The understanding of the movie *SPOILERS*

Excellent interpretation, and I guess the only one. I saw the movie today for the second time, since I got it finally on DVD. The nice thing with Mogari no Mori, is that the subjectmatter goes really deep - questions like 'How long does it take to stop mourning after someone you dearly loved, has passed away?' come to mind. But the story itself is quite easy to understand, certainly with the short explanation at the end. This makes it a really accesible movie, although quite slow for inexperienced viewers. But still Tincek... you make a good point.

I agree on your conclusion, but I disagree with the fact that you say the movie has no deep meaning until the very end. I think it does.

It's about old versus young. Mako is being depicted as a strange, aggressive, demented old man in the beginning of the movie, this is through the eyes of the caretakers; the young. During the movie, when the story evolves, so does the point of view. The more the movie advances, the more the age of the viewer's point of view advances. In the end of the movie, you see Mako through the eyes of someone old, you get to understand him and his motives. And so does he understanding that Machiko wants nothing but good for him.

This movie has two storylines who keep on twining through eachother: the human story of Mako and Machiko (old person and young person) and the spiritual story of both their stories of loss, though different kinds on a human level, mourning and coming to a peace with the past, the present and the emotions involved in that complete timespan.

Another example of symbolism and deeper meaning is the river: it symbolises the road on which Machiko's son was killed. She, probably by accident, let his hand go and he apparently got killed by traffic. The river symbolises the traffic and that's why Machiko has a breakdown when she's unable to stop Mako from crossing the river: she relives the accident all over again. Mako senses by her hysteric crying that something more is the matter, something unspoken, but that it also has to do with grief and mourning coming from the past, so he comes back to her.