Insights Arrive at the End of a Life

[lsanderson]

Elmar Wepper and Aya Irizuki in “Cherry Blossoms,” written and directed by Doris Dörrie.
January 16, 2009
Insights Arrive at the End of a Life
By A. O. SCOTT
Published: January 16, 2009

Doris Dörrie’s “Cherry Blossoms” is both a tender tale of cultural crossings and a double portrait of grief. At its center is a long-married provincial German couple, each member of which must confront the other’s death, one in prospect, the other in fact. The conceit that makes this reciprocity possible — one of those symptom-free incurable diseases that so frequently befall movie characters — may be hard to swallow, but once you accept it you can be charmed and touched by the way it plays out. More