The story follows the journey of a man travelling some 1000 kilometres from Toyama City, Japan to his wife's hometown in Nagasaki Prefecture, in order to scatter her ashes into the sea. Along the way he travels through many famous locations, recalling experiences with his wife along the way. He also befriends and is assisted by numerous strangers. 最親愛的/Dearest/Anata e 人生無路盡飄萍 - life is like floating weeds with no harbour to call home Dearest is a beautifully made “philosophical” 2012 film, starring Ken Takakura, 高倉 健. Takakura, who died on November 10, 2014, made his last film, his 205th, at age of 80. The storyline is about a prison carpentry instructor who drove a long way to fulfill his wife wish to have her ashes scattered in the sea near her hometown. Along the way, the Guard met many strangers, mostly three main interesting characters. Character A, a widower and wandering traveler, was driving throughout Japan with no home to go back to. A ended up being arrested for vandalizing places and properties. A befriended the Guard and gave his種田山頭火famous book, from which came the film’s headline: 人生無路盡飄萍. After being arrested, A told the Guard that he “lost” his way and resorted to vandalizing. Character B, a seafood salesperson, was traveling/wandering through Japan. B later confessed that he could not go back home to his daughter and wife as his wife was having an affair and he did not have the courage to confront her. So he traveled and traveled and traveled, from city to city, from hotel to hotel. Character C, an assistant to B, was a fisherman from the village of the Guard’s wife. C had incurred a large amount of debt, unable to pay the debt, C faked his death while C was out of the sea fishing and caught in a torrential storm. Under a new name, C traveled along with B, so C had no home to go back to. Having fulfilled wife wish, the Guard mailed his resignation letter and embarked on his own wandering. First stop, the Guard handed C his daughter’s pre-wedding photo which C's wife had asked the Guard to drop into the sea while scattering his wife's ashes at sea, so C could "see" his daughter's picture. The film ended with the Guard walking to his unknown journey with C standing with daughter's picture and B busying serving customer not far away. The film is about life, the helpless of life. It asks “where is the home?”
Around the time of filming, Takakura was 80 years of age – much older than the probable working age of the prison carpentry instructor he was portraying. Hideji Ōtaki, who played the cranky old skipper, died a few months after the film's release.
