One Day, You Will Reach The Sea 2022 Movie Review

『One Day, You Will Reach the Sea』— Hearts Rescued from the Ocean of Absence and Remnants

🎥 Film Overview

🎬 Title: One Day, You Will Reach The Sea (やがて海へと届く)
🌍 Country: 🇯🇵 Japan
🎞️ Genre: Drama / Coming-of-Age / Friendship and Loss
📢 Director: Ryutaro Nakagawa (中川龍太郎)
📖 Original Novel: "One Day, You Will Reach The Sea" by Maru Ayase (綾瀬マル)

👩‍💼 Cast: Yukino Kishii (as Mana), Minami Hamabe (as Sumire)

🧩 Story Deep Dive (Contains Spoilers)

🚨 “Existence Completed Through Absence”: The Paradoxical Bond Between Sumire and Mana

The heart of “One Day, You Will Reach the Sea” lies in the paradox of a relationship completed through loss. The film centers on Mana, a reserved and socially awkward college student, and her vibrant, free-spirited classmate Sumire, who takes the initiative to approach her and quickly becomes her closest friend.

Sumire’s sudden disappearance (and the world’s acceptance of her death) strikes Mana with immense grief, yet it also becomes the turning point for her inner growth and emotional maturity. Sumire had been both a powerful catalyst and an unspoken savior in Mana’s life. When Sumire was alive, Mana lived in her shadow, unable to see herself clearly. Only after Sumire’s absence does Mana begin to recognize and nurture the seeds of courage and transformation Sumire had planted within her.

🌊 The Metaphor of the Sea: The Final Destination of Sorrow and Memory

In this film, the sea serves as a deeply significant symbolic device.

• The Flow of Sorrow: Mana’s grief, pain, and memories of Sumire flow like a river. Just as rivers eventually reach the sea, Mana’s journey of mourning and growth leads her toward the final acceptance of Sumire’s absence and a reconciliation with her memories.

• Freedom and Release: Sumire represents the embodiment of freedom, and the sea symbolizes the vast expanse where that freedom culminates. As the Japanese title suggests, when Mana “eventually reaches the sea,” it signifies a moment of spiritual liberation — either a reunion with Sumire’s spirit or the act of finally letting her go.

The film’s slow and delicate pacing mirrors Mana’s inner journey, allowing the audience to experience emotional purification as they move between the weight of loss and the quiet beauty of remembrance.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 The Complex Layers of Youth and Friendship

The film does not simply portray the sorrow of parting. When Sumire begins a romantic relationship, the subtle distance that forms between the two friends reflects the complex emotional layers of youthful friendship. The “gap” between them — once closer than family — reveals that even in friendship, emotions such as jealousy, alienation, and growing pains can exist.

The scenes leading up to Sumire’s solo journey, where the two gradually drift apart, convey a bittersweet sense of gradual relational decay that feels as painful as the sudden grief that follows her loss. It reminds viewers that separation is not always dramatic or abrupt — it can also arrive quietly, in the slow fading of connection.

💡 Delicacy and the Gaze Within

Director Ryutaro Nakagawa approaches the characters’ inner worlds with a documentary-like sensitivity and refined mise-en-scène. Without flashy techniques, he relies on subtle facial expressions and gestures to contrast Mana’s pain with Sumire’s freedom.

Particularly, Yukino Kishii’s portrayal of Mana is remarkable — she masterfully embodies the silence and instability of grief, the disconnection from the world, and the gradual rediscovery of strength as she carries Sumire’s memory forward. Her performance elevates the film’s emotional depth and immersion.

📹 A Lyrical Poem of Mourning and Growth

“One Day, You Will Reach the Sea” stands as a lyrical elegy of mourning and growth that resonates deeply with those who have experienced personal tragedy or loss through natural disasters such as earthquakes.

The film contemplates the question, “How does the absence of the deceased transform the life of the living?” and offers a gentle yet hopeful answer — that by facing sorrow instead of denying it, we can reshape ourselves through memory. Through others, we come to know ourselves, and ultimately, like Mana, we reach the sea — a space of release and renewal. Her quiet journey delivers profound solace to the audience.

🎯 Personal Rating (Based on Taste)

💕 Love/Emotional Scene Intensity: ♥
⭐ Rating: ★★☆