LETTER FROM THE MOUNTAIN
You're panting...
I'd forgotten what the place looked like.
And now we're going to live here...
We've been living too fast. It's time to slow down a bit.
There's only so much you can do by sheer force of will.
And who might you be?
How are you? I'm Takao, Ueda Sei's grandson.
I've moved back to the village.
Well, isn't that nice!
Please...
...step inside for a bit.
This is my wife, Michiko.
Please, please, step in.
The water's from yesterday...
...so the tea might not be very hot.
Oh, thank you.
Thank you.
At least cold tea won't burn you.
It's not very hot.
How long has it been...
...since Sei died?
Grandma died five years ago. She was 81.
It stopped raining for her funeral...
Sei was ten years younger than me.
So you're 96, Miss Ume?
Me?
Well, once I passed 90 I decided...
...that whatever age everybody said I was...
...was the age I'd be.
Sei had a very hard life...
...but she was a lovely person, very accomplished.
Miss Ume... we brought this to say hello.
Well, well, well!
Aren't you a dear!
That's very nice of you.
Thank you.
Sei...
Look what Takao brought!
I'll give you some later.
Mrs Ueda, I understand you're going to be working...
...at the clinic in the village.
Yes.
I've been ill myself...
...so I'll just be there three mornings a week, though.
Well, even that much...
...is something to be grateful for.
Welcome Dr Ueda Michiko
Sei didn't want you moving to Tokyo.
She didn't?
She said you were like your dead mother, always reading.
She was afraid you'd turn out a 'cherry-blossom farmer'.
If he'd stayed here, he'd never have found a wife.
But why would a famous doctor marry Takao?
I liked the idea of a farmer who'd stop to look at cherry blossoms.
You know what that means, then?
A dreamer so absorbed in cherry blossoms...
...that he doesn't get his work done.
The kind of man we always tell our girls not to marry.
I'm not very brave, and I'm not very talented...
...so I chose something practical, like medicine.
That's why I chose farming!
That's not even practical!
As our guests are looking a little tired...
...perhaps they'd like to wash off that city dust in our hot spring.
Yes, Mr Mayor. Let's close this meeting.
This village finally has itself a doctor again.
This doctor's also being a noted researcher...
...makes her someone far beyond anything we could have wished for.
May she never leave her cherry-blossom farmer behind...
...and depart from this village.
I also ask that everyone in the village gives her...
...their complete cooperation.
That's all.
Thank you!
Well?
It's wonderful. The water feels so soft...
I'd forgotten how far you can see here.
Good night.
Doesn't this bedding still have your grandmother's smell to it?
Yeah, I feel like I'm a little boy again.
Good morning.
Let's eat.
Bon appétit.
How is it?
Good.
'Unbowed by the rain, Unbowed by the wind... '
That's Miyazawa Kenji.
My mother copied that out years ago.
'Unbowed by the rain, Unbowed by the wind...
'Unbowed by snow or summer heat, Sound of body...
'Coveting nothing, never angry...
'Always quietly smiling...
'Eating four cups of brown rice, miso and a few greens each day....
'Leaving himself out of the account...
'Watching, listening, understanding and not forgetting....
'Living in the shade of a pine grove, in a field, in a small thatched hut...
'To the sick child in the east he tends...
'To the tired mother in the west he bears sheaves of rice...
'To one dying in the south he says, "Do not fear"...
'To quarrels or lawsuits in the north he says, "Be not petty"...
'In drought he weeps...
'In a cold summer he paces...
'Called a fool...
'Not praised, not criticized:
'I want to be that kind of man.'
Good morning.
Lovely day, isn't it.
Here's the doctor.
Good morning.
It's nice to see you here.
Hello, Doctor!
Good morning, Sensei.
Well! If it isn't Takao!
Yes.
Should you be doing that?
'If the sun shines, though tomorrow the world end...
'... do not omit to dry your bedding.'
So how are you feeling?
Is that why you're here?
No!
I won't go into hospital.
The doctors call it 'stomach cancer'...
...but in 'cancer' is the word 'can'. Certain things become possible.
Come in.
It's inconvenient now, but once I'm dead I can do what I want.
Sensei...
...where are all your books?
I gave them to the school.
Welcome back!
It makes the place look a bit empty...
I want everything all cleared away for once in my life.
We have no children.
I'm leaving nothing behind, and I don't want to.
It's a load off my mind.
I still have your letter from when I won my 'Best New Writer' prize.
'Becoming famous is by no means a good thing.
'It does not elevate you.
'The purpose of creativity is not reputation or success.
'Think of being the subject of people's idle gossip...
'... as embarrassing.'
That was rude.
In the ten years since I haven't accomplished anything.
You've only just started!
I'm over 40 and I haven't made any money.
I've started to wonder whether I'm worth anything.
It's an important time for you.
Patience, patience...
Like him.
Even at my age you're not sure if you're really worth anything.
But who cares?
Just walk your own path and regret nothing.
I will.
For all my children care, I might as well not be here.
No?
And after all the trouble you went to!
Yes! You put them through school, they move away...
...and never even come home to visit!
You're lucky. At least yours come at New Year's and in August.
Yes! Twice a year is more than most.
Mine only come once!
If there's any problem, call me.
I will, thank you.
Isn't it nice to have a good doctor here!
We'll keep you on the same medicine.
As old as I am, Doctor...
...it hardly matters if I take medicine or not.
There you go.
Takao!
Yes?
The village newsletter.
I could pass that around if you wanted.
Could you? We'll be busy in the fields pretty soon.
It's all yours.
'Bye.
Thank you.
'Letter from the Mountain:
'People tell us not to dwell...
'...on what is before our eyes...
'... but in spring I plant eggplant, beans and cucumbers...
'... in my garden and water them.
'Thinking this way of only what is before me...
'... I suddenly find myself 96 years of age.
'ls it a good thing...
'... that I looked at nothing else and did not add to my worries?
'That may be the secret to a long life.'
Isn't that great!
Miss Ume was in hospital with high blood pressure last winter.
They asked me to go see her.
Let's go after we eat.
I always fall asleep at this time of day.
I'm sorry to worry you.
Not at all.
I thought I might come and check your blood pressure.
My blood pressure, eh?
All right.
Right here?
Here we go.
I should lie here?
All right?
Yes.
I'll lift your arm...
Blood pressure!
Here goes...
135 over 82. That's very good.
That's good to hear.
I'll take this off.
Can I get up?
All right?
It's so nice for you to do this for such an old lady...
Are you finished?
I'm finished. That's it.
Why did your blood pressure go up last year, Miss Ume?
Last year?
I was digging a latrine. There's no toilet here.
So I was digging.
That's when I started feeling strange.
Digging latrines all the time must be hard on you.
I'll build you an outhouse.
An outhouse?
You?
Well, I'd like that, but you know...
...I don't have any money.
Don't worry about money.
I've got some stuff at home. I'll build you one.
I'm strong and healthy.
It's a shame to waste health and strength on a job like that.
But if you would...
...I'd be very grateful.
Leave it to me.
It's so nice here...
A fallen tree...
Listen to the birds!
Watch your step...
Careful...
Gotcha!
Got her!
You got me!
Here we go!
Who's it?
There he is!
This way!
Wait!
Got you!
Aw, you got me!
After him, everyone!
Here we go...
1, 2, 3, 4, 5...
Wow!
Come on...
Aw, too bad!
Wow, look at them go!
There's some steps...
Yes!
They're way over there!
They're so fast!
Bye-bye!
OK, goodbye.
Oh, thank you.
See you.
Bye-bye!
'In the sunset glow the day ends...
'From the mountain comes the sound of the temple bell...
'Hand in hand let's all go home.
'With the crows let's all go home.
'When the children have all gone...
'... comes the big round moon.
'When the birds are dreaming...
'...the silver stars will glitter in the sky.'
Bye-bye!
Let's go.
Why am I crying when I'm not sad?
Oh, my! That's a long way to carry all that.
Good morning.
Hello.
This is Sayuri.
She can't talk.
Thank you.
'Three years ago an illness affected my throat, and I still can't speak.'
Sayuri...
...writes down the things that I say.
That thing you were talking about.
Oh, the 'Letter from the Mountain'?
That's right.
That column is very well-written.
Simple yet meaningful.
You know the doctor at the clinic? This gentleman's her husband.
A long, long time ago...
...he used to live in the village, just over there.
Right now he's not doing anything.
So he's here digging away on an outhouse for me.
Aren't you.
'I heard you're a novelist.'
Well, it's embarrassing when people call me that.
I haven't written anything since I won a prize over ten years ago.
I'm more like a failed novelist.
Right!
These 'novels' of yours...
...are they lies...
...or are they true stories?
Well, they're not 'true'.
Maybe they're lies told in order to tell the truth.
All right, then...
...you can't eat burdock straight from the field...
...but you can cook it to make kinpira.
If you ask which is 'real', it's burdock from the field...
...but if it wasn't kinpira you'd never know how good it was.
Something like that.
You write about kinpira?
No, you don't understand. I mean...
'I think a novel is Amitabha taking the form of words.'
Now, that's something I can understand!
I've lived to the age I have...
...and I've heard my fill of sad stories.
Now I want to hear happy stories.
No one wants to spend money...
...to buy a sad story.
When I hear a happy story...
...I want to feel happy, too.
Look, the clouds have gone from the mountains.
Mrs Takeda?
Yes?
Hello.
Hello. How are you?
Here's the newsletter.
I'll leave it here.
What are you growing now?
Vegetables.
We can eat them here at home.
What do you enjoy doing?
Having tea with the neighbours.
So you talk over tea?
Yes, a little talk in the morning and I'm happy all day.
That's good for you.
Yes, it is.
Good for you.
I'll bring this again.
If you need anything, tell me then.
I'll see you again.
Hello? Mrs Ohira?
Here's the newsletter.
How are you?
Well, my back's been hurting me.
Your back?
Yes. It hurts and I can't hang out my laundry.
When it gets better I have to get out in the garden.
So what are you doing about drying your laundry?
Oh, I manage the best I can. I can't dry my bedding, though.
I see...
Do you have anything that you're worried about?
Worried?
Everybody helps me out, so...
You're OK...
Yes, thank you.
Here's the village newsletter.
I'll leave it here.
Thank you.
Take care. I'll see you again.
That's it? I'm sorry I wasn't more help.
I'll see you.
All right. Thank you.
Thank you.
When did you first start living in the village?
Here? In, uh, 1947.
1947?
We were evacuated in 1946.
From Manchuria?
Yes.
That's when you came here... Were you alone then?
No. Then it was one child, my husband and me.
It must have been difficult.
Well, I was lucky.
I'd just given birth.
I had milk, so I was able to nurse other babies, too.
I see.
'Letter from the Mountain:
'There's everything in the fields...
'... eggplant, cucumber, tomatoes, squash, watermelon.
'I've always eaten whatever my body told me it wanted.
'If eating plain food has anything to do with long life...
'... then I've lived long because I've had no money.
'I'm lucky to have been poor.'
Takao and his wife are here.
As long as it's not a house call.
Hello!
'Rise to heaven on a great wind'... I get closer every day.
That's by Ryokan...
Clean lines, as if a nice breeze was blowing through...
I'm not there yet.
Writing that and tearing it up... he practises all day long.
Here.
It's the form I'm after. Form's the main thing.
Form traces the outline of the soul.
Anyway, this is what absorbs me now.
Bring that thing, will you?
Oh... all right.
Were you ill?
Uh, yes.
It's good for a doctor to know what it's like to be sick.
Yes, that's true.
I want you to have this.
You're the one who should.
You remember. The sword I use for the temple Noh dance.
I couldn't...
Take it.
I know they want me to take your place at the Winter Festival, but...
I taught you the dance. Take that sword and do it for me.
That's a load off my mind.
Isn't that nice. One more thing we've got cleared up.
I think I'll write a bit more.
We should be going.
Don't you worry yourselves about me.
Is he eating well?
Same as ever. He eats what he wants.
Is he in pain?
He won't say. He's very stubborn.
I'll call in from time to time. If there's anything, call me.
We won't tell him.
Thank you.
I guess miracles don't happen, do they.
No.
Well...
No luck.
Let's move.
There! I got one!
Got it!
I did it!
I'm so happy!
Really happy!
There's ginger...
And a mugwort!
Hi, Doctor!
Hello.
Where were you?
Look!
I caught it!
Good, eh?
Just one?
Yeah, just one.
Where were you?
Picking herbs. Here.
Oh, wow!
Thank you!
Isn't that sweet!
See you.
Bye-bye.
It's done.
There.
You caught it.
No, you have it.
No!
Yes.
It's crisp.
It sounds good.
I know...
We can have 'kotsuzake'.
Give me that.
Um...
...don't you need a raw char for kotsuzake?
This'll do for today.
Good for what ails you, huh?
If you're going to fish...
...it has to be a mountain stream.
Give me some.
Good night.
Are you sleeping well?
Oh yes, I sleep very well.
So well I don't even dream.
That's good.
Sleep is the basis of health.
I sleep very well here, too.
Has there ever been a time when you couldn't sleep?
When it rains and I can't get around much...
...I don't sleep very well.
What do you do then?
Eh?
What do you do then?
Then I just listen to the water flowing over there...
...and imagine that I was water, too.
I think of myself just flowing along...
...and suddenly there I am asleep.
When you turn to water, where do you flow to?
Well, I flow with the water...
...way, way, far away...
...and about the time I'm thinking I've reached the sea...
...there I am asleep.
We hear the sound of the river every night...
...but I don't feel like that.
You're both still young.
You've still got to listen to a lot of things.
The river's there, and you have to hear it...
...but the sound of water's no use to you.
It's something for old folks to listen to.
When did you stop taking your sleeping pills?
Yes...
The night I caught that char.
You know...
...I'm glad I came to this village.
Thank you.
They say if you shout about something good, it flees.
Is that a bird?
It's a frog.
It is not!
The 'singing frog'.
It only lives in clear streams.
I love this... it's like the mountain's rocking us to sleep.
'Be not a burden...
'... rather be a help, asking no reward.'
Mr Koda's calligraphy?
Yes.
It was the motto at his school in Manchuria.
You were married in China?
Yes.
But the Russians took him and put him in a work camp in Siberia.
I fled with our baby and what I could carry...
...but the child died. I couldn't even have his ashes.
For 11 years after the war I was alone...
...waiting for my husband to come back from Siberia.
Then he said...
...'If I'd really been a good man, I wouldn't have lived to come back.'
But he came back, safe and sound.
Did he say anything about your child?
'I guess it was his destiny.' And never another word about it.
'I guess it was his destiny'...
Soon I'll be alone again.
The days will be long.
Takao, why don't we buy a new household shrine?
This one's so drab...
They're expensive.
So?
Because of those ancestors you're here, and now so am I.
Wouldn't it be nice...
...to live the rest of our lives here and become ancestors too?
Yes, it would.
Look at it burn!
There it goes again.
It's done.
No more.
That's all.
'May Amitabha's name be praised'...
'Letter from the Mountain:
'At the O-bon Festival in August, the dead come to visit Amitabha Hall.
'With fire I light their way, and talk with them until dark.
'As we talk, I no longer know if I am of this world...
'...or of theirs.
'This did not happen when I was younger.
'I do not fear them.
'I would happily pass this way into eternal sleep.'
See you at New Year's!
After six months, Michiko's reputation here is high.
She listens to the elderly, responding not only with kindness...
... but with good diagnoses.
The Mayor came to ask if she might work every day...
...but Michiko said she wanted to go on the way she is.
Now let's see your eyes.
Open your mouth...
Stick out your tongue...
Look up.
Now the throat...
Does that hurt?
No?
How about here?
OK?
Look down.
'Letter from the Mountain:
'As a girl I was always running fevers...
'... and couldn't help much at home.
'Neither my family nor the villagers expected I would live long.
'But I have lived so long it's as if death had forgotten me.
'It goes to show you never can tell.
'The longer I live, the more I do not understand...
'...and what I understand least is why I have lived to this age.'
I wonder if Sayuri writes like this because she fears the worst...
What's happened?
What she had in high school may be turning into a sarcoma.
I'll have to check with the general hospital in town.
And if it is?
It's fast-growing, so she'd need chemotherapy.
It's a rare case.
Isn't this precisely your specialty?
Well, yes...
'If you're lost, go forward.'
In Tokyo I saw three cases like Sayuri's.
I doubt that a doctor out here has ever seen even one.
I phoned the hospital, and they asked if I'd consult.
Then you should go and work with the attending physician.
But can I?
Sure you can.
You're the only one who can cure Sayuri.
You can do it.
You're a doctor.
It'll mean some nights, and there's the clinic here.
Will I be OK?
Sure.
I'll drive you in and back, and do whatever needs doing.
You'll be fine.
Hello.
Your 'Letter' was very good. I'm looking forward to next month's.
'If you were deceived by life...
'Do not grieve, or with anger burn...
'Persevere in times of strife...
'Have faith, for happy days return.
'In the future lives the heart...
'Suffer now although you may...
'Sorrow swiftly will depart...
'You will hold this dear one day.'
Pushkin's a great poet.
'They told me Dr Ueda will be helping.
'I know this will inconvenience you, too.'
Don't worry about me.
You've got to get better fast, go back to Amitabha Hall...
...and listen to Miss Ume.
Are there columns written?
Three?
Get lots of rest.
Start again when you're all better.
I'll come back.
That's my husband.
Be right there.
I'll see you.
He's a bit young, isn't he?
You'd think so. But he does his homework.
He read my articles. That speeds things up.
Before anything else, a good doctor is humble.
And that he is.
'Under the bright moon...
'Fog covers the mountainside...
'Clouds on the paddies.'
If pneumonia sets in...
We'll just have to watch very closely...
...and hit it with antibiotics the moment we see it.
Forgive me for asking, but...
...what are you doing in Yanaka village?
Shouldn't you be somewhere closer to the front lines?
Call me a drop-out if you want, Dr Nakamura.
I don't mind.
I'm sorry. I didn't mean that.
It's all right. I don't think there's anything wrong with it.
In Tokyo I was always trying to be everyone's idea of perfect...
...and at the same time live up to my own ideals.
I couldn't take it.
I shouldn't have pried.
I tend to be solitary by nature.
I have a bad habit of testing people to see if they're sympathetic.
I'm sorry.
Anyway, our job now is to knock out Sayuri's tumor.
Let's do that.
It's been a while since I've seen you writing.
I thought I'd tape Miss Ume and play it for Sayuri.
So I started trying to write down what I should ask.
Sayuri will like that.
But it's not easy.
Maybe I shouldn't try to plan it...
...and just listen to what Miss Ume has to say.
Miss Ume, I thought today I might record your voice.
Record?
Yeah. You talk into here, and we can hear your voice afterwards.
Oh, the same thing as Sayuri uses...
That's right.
Listen...
Oh, the same thing as Sayuri uses...
I'll take what you say on this to Sayuri.
Could you say something?
All right, if you're going to take it to Sayuri.
Hello. Are you well?
Oh, no... she's sick.
Anything.
For example, what you think is the most important thing.
The most important?
Amitabha, I guess.
Amitabha! May your name be praised!
Heal Sayuri, please! May your name be praised!
Sayuri will be cured!
I'm worried sick about her, you know.
But when I sit here and look out over the valley...
...after a while it brings me peace.
You'll be fine. Hang in there.
Hurry.
She's hyperventilating.
Oxygen saturation falling.
Put her on the ventilator and stabilize her breathing.
That's our only window to hit the pneumonia.
We'll go to steroids if we have to.
Might be side effects...
We have to keep her alive.
You'll be fine.
Ampule...
Stop her breathing.
Muscle relaxant.
The pneumonia's progressing faster than we expected.
It's fifty-fifty right now.
She's not giving up at all. She's fighting back.
We're going to work with that and do all we can for her.
She's stable right now. You should all get some rest.
Tired?
I haven't been in a touch-and-go situation like that for a while.
I was surprised how calm I was once we got started.
Dr Nakamura...
Could I ask how many terminal patients you've attended?
About 30...
...in the four years and a bit I've been a doctor.
I watched more than 300 go when I was in Tokyo.
Let's relax a bit.
With your permission.
The last death certificate I signed...
...was for a 76 year-old taxi owner-operator.
His family hadn't arrived yet.
I sat by his bed and watched as his breathing got slower and weaker.
And just as he'd taken his last breath...
...the evening sun shone in from between the buildings...
...and it was like something vital from inside me...
...went out and rose on those rays of light.
This doesn't sound very professional...
...but I think what went out of me...
...was my qi, my vital force.
I was pregnant, but the baby died in my womb.
I'm sorry.
They say the child chooses its parents, don't they.
And I...
...just wasn't chosen.
Why?
After that I fell apart. I guess I'd reached my limit.
Your limit?
Death had absorbed all my vital energy.
All I could think of was death.
I had no optimism left.
The Department of Psychosomatic Internal Medicine...
...diagnosed me as 'panic disorder', a psychiatric problem.
The main reason I came to Yanaka, my husband's home town...
...was to recover from that.
You don't look sick at all. You look fine to me.
The problem is whether the soul's sick or not.
The disease might be serious...
...but if the soul isn't sick, neither is the person.
Mr Koda...
...an old teacher of my husband's who's got terminal cancer...
...has helped me to start thinking this way.
Some patients are like that.
Yes. There are people like that.
The way you think about lif e and about death...
...changes as you get older.
Dr Nakamura...
...what do you think a life is?
A life?
Well, it's something that inevitably ends in death.
I'm still pretty young...
'Ruddy of face at morning, bones at day's end.'
Since I came out here I've started feeling the truth of that.
A good death is part of a good life.
Oh, dear...
I sound just like my husband!
I'll go this time.
We'll take turns.
Thanks.
Did you sleep?
I napped.
I can still sit up all night with a patient.
I guess I'm OK.
It looks like it might work out. The pneumonia's peaked.
You'll make one tough old lady.
Miss Ume's my role model.
'Praise to Amitabha!'
Miss Ume...
Hello! Pull up a pillow!
Sayuri's operation was a success.
She'll be fine.
She'll be fine? Sayuri's better?
Yes.
Really?
She's better, Amitabha!
Thank you! Praise Amitabha!
That's wonderful! She's better!
Say thank you to your wife.
Say thank you for curing her.
Say that for me.
All right, I will.
Wait, wait...
You don't get many women who are smart and sweet.
You take good care of her!
Look at that!
Isn't it beautiful!
All the way to the mountains...
Let's go this way.
It's a good rice crop.
Look at it all!
Wow!
Next year I'll plant my own field.
Yes...
This looks so good!
And here, too.
Takao, let's stop for lunch.
Next year I'm going to plant my own field.
Yes! Don't be a cherry-blossom farmer all your life.
I'll go see Dr Nakamura.
Good morning.
Hello.
Good, huh?
'I've listened to...
'... Miss Ume's...
'... tape...
'... again and again.
'lt's made me feel...
'... very calm.'
When Miss Ume...
...heard that you were going to be all right...
...she started crying.
Thank you.
Does it hurt?
No.
'Mother'... I don't want a funeral.
A stick of incense will be enough.
Otherwise just go on as usual.
Yes, I know.
You've been wonderful to me all these years.
I can't stand this!
I love that sound.
Beautiful!
The smoke?
My eye! There's some ash in my eye, Doctor!
There is? Where?
There you go!
Good evening!
Oh, good evening.
Please, come in.
It's late. I'm sorry.
No trouble.
Thank you for all you've done.
Not at all.
This is just a token...
Oh, thank you.
Sayuri fought very hard.
It was because of you. I don't know what to say.
Thank you very much.
Have some tea.
Please.
Tonight the council adopted plans for a new clinic.
The village wants to take it out of the nursery school...
...and put it in its own building.
Time being of the essence, the Mayor's asked me to come...
...and ask if you'd take charge of the clinic on a full-time basis.
I'll give it serious thought.
But rather than a fancy building...
...I think you should start by thinking...
...what kind of care people want, and what makes them comfortable.
We'll certainly be happy for any advice you can give us.
May I assume you'll take part in the planning process, then?
Of course I will. When do you expect to have it built?
We hope to have it finished by next fall.
You could go full-time from then, if you like.
The Mayor will be delighted. I'd better go tell him.
He's at the Village Hall. He was going to come if you'd said no to me.
Excuse me.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Good night.
Will you do it?
Sure.
A woman does what she's asked.
Takao and Michiko are here.
Sensei...
This is the best way.
Will you be all right?
I'll be fine.
I'll go on ahead, then.
All right.
I won't keep you waiting long.
It's almost as if Mr Koda willed himself to stop breathing.
He stole away...
...leaving so many memories.
Thank you very much.
RISE TO HEAVEN ON A GREAT WIND
I want to write a novel of my life in this village...
... of what I've seen, what I've felt...
... carrying the weight of its truth, unplanned, as it is.
And I want to continue to heed the words of my teacher.
'Form is the main thing.
'Form traces the outline of the soul.'
Miss Ume?
Hello.
You're back!
That's wonderful!
Thank you! Thank you!
Wonderful!
It's positive.
Three months.
A baby! I'm pregnant!
I'm 43 and I'm pregnant!
Yeah?
You are?
'Letter from the Mountain:
'Snow erases the boundary between mountain and village.
'All is solid white.
'You can no longer tell which is this world of the village...
'...and that world...
'...of the ancestors, deep in the mountains.
'Spring...
'...summer...
'... fall...
'... winter.
'The clear boundary between mountain and village...
'...slowly disappears as the year goes round.
'At my age I feel all the more...
'... our lives are the same.'
One more.
OK, smile!
Here goes!
Change places.
Careful...
Thanks.
OK, Miss Ume...
You say 'cheese'!
Cheese!
One more for good luck.
One more?
Miss Ume...