Producers: UPLINK Co., Digital Site Corporation
THE KLOCKWORX Co., Ltd. Yomiuri Telecasting Corp.
I've always had lots of dreams when I sleep.
The dreams have always been about the future.
The future in my dreams was always bright.
A future brimming
with hope and peace.
So I've always loved to sleep.
That is, until just recently...
Arita... and Nimura, listen up.
My daughter's new desk is outside.
Could you guys deliver it to my house? My back's out.
Sure.
Oh, watch out for the banister.
Sorry.
Look, honey, you can lock the drawer.
And you can adjust the chair.
It'll last until college.
Isn't it better by the window?
You think?
It's not great.
I still like it better by the window.
What's your hobby, Arita?
I don't really have any.
I see. And you, Nimura?
Music appreciation.
What kind of music?
Anything.
Anything? Like what?
Any kind.
Any kind, huh?
Did you notice?
The roast pork's home made.
I spice it differently from the store-bought kind.
Can I borrow one?
A CD, one that you like.
Yeah, sure.
What?
Could be a storm's coming.
What?
Just a hunch.
I'm going to pay you a special bonus.
Who me?
Yeah, you and Arita.
Three months pay, for now.
Thank you.
And I'd like to sign you guys on as full-time employees.
Think it over.
Yes.
Oh, and that CD.
What?
The one I wanted.
Oh.
Got one on you now?
Yeah, I do.
Your employment contract. Look it over.
Your seal.
What are you going to do?
Haven't decided yet.
We'll get a raise... what should I do?
Decide for yourself.
Nothing changes, if we become full-time employees, right?
I hope not.
Maybe I'll sign on.
What have you been dreaming lately?
What? Nothing.
Better trust your dreams.
I'm telling you I don't have any.
Maybe that's just as well.
It's not eating.
Hey, what are you doing! Watch out, watch it.
You're mocking the jellyfish's venom.
It's really dangerous.
But you've never touched it either, Mamoru san.
'Cause I don't want to die.
You've gotta watch out, man.
I think I'll go home, now.
Sure.
Don't go crazy, okay, Nimura.
Yeah.
Just be cool.
I know.
Right now, I think that's best.
I said, I know.
You're late.
Oh, hi.
You look like a slob, brother. I told you to dress nice.
Shut up.
Shall we go, brother?
Ken, stop calling my brother "brother"...
You're the same age. Just call him Yuji.
But... Right?
Call me anything.
Welcome. A party of three?
Yes. You take Visa?
Yes, we do. Follow me.
You've got to eat your vegetables, brother.
Shut up.
Let's go get some coffee.
Yeah, let's.
Is there a coffee place around here?
Let's go to an arcade instead.
Forget it.
It's pretty fun.
An arcade?
My treat, this time. Let's go.
C'mon, we're going.
I won.
Let's play again.
Sorry. I'm pretty good at this stuff.
Why are you so pissed off? What an idiot. Let's go.
Yeah.
Nimura, here's the plan.
When I do this, it means "wait." And this means "go ahead."
Okay?
What's that?
It's a signal.
You're always getting confused.
And then you don't have a clue which way you're going.
So I'll signal you.
Forget it.
Cut it out.
No, let's give it a try.
This is "wait," and this is "go ahead." It's good.
I think it's pretty good.
Don't bug me.
Oh, hello.
Good timing. You're both here.
Yes.
Thought you'd like some sushi.
Thanks.
Say guys, listen.
I just happen to be 55, now.
How old are you guys?
I'm 27 and Nimura's 24.
You're so young.
But you just happen to be that age, right?
I really wish you guys could've met him.
Me, as a 25 year-old.
I was really something else.
Back in the early '70s.
I sure had guts back then.
Everyone did, back then.
Goals, that what you call them?
We all had clear goals back then.
Of course now, it seems ridiculous.
Oh, no.
The thing is...
I can't remember.
What was that, anyway?
Hey, it was no big deal even back then.
I've clean forgotten it.
Guess that's what it means to be young.
What?
Excuse me.
What's wrong, man?
Right now, it's this.
- Is he okay? - Yes, he's fine.
Oh, look at the time. You got satellite TV?
Yeah, I do.
Let's see.
Is this it?
Yeah, this is it.
Great.
Come cheer with me.
You can really get into it.
Go, go, Japan.
You really do get into it.
Oh, look at the time.
Hey.
Is that a tropical fish?
It's a jellyfish, a Red Jellyfish.
Wow.
It won't sting, will it?
Hey, that's danger...
Come here, come here.
Hello. Hey, Nimura, it's me.
No, no, I was just thinking. How'd you like to have the jellyfish?
That's right.
Who me? No, I think it's time to move on.
Here's the thermometer.
Right.
Take a cup of saltwater out everyday.
And replace it with fresh water.
This guy's special, so don't forget, okay?
- Promise, okay? - Sure.
Go ahead.
Wait.
Go ahead, go ahead.
It never reacts at all.
That's just its nature.
I'm sure you two will get along fine.
When I looked up that jellyfish, I found out it was poisonous.
But he never let me know.
He was going to let it kill me.
When I called him on it, he said he would quit.
I don't have a clue what he was thinking.
You in it with him?
Come to my office. I'll give you that bonus, in cash.
Bowling Alley Closed
No way.
He's got it. Gotta go get it back.
How was he?
Well, I just had a visit with Mamoru.
I must admit, his confession seems unimpeachable.
Which means his chances of acquittal are slim.
You do understand?
Yes.
Of course, I'll do everything I can,
but I think you should prepare yourself, in a way.
Yes.
Are you okay?
I'm sorry.
- I'm sorry. - That's okay.
As far as "preparing myself, in a way,"
what do you mean by that? I'm not sure what you mean.
Yes, I understand.
In any event, leave the legal end of things to me.
The most important thing you can do is to gather information.
Because your son may tell you things he would never mention to me.
Oh, yes.
Can you contact your wife?
More or less.
Then, please let her know.
Yes.
So, when do you plan to visit him?
What?
Your son? When shall I arrange a visit?
Right.
It's too late today, but what about tomorrow afternoon?
Yes.
In that case...
Don't worry. I won't accompany you.
Oh?
I think it's better not to discuss the incident at first.
Oh, boy.
What?
What should I talk about, then?
Just try to act normal.
Well, you see...
Yes?
I haven't seen my son in five years.
So the thing is,
I'll be fine, but I'm not sure
whether he'll really want to see me. That's what I'm...
Mr. Arita, how can you say that?
Did I say something wrong?
Yes, you did.
You have to visit him. He's your son.
It's your duty.
Yes.
It doesn't have to be tomorrow, but as soon as you can, okay?
Yes.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
Shocked? Of course, you're shocked, right?
I just kind of did it. And look at me now.
Cops are scary.
I was back at home, farting around, and the cops came right away.
I wonder who reported it.
Don't tell me it was you.
Just kidding.
I guess it's a relief to get caught right away,
instead of running yourself ragged trying to escape.
You okay?
How could I be?
You have a good point.
Why didn't you tell me?
Sorry.
I went, too, right after.
To get my CD back.
I should've killed them first.
Shut up!
When I say "wait," you wait. Did you forget?
So, it's "wait."
Sorry.
Hey, how's that jellyfish doing?
What? Don't know.
"Don't know" is not good enough.
He's still a baby. He won't make it without you.
Yeah.
You take good care of him, now.
Yeah.
I'm counting on you.
I know.
Remember that kid, Yoshida?
He's getting married.
His bride's just a clerk,
but he's lucky he found anyone.
Oh, that's right, remember,
your aunt in lwate? She's selling her fields to build apartments.
It's the middle of nowhere, so they won't be very impressive.
Wonder if she'll pull it off.
And then...
Don't bother.
Right.
I think I'll be here another 5 or 10 years,
so come and visit sometimes.
Yeah, yeah.
Thanks for coming today. I'm glad I got to see you.
Yeah.
The red-eyed scorpion
The spread-winged eagle
The blue-eyed puppy
The coiled-up snake
5 to 10 years is out of the question.
At minimum he'll get life,
if he doesn't get death.
I think your son knows this, all too well.
Mr. Arita,
when I talked about "preparing yourself, in a way,"
this is what I was getting at.
I'm thinking about quitting.
Frankly, there's no future in this line of work.
Sorry.
RECYCLING AND REPAIRS
Mom's not coming, after all. She called.
Welcome.
How about a beer, Fuyuki?
No thanks. I'll take a coffee.
Sorry to drag you here suddenly.
How's work? Busy?
No...
I read about my brother in the paper.
TV reporters bugging you?
Just once.
They're a pain, a real pain.
Yeah.
So, what's up?
What's up?
Oh, the thing is,
I thought maybe we should all get together, once.
Huh.
Not like a family meeting or anything,
but we should talk about the future and such.
Listen, you talk about the future,
but your future and mine are different.
Yes, I know that.
Besides, I'm not an Arita anymore.
Right... You took your mother's name...
You need money for the lawyer?
No, no. I can manage his legal expenses.
Hmm, so you're rich, now?
Of course not.
Lucky you. I'm jealous.
Are you hard up for cash?
Of course, I am. I want all kinds of stuff, but there's no money.
Here you are.
Fuyuki,
it's hardly my place to say this,
but you can talk to me about things.
About anything, okay?
I'll do the best I can for you.
Loan me 10 million yen, then?
10 million?
I'm going to buy an apartment. The down payment.
10 million, huh... That'll take me a while.
I need it now.
That's impossible.
But, I'll manage.
You will?
Well, I'm not sure.
Forget it, then. I don't need it.
Frankly, money's tight for me, too.
Then don't say you'll do the best you can.
That's it?
That's all you wanted to talk about?
I'm off, then.
No, I'll get it.
Really?
Oh, I should've ordered cake.
I'll be right back.
What?
Fuyuki,
Just what kind of person was Mamoru?
How should I know? Ask him.
Well, you've got a point.
Figure things out for yourself.
You're only giving it brine shrimp?
Yeah.
I told you that's no good.
Every third feeding has to be chopped fish or whitebait.
Yeah.
And the brine shrimp.
They're only good for 12 hours after they hatch, so don't wait.
Oh, and also mysis. You can buy mysis at a pet shop.
Give it those, too, if you can.
Mysis?
And in four or five days,
let's try reducing the salinity to 1.015.
You sure you're alive?
You sure you're not dead?
Really? So the salinity's down to 1.01.
Excellent.
Let's decrease the temperature to 15 degrees centigrade.
Try doing it gradually, over three or four days.
Wow, that jellyfish is adapting to fresh water.
You're my only hope. You've got to monitor it carefully.
I'm counting on you.
Sure.
What's wrong?
Sick of it?
No.
Then what is it?
I've decided to wait, after all.
10 years or even 20. I'm going to wait for you.
After that,
we can do all this stuff together.
It won't be too late, will it?
You're the one who knows all about the future.
You mean, my dreams? Forget them.
I've made up my mind. I'll wait 20 years for you.
No matter what, my mind's made up.
Then it's all over. Do whatever you want.
Don't come here anymore. If you do, I won't even see you.
We're finished. I'm disappointed in you.
Do whatever the hell you want. Count me out.
Hey, hey, wait.
Just wait.
Mamoru san, wait.
Hey, wait!
It's your fault.
Hey.
I didn't come for any special reason today.
Guess I wanted to see your face.
You're looking well. I'm relieved.
But spending day after day in this place,
must be pretty boring. What do you do every day?
Think.
About what?
What do you think?
What?
About my execution.
I'm sorry.
Tell them to get it over with. Submit a petition or something.
You're the one who asked me what I think about.
I just told you what I think about.
See you.
Wow!
Actually, it was really me they should've caught.
Mamoru san went ahead and did it,
so I couldn't. That's what I think.
I see.
But he never said anything
about why he did it.
I see. But you know,
he went away, leaving his mystery behind.
But something tells me he's on the other side,
getting a total kick out of how he stumped us.
All right. See you somewhere, Nimura, I'm off.
Nimura, I wanted to ask you.
What do you think this means?
They say Mamoru died like this.
Another mystery, huh? That's just the kind of guy he was.
These three.
Will you hold them down until the next stop?
Yes.
What?
There's a jellyfish.
A jellyfish?
Yes, somewhere.
You mean that jellyfish?
Nimura, about that jellyfish you mentioned,
what was that about?
I inherited Mamoru's pet jellyfish.
But I let it escape.
I know it's somewhere, here in Tokyo.
Don't jellyfish need saltwater?
We acclimated it to fresh water so it could survive in Tokyo.
I see...
You don't believe me, do you?
It's not that I don't believe you.
I just don't get why it matters.
That's because you've never seen this jellyfish.
No, I haven't.
Mamoru never used to care about them, either.
And there was nothing about it among his things.
And that's all I really know.
We're here.
See you.
Thanks.
Morning.
Good morning.
What's that?
Brine shrimp.
What?
Jellyfish food.
I'm borrowing this.
Listen, is this really what Mamoru was up to?
Yes.
Plastic containers.
You'd better stay out of the way.
Let's go.
Time to go, now.
Rain's letting up.
What are you doing?
It's here, in here.
Let's go.
It has stopped raining.
Have a bad dream?
What's wrong?
Sometimes,
I can see the future in my dreams.
I've always been that way.
I don't know why.
But for a while, now,
I've hardly dreamt at all.
And when I did, it was just darkness.
Then today, I had a clear one.
I wonder where I was.
I don't know where I was,
but I was walking in a forest or a desert.
A ferocious wind was blowing.
The road went on,
but I couldn't see where I was going.
I was all alone.
Everyone else seems to have left.
The wind was so intense,
I couldn't open my eyes,
and I had to lean into it.
I wonder where I was going.
I'll make a pot of coffee.
It will wake you right up.
What's wrong?
It's broken.
The shrimps are dead.
You're right.
Hey, did you do something?
Me? Why would I do anything?
I have to start over.
Please lend me some money.
Hey, Nimura.
I need money. Can't you see that?
200,000, even 100,000 yen would do.
Calm down and think it through.
How do you open it!
Stop it! That's enough!
Nimura.
In this world, there are things
you can do, and things you can't.
You're all wrong if you think you can do anything you want.
I saw the jellyfish, I really did. It was beautiful.
But what's going to come of it? Will it change reality?
Will it help you get what you want?
How should I know? Leave me alone.
What'll happen to you if I leave you alone?
Leave me alone!
I can't. Not anymore.
You really frustrate me. Why don't you try
looking at what's right in front of you? Huh?
Why can't you try facing this reality?
Because it's scruffy and filthy?
Well, that's insulting.
Because this reality also happens to be my reality.
You have no right to treat it with such contempt, you fool!
You're going to run? Run, then.
But where can you run to?
Nimura, where can you run?
You'll only end up in one of two places if you run.
Either inside your dreams, or inside a prison.
Got that?
Isn't it about time you figured that out?
I was too harsh. I didn't mean it.
Nimura, please wait.
Nimura.
It was just a dream...
Hey, brother. What's this mess?
You never answer your phone.
Thank you, everyone. I really appreciate it.
Say, brother.
Can you make two copies of each of these documents?
Over here.
You open this,
and I told you two copies, so you press two and then start.
You can handle it, right?
Hey, who is this? This is our spot.
You can't just sit there.
Move.
What's with him?
Let me.
You're an idiot.
What's that?
Walkie-talkies. Let us talk to each other.
For real? Show me.
Just who are you?
I don't know.
You don't know? You sure you're not crazy?
I am.
So, you're crazy.
So you're just like us.
Brother, time to call it a day.
Yes.
Wow!
Don't go that way.
Don't go that way!
Forgive me.
I forgive you.
I forgive all of you for everything.
Pull the plug.
Now, for our next story.
There have been a rash of jellyfish attacks all over Tokyo.
Around 2pm on the 16th, Aki Tanuma,
the seven year-old daughter of a workman living in the Taito Ward
was playing in a canal near the Sumida River,
when she fainted from shock.
At the hospital, Aki was listed in critical condition,
but now, she has regained consciousness and is out of danger.
A report from the Tokyo Marine Biology Lab
revealed that Aki had been stung by a venomous Red Jellyfish.
Red Jellyfish are marine animals and, normally, it is inconceivable
to find them in Tokyo's canals, but reports of similar injuries
have been pouring in this month. Tokyo's Health Dept.
Has begun a city-wide extermination campaign.
Excuse me.
Yes.
I wanted to find out about adult adoption procedures.
Adoption procedures? Alright,
this packet explains all of the steps and conditions.
Please start with that.
I'm sorry, I'll fix it later.
Oh, no rush.
What were you doing up there?
I was looking at the far distance.
The far distance? What about it?
Mr. Arita, have you ever been up there?
No.
I see. You can't see anything from up there.
That's what I discovered.
Nimura.
No, forget it.
What have I been doing?
I got my "go ahead" a long time ago.
We did it! We did it!
Nimura, Mamoru's dream finally came true, amazing.
Amazing.
You guys are amazing! Just amazing!
Amazing.
Mr. Arita.
- Let's leave them alone. - Why?
They're headed out to sea.
To sea? Why?
They're escaping Tokyo.
Escaping Tokyo? Hey guys. wait.
Hey, wait, wait guys!
They're gone.
Have they abandoned us?
No.
I'm sure they'll come back someday. That's what I believe.
Someday? Like when?
I don't know.
In 10 years? In 20?
I can't wait that long.
I won't live that long.
Watch out! Don't touch it!
Nimura!
Any fun ideas?
Fun ideas?
None.
Go find some.
Speaking of which, that guy from the other day...
The guy who saw the future in his dreams.
Wonder what he's up to.
Dunno.
He was a real whacko.
Yeah, that was a real mess.
But I had a lot of fun.
Me, too.
I kinda got into it.
Hey!
What?
Wrong.
I thought it was him for a second,
but I was wrong.
BRIGHT FUTURE
I found the lost song
in my heart
Though someday,
we'll all disappear
Our feelings accumulate
like white powdered snow
It was a tiny revolution
You touched my shoulder
I held you and loved you
That was everything
Even borders seem to dissolve
as the snow-flowers blossom
A soap bubble flew by
It burst and disappeared
But let's keep blowing soap bubbles
to reach the sky
Leaping over a thousand nights
We breathe together
Now the world is endless
And the future is bright
Odagiri Joe
Asano Tadanobu
Fuji Tatsuya Cinematographer: Shibanushi Takahide
Production Designer: Harada Yasuaki
Wardrobe designer: Kitamura Michiko
Sound: Kohri Hiromichi
Producer: Asai Takashi
Writer, editor, director: Kurosawa Kiyoshi