From the writer of Im ai ni yukimasu ( that happens to be one of my favorite movies... ever), comes this new Japanese romance drama.

It tells the story of a love triangle between 3 university students ( the ambiance reminded me of the drama Orange days quite a bit).

One of them is our main protagonist. A shy, intense and mysterious young man who loves photography ( The actor is Hiroshi Tamaki also known as Chiaki sempai from Nodame's fame ^^) The second character is a shy, rather mysterious girl, who lacks self confidence but is cute and amazingly pure of heart. Did I mention she was really cute ? The actress, Aoi Miyazaki also played one of the leads for Nana 1 ( They changed her for Nana 2 because she was shooting tada kimi wo at the time) The third one is the perfect girl. Beautiful, feminine, smart, confident. She is played by Meisa Kuroki ( who also plays the 'french' girl in "Haikei, Chichiue-sama") Our two main protagonists are, a bit like in Ima, unsure of the feelings of the other one.

The score is great, especially the ending music that I have been listening on my ipod non stop for a few months now :) It's by Ootsuka Ai ( Renai Shashin).

The acting is first rate, especially by Aoi Miyazaki, the movie really revolves around her even is she isn't the main protagonist. Some of the university friends do suffer from over acting but they have a very minor role so it's not really disturbing.

The scenery and photography, as it is usually the case in Japanese movies, is very beautiful and skillfully rendered.

Yet I have to admit, I felt Ima Ai ni yukimasu was better in pretty much all aspects.

Mild spoilers follow ( I don't really say what happens in the end but you might guess it from my comments) There's a surprising twist at the end of the movie. At first, I must admit I felt a bit cheated (it is quite a common trick often used in Asian cinema, especially in Korean movies).

But then, once it had settled in, it's actually quite a beautiful ending. I still can't help but feel slightly frustrated because of what I think is a missed opportunity of character development....

I really hesitated for rating this movie between a 7 and a 8. I guess it's a 7.6. There's something missing and I still think it is because of the ending that happens a bit too fast and is not as intense as it should be.

If you loved Ima, ai ni yukimasu, you will like Tada, kimi wo aishiteru ( 'Just, I love you' or as the international title says Heavenly forest)

What happens when you have so many talented actors, and a writer get together to make a movie ? The result is rather obvious.

Based on a novel by Takushi Ichikawa, "Tada kimi o aishiteru" is a love story that spans several years featuring Aoi Miyazaki from her days as college student until she matures as a woman. Hiroshi Tamaki also puts in good performance as he usually does.

However, the story follows a pat formula, and is rather bland. What makes it worth watching is the beautiful scenery the movie is shot under. Japanese really knows how to capture beauty in nature like nobody else.

It's a bit artsy love romance movie shot at great timing when Tamaki, and Miyazaki were at the height of their youth. One of the better movies to come out of Japan in the past 10 years.

Big warning : this is a sad movie. But does it worth it? Definitely yes. The story is sweet, though the ending could have been better. Even though its sad, it could have been presented better. The performances were really good though, from all the actors and actresses. Aslo, the main couple had chemistry and they were cute, especially the girl, all quirky and adorable. The cinematographty, moreover, was splendid, especially, when they were in the forest, with all the colours and the lighting.