Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is a Japanese live-action movie written and directed by Oikawa Ataru. It is based on the first Question Arc, Onikakushi-hen of the dojin soft sound novel Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. It was released by Phantom Film on May 10, 2008 and internationally distributed by Shōchiku under the title Shrill Cries of Summer at the Cannes film festival and the European Film Market in 2008.
Plot[]
Based on the first Question Arc, Onikakushi-hen. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni follows the plot closely with slight deviations to the plot, such as Keiichi , Tomitake and Miyo entering the Saiguden like in Watanagashi-hen.
Reception[]
Screened across 60 cinemas and earning 200 million yen at the box office, the live action adaption of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni was a major success and initially received mostly positive reviews. Although some gave unsatisfactory scores, citing the overall lack of direction, music, changes made to the characters, and the directors incompetence in failing to properly adapt the atmosphere of Higurashi. Years later, it was considered to be a very bad adaption of Onikakushi-hen and is thought of negatively. Even though shown at the Cannes film festival and European Film Market in 2008, the movie was never given a home video release abroad, but was subtitled by fans and released online few years later.
Synopsis[]
The film opens on a red screen, while we can hear the sound of a baseball bat hitting something, the beginning shows us the different companies' names (also 07th Expansion) and pictures of bloody corpses, blood on a table and a window where we can see the shadow of a bat hitting something.
The scene switch in a bus where many people are sitting, one is a young man and he listens to music, he is Maebara Keiichi and is sitting next to his mother, Maebara Aiko. The camera, now outside, show the bus which the sign shows "Okinomiya - Hinamizawa". The bus drives on a road near of a pile of logs and pass a lot of signs which shows "Hinamizawa dam construction area".
The logo of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni appears and pictures (such as one of the Irie Clinic) comes after with an opening for the film.
The bus finally arrives to the Hinamizawa Bus Stop and the camera shows the payphone. Aiko and Keiichi, with a large Adidas black bag, go out of the bus, followed by three other persons. Aiko enters the payphone and listens to the phone while Keiichi stays outside. He looks at the village and a date with a place name are shown "1983, 05th, 12, Hinamizawa Village, Shishibone".
A white screen flashes and, while kids are singing, we see Keiichi arriving with his mother at the Hinamizawa Branch School. He enters it and we now see him following a nice dressed woman in the stairs. While he is climbing the stairs, Keiichi looks at draws hanged on the wall, arriving at the second story, he sees a dragonfly on the side and the woman looks also to it. They then enter a corridor where Keiichi sees a draw of demons killing children, they enters the classroom as the women opens the door and a board brush falls on her head and chalk dust is poured on her. All the students happily stand up and applaud themselves for this nice joke. The woman asks her to calm down and asks the children who did this trap. She asks "Satoko-chan ?" and the girl directly stands up holding her right hand. The woman who seems to be the teacher asks her 'You did it, right ?" but the girl answers "It wasn't me.", she then asks another girl, "Rika-chan", to tell the truth, but the girls answers that she doesn't know who is the culprit. She calls another girl, "Rena-chan" and asks to say the morning greetings because she is "on day duty today". The girl asks the stands to stand up and to bow, then all of them say "Good morning (お早うございます。・ohayō gozaimasu)", and finally she asks to sit down. The teacher tells them after having write the kanji name "前原 圭一" on the board for "Maebara Keiichi" that she wants "to introduce a new transfer student to this school". Keiichi take his bag in his hand and introduces himself "I'm Maebara Keiichi, I came from Tōkyō. Nice to meet you.". All the students tell the same while Satoko turns to Rena before they all clap their hands, then another girl turns to Rena too and smiles.
The teacher tells him that he can sit in "that open seat there.". while he walks to the seat, he looks at the four girls we've seen before whom look at him too. After he seats, the one who wasn't presented approaches him and introduces herself as "Sonozaki Mion, the class president", she stretches her hand but Keiichi totally blanks her as she stares at him.
Pictures of the sky are shown and a black screen appears where is writed "one month later". In a house, a painting is putted on a easel. Aiko goes out of her house and give a foodplate to her husband Maebara Ichirō who is painting while Keiichi arrives on his bicycle and says that he goes out. His father asks Aiko where is he going and she tells him that "his friends from school are showing him around the village". His father says that it means Keiichi is completely blended in now and her mother reminds him when Keiichi was always saying "I want to go home already" persistently, even thought they have been worried about him, then, while eating, Ichirō tells her that she worries too much and that kids are really strong beings moreover that "if they become too spoiled, they lose that original flame". Finding food good, he asks Aiko if she prepared it herself but she tells that it is Rena who taught her. Ichirō replies that "in the village, all the adults and children are very kind", but Aiko add that they are "a bit too generous" and tells him that he "found the scenery he wanted the most" then tells him to "draw a lot of great pictures". He then goes while Aiko asks him where he is going to.
A great view of Hinamizawa is shown while Mion introduces the village to him. She says that 200 000 habitants live here, that the air is thick and that the convenience for transportation is bad nevertheless nobody ever leaves the village. Keiichi asks "Why (どうして・Dooshite ?) ?" and Mion answers obviously that is because everyone loves this village. She tells about flora and says that "the water in Hinamizawa has the best taste in all of Japan". She says that being born here and dying here is the belief of best happiness in this village, making Keiichi emit an "Eeehhhh (えーーー？) ?".
Mion, Keiichi and Rena arrives to a lake, Mion tells to Keiichi that this is the demon mouth. While they pass on the side of the lake, Keiichi tells that "this is pretty large". Mion says that is right and that there is also "a legendary circle here too". Mion asks him if he wants to return her next time because "there is something extremely,interesting here". Keiichi happily agrees but Rena tells them that this place is dangerous and that they aren't allowed to play here but Mion says that she always says things like that. They arrive at a little box, Keiichi asks what is that and Mion answers that "this is a shrine to calm the demons". Rena starts to count a legend whick says that a demon is born in Hinamizawa and tells that is why the lake is named as "the demon's mouth but Keiichi tells that this place feels really good.
By climbing a stair, Mion tells Keiichi that they arrive to "the spiritual guide" of Hinamizawa, the Furude Shrine. While they are climbing it, Mion asks Keiichi to speed up because she finds him really slow, the two girls turn to him, laugh and start to run in the stair, Keiichi who smiles follows 'em. Running, they pass a Japanese portail and arrive at the top. Keiichi tells them that they are too fast and exhauted the girls start to slow, then Keiichi easily joins them and Mion tells him that there's a festivalat the shrine the next Sunday.
They arrive in front of stacks of logs and Mion tells him that because it is his first time here he needs to pray, Rena then agrees but Keiichi tells them that he isn't interested by that kind of thing. Rena tells him that he is obliged to give his greetings to Oyashiro-sama but Keiichi insists that he'll pass on religious things. Rena stops him and insists that if he doesn't give his greeting to Oyashiro-sama he will be cursed, then Mion tells that they says this for his sake, then Keiichi tells them that since he is there he will follow their ways. Keiichi then runs to a sort of religious cauldron, take a sort of ladle but Mion stops him and tells that he needs to do it in order.
Mion explains him how to do the ceremony :
- Extend both arms
- Cross together
- Bow (Do it a second time from the beginning)
- Put your hands in front of you chest
- Bow
- Clap
- Bow
She asks him if he got it. He then asks who is Oyashiro-sama because they mentioned him much later. Mion answers obviously "The person who protects this village." she adds that he had always protected this village. They turns back to see Satoko accompagnited by Rika in miko. He asks smiling what are these clothes. Satoko tells him that it's because Rika is the Furude shrine's maiden "did you not know ?". Keiichi makes the link between Furude Rika and the Furude Shrine and tells that he understand now. Rika asks them to follow her. While they are following the two little girls, Mion tells him that Hinamizawa thought very highly to Oyashiro-sama and villagers followed it. While a little sapped post is shown, they arrive in front of the Saiguden, as Rika explain how it is named, Keiichi asks what is inside of it. Rika tells him that all the important tools of Oyashiro are collected here, Keiichi then tells that it sounds really interesting and start happily to walk to the Saiguden but is stopped by Rika and Satoko. "You are to always avoid it is what is being said" says Rika, Satoko goes in front of him and make a "no" with her hand then tells him that if he enters it he will be cursed and hit his belly with her fist. While they are watching the Saiguden, the camera zooms on the doors and a wind noises intensifies.
Keiichi, Rena and Mion are on a road and chase the hat of Rena, he takes it a give it back to Rena whom thanks him. As Keiichi has his arm on Mion shoulder and Rena holds is left, Mion stops, retire the arm and go to Rena telling that her home is this way, they tells them "bye !" and goes away. Rena then tells the same but Keiichi calls her, she turns to them asking what is it for and he thanks her for taking him around the village. She smiles and restarts to walk, says bye to Rena who tells her to be careful while Keiichi tells bye by the hand. Mion runs away and Keiichi thanks Rena too, telling her that this is the first time it happened for him and that it was fun but Rena says that this isn't true but that they were all happy he came and rena, embarrassed, tells him that she was the same.
The bridge over the river is shown while Rena and Keiichi arrives to a place in work with a sign saying "no littering". Keiichi asks her what is it and Rena who retires her hat says that "this is the Treasure Mountain". "Tresure Mountain ?" asks Keiichi, Rena then tells him that this is the place where people keeps throwing away their garbages and adds that Mion does the same. She tells that to her, this is a treasure mountain with a lot of interesting things and that it seems there's a lot of things from other parts of the country in it. They arrive to a green broken car, Keiichi starts to walk to it when Rena says that "this place was originally a construction site" a dam site exactly. While Keiichi is approaching Rena he asks "by dam ... you mean that dam ?", Rena then explains that if the dam were built here, Hinamizawa would have been submerged. Keiichi tuns to her and asks "Seriously ?" and Rena continues and says that the construction got halted, she turns to him and says that she is really glad. Keiichi was asking more question about the constructions when they hear the sound of a polaroid, turn to where the sound comes from to find a man with glasses, a cap and a singlet. Rena happily calls him "Tomitake-san !", he runs to them while she says that he surprised her, he then apologizes and tells that they "look really romantic in the sunset". He asks how is Rena then turns to Keiichi, retires his glasses and says that he never seen his face here before then asks if he is a transferred student. Rena answers that his name is Maebara Keiichi and that he came from Tōkyō, Tomitake doesn't believe it and tells that he is surprised that he came to this suburb, he stretches his hand and introduces himself as Tomitake but Keiichi blanks him and just moves his head. Rena then ran away after asking Keiichi to wait here.
[SAVE POINT]
Gallary[]
