105 minutes
8/13/1988
On August 9, 1945, the Americans dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki. This film, based on a story by Mitsukaru Inoue, describes the daily life of people in Nagasaki the day before that fateful event. It presents the human drama of people's lives, and their feelings of joy and sadness. These include a newlywed couple, an expectant mother, and lovers who must say farewell because the boy is called to serve in the army. Each of these people, like others in the city, hoped to live with their dreams for ‘tomorrow’. But tomorrow never comes for them, as their lives are brought to an abrupt and unexpected end. Knowing how the story ends, in this case, doesn't detract from it at all; rather, it enhances the emotional impact, which is further heightened by the poignant musical score from Teizo Matsumura. 'Ashita' is the first film in Kazuo Kuroki's 'War Requiem Trilogy,' which also includes 'Utsukushii Natsu Kirishima' (2002) and 'Chichi to Kuraseba' (2004).
Kaori Momoi
as Tsuruko Miura
Kaho Minami
as Yae Miura
Nobuko Sendo
as Akiko Miura
Arthur Kuroda
as Tsuneo Ishihara
Hiroyuki Nagato
as Taiichiro Miura
Shiro Sano
as Shoji Nakagawa
Kunie Tanaka
as Shoji's stepfather
Moeko Ezawa
as Shoji's mother
Yoshio Harada
as Yamaguchi
Haruko Mabuchi
as Tsui Miura
Shinichiro Okano
as Hiro
Osami Nabe
as Mizumoto
Wakaba Irie
as Mitsue
Kaori Mizushima
as Aya
Michiko Araki
as Fujio's mother
Michino Yokoyama
as Matchmaker
Natsuko Kahara
as Midwife
Daigo Kusano
as Drug sales
Taiji Tonoyama
as Storekeeper
Noboru Mitani