn't sound like a good trade to me.Viewed 21/07/2018

... more
nestoryaviti
2013/06/05

This is my second Makoto Shinkai anime to watch after seeing your name and I absolutely love it. Its story telling is wonderful and its stunning to look at. A beautiful art and a must see even if you don't like anime. Makoto Shinkai is truly a master of the arts.

... more
CinemaClown
2013/06/06

Tenderly crafted, sensibly narrated & carrying an emotional weight that bursts open in the final moments, Makoto Shinkai's fourth feature film is a small-scale, down-to-earth effort that just manages to quality as a feature-length narrative, and offers a fascinating take on loneliness.Set in Tokyo during the rainy season, The Garden of Words follows an aspiring 15-year old shoemaker who skips his morning classes to design shoes in a Japanese garden. The plot focuses on the relationship that blossoms between him & a mysterious but older woman whom he keeps meeting there every time it rains.Written & directed by Makoto Shinkai, the story is short, simple & emotionally rich, and is gorgeously animated from start to finish. Majority of its plot unfolds inside the Japanese garden, and the lush background, vivid use of colour palette & photorealistic rendering of the surrounding really makes that place stand out.Despite its 46 minutes runtime, the characters are given enough space to breathe and their bonding is allowed to bloom at a gradual pace. Loneliness is evident in their individual lives but romance in their companionship is illustrated in a more subtle fashion. The age difference between the two never becomes an issue, and is handled with care.On an overall scale, The Garden of Words is a sumptuously animated, exquisitely detailed & brilliantly voiced film that's visually appealing & emotionally touching for the most part, and is an interesting addition to Makoto Shinkai's filmography. Its melodramatic tone & overdose of sentimentality during the climactic moment may undo it for a few but for me, it's definitely one of Shinkai's better films.

... more
boclani
2013/06/07

When watching a movie, I always look for visual techniques first. I always love viewing camera pans and camera angles with messages hidden within the cinematography. People ask me why I watch anime, and my reason is the same as my friends and many others: it's so creative and just so beautiful. You appreciate the time and effort that took to draw every smile and every blink. If you even remotely like visuals, you will adore the visuals in this one. Holy moly! I have never seen a movie this visually stunning.Garden of Words is about two people, a fifteen year old student and a twenty seven year old woman that coincidentally meet up in the same park, on the same seats in the same positions, under the same shelter every time when it rains. The both form an unlikely friendship as the two though both varying in age are very similar. Now if this idea fell into the wrong hands it could have ended so badly, by making a creepy movie, more than this gorgeous one. This is because of the fantastic direction from Shinkai.The story is so simple, as it didn't need to be anything else. I have read other reviews and they say the story is very cheesy. But I didn't mind. I thought the way the story was told ever so slightly in a short forty six minute movie still worked and amazed me. The characters too are quite simple, and when they become more attached to each other open different aspects of themselves that I didn't expect. It made for an entertaining experience. I found it beautiful that there's messages in certain scenes and when these two characters are together. For example the movie even up to the last few minutes want to persuade us that they are together yet so apart. Even though these two are close, there is so much they don't know about each other and this line in many scenes represents the disconnect. For example at the edge of a door is in between them, on another scene a twig is placed, in this very scene he says while laughing a holding her foot, says in his head "...I don't even know her name."The visuals and soundtrack, are nothing less that phenomenal. The way the trees sway with the slight breeze, from the sunlight peeping over the clouds, to the hailing smoke of storm, to the aftermath of it all and watching the last raindrop fall from a leaf is simply spectacular. Even with the absence of music, whenever it comes on, it fits and sets the mood.I really loved the editing. It caught you off guard. There's a scene under the shelter where it looks like a storm will push the protagonists away as the sound grows louder but then the next scene it's silent. Or when a character sprints at the screen and the camera immediately switches to a car wheel. It may sound confusing when I try to explain it, but you will definitely pick up on it when you see it.I know I congratulated the film makers in making a well rounded and beautiful story in 46 minutes, but I think that the pacing was a bit of a hit and miss. There's times that the scene tends to drag on when nothing is happening and some scenes that fly by too quickly that could have grown on the characters. The Garden of Words is a movie you can watch at any time as it's short in length. Even through it's pacing is awkward it has a nice story with relatible characters. Spot on sound effects with a beautiful score. And also a movie that will fly far past your expectations of visual animation in cinema.Overall : A-Head here for move reviews like this one : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfNozbWd9SJYYwLK2zYn_AA

... more

Watch Free Now