Sato Oto matsutsu (Takakura Ken) is a railway officer, the son inherited his father's business, he used to drive trains, now he is the station manager of hokkaido local branch line Homai station, a person is responsible for cutting tickets, directing trains in and out of the station, cleaning the snow on the platform, registering passengers' lost items, etc. Almost all large and small affairs, here once because of the prosperity of the coal mine, now due to the closure of the mine has become depressed, the people in the town basically know each other, familiar with the place, people and work, Otomatsu dedicated his youth and blood, married and had children, He worked as a railroad man all his life, until he died alone on the winter platform.
Sugiura Senji is his old colleague, but also his lifelong friend, from when he was a steam locomotive, they worked together, two people with soot on their faces, endured the high temperature, and laboriously delivered coal to the boiler, every day was very hard, once, Senji sucked some gas and almost died, it was Otomatsu who saved him, Senji remembered those good days in the past, Otoji was a principled and reliable friend, Senji loved him, often worried about and worried about him, the years that had burned together and the sweat they had spilled were the testimony of their lifelong friendship.
Otomatsu is clear and principled, there are two times - once is the young daughter Xue'er (born on a snowy day, so the name of the female > of xue <) fever, the other time is his wife Shizue is sick and hospitalized - he still sticks to his post, "cruelly" let his wife face it alone, did not expect that both times are farewell, they have been married for 17 years, it is difficult to get a daughter in their old age, but because of a momentary negligence, the wife blames him, remember when she first knew that she was pregnant, Shizue excitedly ran to him, happy like a young girl, she was spoiled, Pouting annoyed him with a still serious face, only because he was still at work, Shizue played with sex to take off his hat and put it on his head, she was both deeply guilty that she had not been able to have children for her husband for a long time, and felt that Otomatsu must have complained about her, and at this moment he could not rejoice with her and was full of grievances, Otomatsu was a traditional man of the external cold and internal heat type, he hesitated or took his wife into his arms, they hugged each other tightly, after a while, Shizukatsu said they were watching us, Otomatsu turned his head, It turned out to be a group of small alpacas.
The previous time, Shizue did not understand, and the later time, she was relieved, understood the man who had been with her all her life - it was such a person, Otomatsu put his gloved hand on the glass of the window, the weak Shizue leaned on the backrest of the seat, and also tried to stretch out his hand, just touched, the train opened, Otomatsu blew the whistle in his hand, "the front of the train is normal", such a distance is a portrayal of their lifelong fate.
"I wanted to take care of you for the rest of my life, but I couldn't...", his wife said when they were separated, and Otomatsu must have sensed it, and he held out his gloved hand.
Originally, they had the opportunity to adopt the orphan Xiaomin, but it happened that Shizue was ill and had to be adopted by the grandmother in the town canteen, so after his wife and daughter left, Otomatsu lived and worked alone.
One day, a little girl suddenly appeared, holding a rag doll in her hand, innocently laughing, she ran to the platform, after doing the action of directing the train out of the station, she ran away, but she left the doll, Yi Song was deeply surprised, or seriously did the lost property registration on the workbook, that night, claiming to be the little girl's sister to find the doll, Yi Song and her chatted happily, accidentally remembered the déjà vu doll, that is the gift he sent to his daughter in the United States, how can there be exactly the same doll, he was full of questions, The next day, the two girls' big sisters, a quirky high school student (Ryoko Hiromi, as Cher), she said she liked the railway, was a member of the railway lovers club at school, and Otomatsu showed her her collection, including the AD-51 engine plate, the AC-26 pressure gauge, the D-52 brand, the diesel engine whistle, the ad-51 whistle... She was very excited, dreaming of marrying a railroadman in the future, and finally wearing his wife's red jacket to make him a dinner, Yi Song felt a little trance, regretfully said: "I am lucky, I have only cared about doing what I want to do all my life, and as a result, my wife and daughter have left first, nevertheless, everyone is still so good to him", he choked up a little... After answering a phone call, everything was understood, three girls of different ages, all of whom were fantasies of his excessive missing of his wife and daughter, guilt of neglecting them, and wanted someone to inherit his job.
I think I kind of understand him. He was just practicing what his father had said, and the good thing to say about the character of Otomatsu was that he never exaggerated anything, did not talk about any big truth, just silently fulfilled his duties, did not expect things other than his own ability, and stuck to his duty, so when Sugiura persuaded him to retire (and helped to find a job) to work with himself - because many of them were afraid that he would end up alone - but he still refused, he always felt that leaving the railway, he would only be worthless, so he would rather die alone, father, His wife and daughter died here, he is inseparable from them, will be as much missed as the homeland, and the so-called "homeland in the heart", only because of the many human feelings and growth years that have existed there, perhaps many people will feel that he is too paranoid, I want to say, a lifetime of stubbornness, such a person is still too few.
Distant towns, winding rails, whistles through the long sky, picturesque pine forest snow mountains, the earth is white and really clean, compared with the vast nature, how small people are, so many joys and sorrows and sorrows, in the end and withered towns, defunct train lines, one day, the railway tracks will be covered with snow, the house collapses, there is no longer cooking smoke, everything will disappear, think of it is not without sadness, fortunately, there was a warm human feeling, cold and warm to know each other.
This is the ordinary and full of regrets of ordinary people - not just the life of the railroad man , the meaning of the film beyond the subject itself lies in this, you work hard all your life, and finally you have to face death alone, your wife (husband) and children, relatives have died unexpectedly, in the days left behind in life, deeply guilty, licking the pain alone late at night, finally understanding that accident is the essence of life, just like you were born into this beautiful world, it is also an accident... Suddenly remembered Mu Dan's "Meditation"
"Why are we, the Spirit of All Things,
Is it better than a small tree?
Today you shake it and smile superiorly,
Tomorrow it will turn into dirt under the roots.
Why are these words written by hand,
Longer and stronger than this hand?
They will throw away rotten hands,
And silently survived on a broken piece of paper.
So I lived proudly for decades,
As if he had been the director of all things,
In fact, under their long-term order
I was only a little actor for a while.
Hold the fountain of life in my hands,
I just think it's fresh,
It is a strong wine, fresh foam
Inject my rush, toil, adventure.
It's as if the garden has never been visited by the predecessors
It's going to be in front of me.
But now, suddenly facing the grave,
I looked back a little bit at the past,
Only to see its twists and turns irrigated sorrow and joy
all disappeared into an ancient desert,
That's how hard I tried
But finished the ordinary life. ”