Nowadays a director’s biggest hit sets the tone for what audiences expect in their follow up films. If they establish themselves in horror, we expect their romantic comedy to feature lovers to mutate or stab each other. We almost demand they stick with their trademarks. Who can conceive of going to a Quentin Tarantino or Kevin Smith film where the characters barely speak? Or a Spielberg film where nobody takes off their glasses to get a better look? No matter how serious the filmmaker is about approaching the material, we’re gonna swear they will bust out their trademark tricks in the third act. Nobuhiko Obayashi became a sensation in the late ’70s with his horror comedy House. The film was a box office hit in Japan and became a cult sensation around the world. While it would have been easy for him to come out with House 2 (not to be confused with House II: The Second Story that does exist), Obayashi made various kinds of movies over the decades including several films about teenage girls. The Island Closest To Heaven has no real scares in it besides the usual anxieties about travelling to a foreign country.
The father of Mari Katsuragi (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time‘s Tomoyo Harada) would talk about taking her to a beautiful island in New Caledonia that he’d describe as being closest to heaven. When he passes away suddenly while she’s still in high school, Mari uses her Christmas break to go to New Caledonia. The problem is that dad never gave the exact location of his precious beach. New Caledonia is a group of islands. Mari begins to travel around the place looking for the spot. While bicycling up a hilly road, she’s knocked over by a bunch of coconuts that fall off a truck. Even with messed up glasses, she’s still looking for the beach. She can’t seem to spot anything that looks like what her dad described on the normal tourist attractions. She eventually joins an island tour guide who specializes in the places people don’t normally experience during their visits. This eventually leads to the older man asking her out for an “adult” date at the resort’s casino. He takes her around on small plane, but she can’t spot the location from above. Later she hangs out with the young driver of the truck with coconuts to further explore the islands. Does this place really exist? It’s a strange and enlightening journey for Mari as she island hops and meets the folks.
The Island Closest To Heaven is a delicate film with a real emotional desire at its core. We do want to visit the places our loved ones spoke so highly about. Over the summer, I took my own kid up to the New England Aquarium. This was a place I always told her about visiting when I was the kid. We had to make it part of our Boston visit. She loved being there which made me feel so good. It’s easy to understand why Mari becomes obsessed in finding that spot that her father spoke so highly about. She needs to feel his presence on that beach since he makes it sound like the gateway to the afterlife. This is the third of four Nobuhiko Obayashi films from Cult Epics that have never been released in America. It is a shame that he didn’t have more exposure here through the Art House circuit in the ’80s. But I’m guessing distributors were more eager to see if he’ll make another horror flick. The Island Closest To Heaven is a reminder that if you promise to take your kid somewhere, at least leave them with GPS coordinates so they can truly know the spot.
The Video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The high definition transfer brings out the beauty of the island especially during sunset. The Audio is in LPCM 2.0 Mono and DTS-HD 2.0 Mono. The movie is subtitled in English.
Illustrated Booklet is a reproduction of what was given out when the movie arrived in Japanese theaters. The writing is all in Japanese.
Audio Commentary by Derek Smith has a lot of detail on the Nobuhiko Obayashi, the cast and crew. He points out the film’s connection to the Yellow Magic Orchestra. We learn about Obayashi’s career in directing commercials with major Hollywood stars including Charles Bronson and Ringo Starr.
Kadokawa and Obayashi (26:04) shows how producer Haruki Kadokawa did so much in film and other projects. He joined his father’s publishing house. His big first project there was 12 volumes on world poets. He started as a producer (including this movie), but became a director of blockbusters.
Tomoya Harada 28 Days in Caledonia (59:56) is the making of special about making the film. We see the actress at the airport departing for the location. There’s footage of the movie’s premiere. She gets a lot out of being on location.
Nobuhiko Obayashi Trailers includes The Island Closest to Heaven (1:41), His Motorbike, Her Island (1:32), School In the Crosshairs (1:53) and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2:43). All four films are being released by Cult Epics. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time arrives January 20 on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD.
Cult Epics present The Island Closest To Heaven: Limited Edition. Directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi. Screenplay by Kenmochi Wataruy. Starring Tomoyo Harada, Ryōichi Takayanagi, Tōru Minegishi, Miyoko Akaza, Shigeru Izumiya, Yukihiro Takahashi & Kayo Matsuo. Running Time: 103 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: November 25, 2025.
