She's unconscious. It doesn't look good.
Mom, the wipers...
Thanks.
Now it all came back.
Two years ago, about now, when I couldn't go to school any more...
.... I spent a month with Grandma, just the two of us.
THE WITCH OF THE WEST IS DEAD
I'm not going back to school.
It just makes me feel terrible.
All right.
Take some time off, then.
It hasn't even been a month since you started Grade 7.
You don't have to decide anything now.
I've got to go. I'll be back at 6, all right?
Yes.
Arguing will only make her more stubborn.
The reason?
I don't know...
She's always been overly sensitive.
She must have had her feelings hurt.
She's always walked to a different drum.
She just doesn't fit in.
Anyway, I'm thinking of sending her to my mother's for a while.
I've heard of other kids dropping out of school.
I never thought my own daughter would be one of them.
So how are things with you?
'Doesn't fit in'...
Maybe because she was half-Japanese, my mother never fit in at school.
Still, she made it through university.
And here I was dropping out of middle school.
What was my grandmother going to make of that?
You're looking well.
Mai...
Hello, Grandma.
You're here...
Nothing's changed.
In here?
It's so nice and green here now.
Yes, it is.
They've widened the road up here. I was surprised.
They have?
You didn't know?
Thank you.
That's a nice breeze.
Masao says hello.
The new factory's starting up, so he couldn't get back.
You've got more herbs. How many kinds do you have now?
I don't know...
That's lavender, isn't it.
About Mai...
I don't think it's all that big a deal.
She's always been very sensitive.
I think that's the reason.
Out here she can get over it. It might be hard for you, though...
'Doesn't fit in'...
I'll be glad to have Mai here.
I'm happy we have a girl just like her.
I've always loved my grandma.
'Grandma, I love you' I'd say sometimes....
.... And she'd give a llttle smile and answer...
Mai...
What?
Go pick some lettuce and nasturtium for making sandwiches.
OK.
Is this OK?
Yes.
Please wash them and put them in here.
How many leaves?
Oh, three or four.
Thank you.
Mai, bring a plate from the cabinet, please.
This one?
Yes, we'll use those plates at most meal-times.
Go get your cup from the car.
I have cups.
She brought her own.
Oh.
And bring the luggage.
By myself?
Use the cart.
Hello.
Who are you?
This is my grandma's house.
Here for a visit?
I'm staying a while.
I'm sick.
Well, ain't you something!
What's your problem?
A weird man was looking in the car.
That's probably Genji-san.
Genji-san?
Did he come back?
Who is he? Where does he live?
Mai, why don't you sit down?
That's a nice cup.
Genji lives in the house at the foot of the lane.
He does odd jobs for me.
The place with the dogs barking?
That's right.
So he's divorced?
I don't know. He seems to be living there alone, though.
Does he come here a lot?
Not that often.
Anyway, which bedroom would you like?
Grandpa's room, or your mother's?
I'll take Mom's.
Is it still how I left it?
Yes.
I'd better go tidy it up.
Right now?
I can't keep Mai waiting...
She's gone...
...to put away things she doesn't want you to see.
You've got things that you don't want people to see, don't you?
As one grows up, there are more and more of those things.
That's the room your mother grew up in...
...so she has a lot of them in there.
Is Grandpa's room still full of rocks?
Yes. It's just the same.
He loved rocks, didn't he.
I loved this picture of Grandpa.
He was a science teacher at a middle-school.
Grandma had come from England...
...all alone, to be an English teacher there.
They got marrled....
.... Then had my mother, which is why I'm here.
Somehow that's amazing.
Mom?
Good morning.
Your mother left early. She said she had to get to work.
Yeah.
This is too much.
Today we will be working up on the hill.
Doing what?
First eat your breakfast, then take a walk up there.
A walk?
Wow!
For now, 'escape'.
Mai!
Let's get picking!
Mai, open your mouth.
It tastes of the hill.
Your grandpa loved wild-strawberry jam.
He'd put it on anything.
The only time he ever gave up was when he tried it...
...with cucumber.
Cucumber?!
And he never put it on green vegetables again.
Did Mom help you here?
No.
There weren't any strawberries here then.
They only started really growing here the year after Grandpa died.
Like a present from him.
It really was.
Because that day...
...when I first found a carpet of strawberries here...
...was my birthday.
Your grandpa never once...
...forgot my birthday.
You must have been really happy.
I was so happy...
...I squatted down here and I cried.
You're stronger than you look.
Isn't all that sugar bad for you?
It's fine.
You never eat that much jam all at once...
...and the sweeter it is, the longer it keeps.
Mix that slowly, will you?
You're good at that.
Mai, trade with me.
Having you help me this year...
...made things a lot easier.
I'll come and help next year, and every year after that.
The jam we made had all the bitter sweetness...
.... Of the plants in the woods behind the house.
You have a good sense of color.
This mint green is beautiful.
What are you sewing?
An apron for someone.
This is one of your mother's old nightgowns.
I'll make the top into a smock for you.
And the hem can be an apron for the kitchen.
Grandma, I love you!
Do you know what a witch is?
A witch?
Someone who rides on a broom?
Not quite, but that's the idea.
I've seen them on TV...
They really do exist.
My grandmother was one.
She could see into the future, and she was clairvoyant.
My grandfather came to Japan once, more than a hundred years ago.
My grandmother was only 19 then. They were engaged.
One afternoon she was crocheting...
...some doilies for when they were to be married.
Then suddenly, right in front of her...
...she saw the sea at night, and my grandfather swimming...
...all alone.
Something made her call out, 'Go right! '
At that very same time, my grandfather had been on a ship...
...and he'd slipped somehow and fallen overboard.
But the ship just kept on going.
There was nothing else to do but start swimming after it.
After a while he began to think he was lost...
...and he called out Grandma's name.
And right then...
...he suddenly heard her dear voice calling out to him.
'Go right! '
He turned to his right and started swimming.
Soon he reached the shore, and he was safe.
He told my grandmother about this experience in a letter.
She wrote back saying she was happy he was safe, but nothing else.
Why not?
She should have said 'it was me who saved you.'
That's what those times were like.
Grandma, do you think the witch thing runs in our family?
Absolutely.
But...
...I don't have power like that.
Oh?
That night I had a dream.
Go west!
'Morning, Grandma.
Good morning, Mai.
Turn off the water, please.
Mai, come over here.
Do you know what these leaves are?
Narcissus?
Not quite.
What is it?
Garlic.
Garlic? Where are the cloves?
You have to dig them up.
If you plant garlic between rose bushes...
...it keeps bugs away, and the roses smell better.
I love it here.
I wonder if I have witch's blood...
...like Grandma was talking about last night....
Grandma...
...could I get supernatural powers...
...if I try hard?
No, forget it.
It takes a lot of work, you know.
You'd have to do basic training first.
I'll try.
How do you do 'basic training'?
Well, for sports, you have to strengthen your body, don't you.
In the same way...
...to do magic or work miracles you need strength of spirit.
Training to strengthen your spirit...
Zen?
It's a bit early for that, I think.
So how?
Well...
First, early to bed and early to rise.
You eat properly, and get lots of exercise.
Good, regular habits.
Right away you're disappointed at a very simple thing.
But for you that very simple thing will be the hardest to overcome.
Yeah. I'm really bad at things like that.
To become a witch...
...the most important thing is strength of will.
The power to make up your mind...
...and do what you've decided to do.
Until you can overcome that most difficult part...
...you might not get what you want.
But give it a try anyway.
I'll try...
...to give it a try.
I'm glad to hear that.
All right, now decide how you'll spend your day...
...from the time you get up till when you go to bed.
Write it on a piece of paper and put it on the wall.
What time do you wake up?
6 o'clock.
I'll never do that. I'll try for 7.
Then we can have breakfast together.
That means going to bed at 11.
But will I sleep then?
What's your usual bedtime?
2 or 3 am.
I decided on a schedule.
Mornings were for exercise: Laundry and cleaning.
Afternoons: Study or reading.
And then, bed at 11.
Good night.
Mai...
...I've never once thought you were weak-willed.
I think I am.
Mai?
Come in...
What's that?
A charm to help you sleep well.
Thanks. Good night, Grandma.
Onions?
Mai!
Yes?
It's 7 o'clock.
OK!
Get dressed and go get the eggs, please.
Thus began my training as a witch.
It was a lot different from what I'd expected....
.... But it was new, so it was fun.
Time to eat!
Why Is that man barging into my life?!
Just when everything was going so well!
Perfect timing. Take your shoes off.
Stomp around in the tub.
We're washing sheets.
That's the way, Mai.
Very good!
The pure-white sheets spread out wide over the lavender...
.... Sent the bad feelings flying far, far away.
Grandma, what are these for?
To make mint and sage tea.
It's medicine for the garden.
Medicine?
If you like, you can plant your own garden somewhere.
Here in the yard...
...or up on the hill...
Choose anywhere you like.
That will be your place.
I've decided! My favorite place.
That was quick.
Here, Grandma. What do you think?
I can see how you'd like it.
Once, a long time ago...
...this was a lovely little wood.
You see that rise there?
From here all the way back down to the house...
Grandpa bought it.
So this is still your land?
Yes.
Great!
So you like it here...
I wonder if a garden can be planted here, though?
But we'll make this your place.
But don't try to change it. Leave it the way it is.
You can plant, um...
...wild thistle, adenophora, gentian, violets...
Sweet flowers, but tough.
Grandma, that's perfect.
Grandma, I love you!
You're right, Grandma! All the bugs are going.
Grandma named that place 'my sanctuary'.
I'm calling this plant a 'princess forget_me-not'.
I'm watering It, and when it gets bigger....
.... I'll transplant it to 'my sanctuary'.
What's wrong?
Aw, man!
Hm? Are you the grand-daughter?
Hello. Is your grandma here?
Yeah, that's it. You know the place...
OK, Kentaro. Thanks.
Good thing I was on my way home.
I thought you'd want to see this. It's tomorrow's mail, actually.
Air mail.
It's from my younger sister.
She's a very successful fortune teller in England.
It's probably a very late birthday card.
Granny...
...that stuff you gave my wife, it was very good.
Should you?
It's all right.
My son's coming to get me.
Oh, all right.
You're more Japanese than the Japanese are now.
You've always got a glass of water for a thirsty traveler.
Your grandpa was the same. He was quiet, though.
That isn't water.
Thank you.
Ah, that's good!
It's quince wine.
Delicious!
Can I tell you something?
So Mai's the same age?
The postman happily told us....
.... that his son Kentaro wanted to be a postman, too.
He'd helped during spring vacation.
...chasing after my scooter on his bicycle!
We'll get the scooter tomorrow.
This is Kentaro.
He looks like me, but he's a good guy.
He'll take over from me.
Come along some time. We'll make a party of it.
Come on, Dad.
Yeah, yeah!
OK!
'Night.
Let's go!
'Night!
My grandmother said....
.... That to be a witch you need antenna that sense the flow of things....
...and the power to decide things for yourself.
It's hard.
It's still far too soon.
It takes time.
A well-trained witch...
...sees what she wants to see...
...and hears what she wants to hear.
Can you do that? Your sister tells fortunes.
I don't do that.
Why not?
I enjoy the little changes that come to my garden...
...from one day to the next.
So I have no need to know about them in advance.
I do know when one thing is going to happen...
...but that's all.
What's that?
It's a secret.
What?
One day you'll know.
Two years later, I found out.
What's the matter?!
The chickens...
It's happened before.
Probably wild dogs, or a weasel.
What's wrong?!
Mai? What happened?
The woods...
Yes?
Grandma, could I sleep with you?
Come in.
Grandma...
Yes?
What happens when you die?
I don't know. I've never actually died.
Dad says...
Did you ask him, too?
A long time ago.
And what did he say?
He said that when you die...
...that's the end of everything.
He said there's nothing left.
I said, 'So even if I was dead...
'... the sun would come up the next morning...
'... and everyone would go on like they always do'...
...and he said, 'Yep.'
Mai...
...come here.
And you've been agonizing ever since...
Let me tell you what I believe happens...
...when a person dies.
OK.
When you die...
...the soul separates from the body.
I think the soul is set free.
Even separated from its body, the soul's long journey...
...must go on.
So my soul is me, then?
Your soul and your body together are you.
When I die...
...what happens to the part of me that thinks?
The thought of that disappearing is what scares me most.
Yes.
You know how a lot of people get grumpy when they're hungry?
Like me.
That's your body affecting the part of you that thinks.
Because the body disappears, you can't say that what's left...
...is the same as Mai is now.
Then I don't need this body.
It's like it's only here to make me suffer.
Those chickens, did they need bodies?
But Mai...
...it's because you have a body that your soul can experience things.
And without experiencing things...
...your soul can't grow.
If my soul doesn't grow...
...who cares?
You're probably right.
But that's what souls do. They can't help it.
Just like plants reach out to the sun...
...the soul wants to grow.
Anyway, having a body...
...can be a lot of fun.
Doesn't curling up in these sheets, dried on lavender in the sun...
...make you happy?
When you find a warm spot in the sun on a winter's day...
...or a cool spot in the shade in the summer...
...don't you feel happy then?
Or when you did a somersault on the horizontal bar...
...for the first time?
When I die...
...I'll let you know.
You will?
Yes.
There's no rush.
I know that.
I'll find a way to let you know...
...my soul has separated from my body...
...but not scare you.
Please.
Oh, while I remember...
I'll finish cleaning up.
You go down to Genji's and give him this money.
Now?
Yes, before he goes out.
Good morning.
Good morning!
Um...
...here.
Thanks.
Who's the kid?
The foreigner's grand-kid. She's too lazy to go to school.
She sounds just like you!
Grandma, their dog hair is the same as was on the wire mesh!
The mesh?
In the chicken coop. It was light-brown fur!
Weasels are that color.
No!
I'm sure it was those dogs!
They got out that night and attacked our chickens!
But you didn't see that.
I just know!
Mai, sit down.
Now, listen.
For a witch, this is one of the most important things.
A witch has to treasure her intuitions...
...but she can't let them take control of her.
But...
You're sure what you're thinking is true, right?
Second-rate witches...
...let their delusions take control and destroy them.
Mai, try to understand.
This is very important.
I'm not criticizing you.
You might be right, or you might be wrong.
But what is concerning me now...
...is that your heart is full of suspicion and hatred.
I think that only the truth...
...will make that go away.
Will it?
I think it would only create more anger and hatred.
That kind of energy...
...makes a person tired, don't you think?
Yes, I do.
I'm coming in!
Fresh-baked.
Have some.
I've brushed my teeth.
So have I.
They're still warm.
Sometimes in the middle of the night I get the urge to bake.
You do?
I'll never be able to do it, will I?
Do what?
You know...
That's not true.
You're doing very well.
Don't be in such a hurry. Some things take time.
Grandma...
I...
Um...
I don't know how to say it...
I like it here.
Really.
You can stay as long as you like.
If you want, I'll talk to your mother.
Mom suddenly phoned and said Dad would be coming in three days.
Hi.
You're looking well.
Did you take time off?
It worked out perfectly. You gave me an excuse.
Mai!
Thanks for helping me out.
That's all right.
Give this to your grandma.
OK.
My dad.
Hello!
Hello.
You know what?
Kentaro, my son...
...now he doesn't want to be a postman.
You know what he wants to be now?
A soccer player!
Can you believe that? The fool says I'm too rigid.
Well, I've got to go.
'Bye.
Goodbye.
You like it here...
Yeah.
Grandma, here.
Hello, Masao.
You must be tired.
Thank you for having Mai here.
I enjoy having her.
So much so that I wish I could keep her.
I see...
Dad...
Huh? Oh, this...
Here.
Oh, thank you.
It's nothing.
Mai...
...I've talked to your mother.
I think it's time we all moved down to Kida. What do you think?
So Yoko will quit her job?
Yes, she said she would.
And school?
It'll mean a new school.
Do I have to answer right now?
Uh, well...
...I'm going back tomorrow. Could you tell me by then?
OK.
Well, since I've got a car...
...shall we go for a drive?
OK?
We'll be back soon.
We won't be able to come up here so often from Kida.
Yeah, it takes about half a day to drive here.
I wish Yoko could make this.
That night, Grandma made the quiche that Dad loves.
I really liked your grandfather, you know.
Every time I saw him...
...he'd teach me about rocks.
Like I was his own son.
I really liked him.
Well! Isn't this a surprise!
You've learned something.
Oh, sorry...
There you go. Good night, Dad.
Thanks. Good night.
'Night.
Grandma?
Yes?
Why doesn't Dad ask me why I won't go to school?
Has your mother asked?
No.
Come to think of it, nor have you.
That's because we all have faith in your decision.
If you say you won't go...
...I think it's because you have your own reasons.
Getting along with other girls is a subject all its own.
When school starts, everyone rushes around joining cliques.
They all go to the washroom together during breaks...
...and talk about the pop stars they like.
I see.
Up till last year, I did fine.
But this year, for some reason...
...I started to hate it.
Being part of a clique?
Yeah.
Smiling at girls whose clique you want to be in...
...and going 'uh-huh' to boring conversations...
I don't know, somehow...
...I just got sick of it.
I can understand that.
So this year I didn't do any of that.
And I ended up on my own.
Couldn't you make friends with girls in those cliques?
No.
Even if one of them wants to talk to me...
...when the others call her over, she has to go.
The girls in the clique are testing her to see...
...who's more important.
That must be hard.
I don't hate those girls or anything.
They're stuck.
Do the different cliques talk to each other?
Sometimes.
In my class this year it was strange how well...
...all the cliques got along.
So that can happen?
It's easy.
Everybody just settles on one person as the class outcast.
About Dad wanting me to change schools...
A witch makes up her own mind.
You know that, don't you.
Yes.
But listen...
All right.
Even if I change schools and leave that class...
...I still haven't solved the basic problem of being an outcast.
So I'm still not out of the woods, no matter where I go.
An apprentice witch can't solve that problem alone.
Everyone's worried about the same thing happening to them.
But I think the problem is with me, too.
Do I want to be the lone wolf, or be one of the pack.
Why don't you make your choice on a case-by-case basis?
Tell yourself your decision is based on what's best for you at the time.
Know what you need, and don't ever look back.
Just as a cactus doesn't choose to live in water...
...a polar bear doesn't choose to live in Hawaii. He chooses the arctic.
But who would ever question his decision?
You always tell me to make my own decisions...
...but I get the feeling you're always leading me somehow.
Well, it's time for bed.
'Morning.
Dad...
...I'll come with Mom and live with you.
You will, will you?
Well, we'd better get started right away.
Dad, I want to see the different schools for myself...
...and choose my own school.
Mai!
Great!
That's fantastic!
Careful!
That's great!
Dad, stop it!
Wild Strawberry
Yeah...
OK.
Any day that's good.
Yeah...
OK, 'Bye.
The day after Dad left, we had a call from Mom.
I'd leave in two or three days, and get ready to move.
From Kida, I wouldn't be able to come to Grandma's so often.
Just getting dirt for the garden.
That man has broken into My Sanctuary!
Mai, let's sit down.
No!
Are you forgetting your witch's training?
Don't get so worked up.
I don't care!
I'll always hate that man!
I can't stop myself.
Genji said he was taking soil for the garden, didn't he?
What's wrong with that?
Yeah, but is that true?
He's stealing it!
If we let him get away with it, he'll take the whole sanctuary!
There are the oak trees...
...and then the mountain cherries.
He won't come past them.
Even if he were up to something.
But...
And I'll bet you were very rude to Genji-san.
You didn't even say hello to him, did you.
That's very insulting You may have hurt his feelings.
I'll never be able to stay calm and not get worked up about him.
I'll never like that man!
He's a filthy pig. He can die for all I care!
Mai!
That man's more important to you than I am!
You must be hungry.
Do you want to come down and eat?
Your tea?
Don't want it.
You know, Grandma...
...you got worked up about what I said, too.
Mai!
You're all wet!
Aren't you cold?
Let's get back.
Your grandfather...
...used to love to drink tea and look out at the fog.
I always wondered what he was thinking.
You got lost in the fog once when you were a little girl.
Grandpa and I looked everywhere for you.
But now...
...Mai's all grown up.
She can find her own way home.
We talked.
It's hard on Mai with us living apart...
...and me busy with work.
A hard decision to make.
I had to think about what my real priorities were.
You had to think?
Look, I'm not giving up my career for good, you know.
I couldn't live like you.
I have my own life to live.
And even if you are 'Grandma'...
...you can't push your way onto me, or Mai.
Well, I probably am a little old-fashioned.
What's wrong? That's not like you.
And what's 'like me'?
You never doubt yourself.
I'll call when we get settled.
In you get.
'Bye.
Grandma wanted me to say lt.
'I love you, ' like I did before our fight.
But I couldn't.
Two years have gone by. I go to school every day.
I haven't been back to Grandma's since then.
It was awful the way I treated her that last tlme.
I shouldn't have gone off like that and left her there alone.
I treated her a lot worse than she treated me.
Will she forgive me?
Yes, she'll come out to meet me like she always does....
Even though I'm a little awkward... like she always does.
Mom, did you know that Grandma was...
Yes. She was a true witch.
I'm going to tell them in the village.
Where is she?
We don't do that in our family.
Mai...
...could you go into the kitchen for a few minutes?
If there's anything I can do, let me know.
I never amounted to much...
...but the old lady and the old man were always good to me.
That cucumber grass is really blooming.
'Cucumber grass'?
That's what they call it.
From the Witch of the West...
.... To the Witch of the East.
Grandma's soul....
.... Has succeeded in separating.
Grandma remembered her promlse.
Grandma...
...I love you!
Grandma Sachi Parker
Mal TAKAHASHI Mayu
Mother Ryo
Kentaro SUZUKI Ryunosuke
Grandpa SHINJITSU Ichiro
Genji's Housemate SUWA Taro
Father OMORI Nao
Postman TAKAHASHI Katsumi
Genji KIMURA Yuichi
Executive Producer TESHIMA Masao
Producers TSUGE Yasushi TANISHIMA Masayuki SAKURAI Tsutomu
Original Story NASHIKI Kaho (Published by Shincho Bunko)
Screenplay YAZAWA Yumi NAGASAKI Shunichi
Cinematography WATANABE Makoto (J.S.O.)
Gaffer WADA Yuji
Sound TSURUMAKI Yutaka
Design TANEDA Yohei
Art YAUOHI Kyoko
Editor ABE Hirohide
Sound Effects HOKARI Yukio
Casting YOSHIKAWA Takeshi
Casting Coordinator (U.S.) Christine Iso
Music Composed by TOBETA Bajune
Music Produced by YASUI Shin
Theme Song 'NIJI'performed by TESHIMA Aoi Lyrics ARAI Akino Music ARAI Akino & HOKARI Hisaaki Arranged by MIYANO Sachiko
A production of Asmik Ace Entertainment
in association with 'The Witch of the West is Dead' Film Partners
Directed by NAGASAKI Shunichi
Subtitles Ian MacDougall
©2008 'The Witch of the West is Dead' Film Partners