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Felice... Felice...

199899 minMidcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
Director
Peter Delpeut
Starring
Johan Leysen, Yoshi Oida, Togo Igawa, Kumi Nakamura

Tragic love story about the photographer and explorer Felice Beato who travelled back to Japan in 1895 to seek his former wife O-Kiku. On the way he describes in a nostalgic letter to his brother how much he yearns for his lost love O-Kiku and how impotent he feels in an ancient Japan subject to rapid change. The journey takes him to Nagasaki and Moji, Onomichi, Mount Fuji, Yokohama and Tokyo. Places he once visited with his beloved and where he now no longer understands the people. Felice...Felice... is inspired by hand-coloured nineteenth century photos taken by e.g. Felice Beato, Sjimooka Renjo and Baron von Stilfried. In this film, shot entirely in a studio, the photos depict Felice's journey. Awarded the Golden Calf for Best Feature film in 1998. (NFF)

Where to watch

Where can I watch Felice... Felice...?

As of October 24, 2026, MovieCove does not list Felice... Felice... on any major US streaming service.

Your rating, lists and review

Highlights

What stands out about Felice... Felice...?

Felice... Felice... earns 2 badges, led by Crowd Pleaser and Award Winner.

  • Reception
  • Awards and box office

Reception

Is Felice... Felice... worth watching?

Felice... Felice...'s Midcredits score is the 72nd percentile of all films, from 145 ratings across 3 sources. 71% liked it (rated it 7 or higher out of 10).

Midcredits score

How well it was received

72nd percentile

Better received than 72% of films

75th percentile among Drama74th percentile among 1990s
Acclaim (how much people like it)62nd
Approval (how many liked it)80th

65 /100

62nd percentile of all films

64th percentile among Drama66th percentile among 1990s

Rating distribution

A broad spread centered near 6.9 — solid but not unanimous.

71% liked it

80th percentile of all films

82nd percentile among Drama81st percentile among 1990s
71% rated it 7–1029% rated it 1–6

Awards

0 Oscars won · 0 Oscar noms · 3 wins / 1 noms overall

Reach

How many have seen it

21st percentile

145 ratings across platforms

21st percentile among Drama12th percentile among 1990s
TMDB popularity, last 39 days to Oct 28Up 27% in 30 days

Watch experience

What is Felice... Felice... like to watch?

Conclusions only — categories and positions, no plot detail.

Moving and bittersweet: browse every movie of this kind

Watch this when you are ready for heavy feelings, and you want a story that moves you and leaves an ache.

It takes its time and leaves you bittersweet. Skip it when you want an easy night or you want things to move fast.

Themes

  • Romantic love
  • Guilt
  • Memory

The answer rests on this: How it leaves you

  • Bittersweet
  • Wistful

Setting

  • 19th century
  • Realistic
  • Urban
  • Domestic
  • In transit

What it asks of you

  • Slow burn
  • Engaged
  • Heavy
  • Open-ended

The answer rests on this: Feelings

  • Melancholic
  • Elegiac: Mournful; a lament for something lost.
  • Bittersweet

Style

  • Solemn: Grave and dignified; treats its subject with weight and respect.
  • Tender

Story

  • Quest: A journey toward a defined objective, with companions and obstacles.
ToneFeelDemandwhat the answer rests onexact position · filled zone: the category

What it asks of you

Room for heavy feelings and patience.

What it feels like

Moving and bittersweet.

Heaviest: late
Told as
Three-act: Setup, confrontation, resolution — the default Hollywood shape.Episodic · 13% of films: Loosely connected incidents rather than one driving plot.
ToneThe film takes its material straight and tenderly — an Ozu-influenced meditation on lost love, played with earnestness rather than irony or distance.
The rideA quiet, reflective melancholy sustains the whole journey of regret and rediscovery, with the emotional weight gathering as the truth about O-Kiku emerges.
StructureA linear quest told in order — return, search, discovery — unfolding as a chain of encounters with the people who knew O-Kiku.

How it leaves you

what you carry away

Bittersweet.

Why it leaves you this wayThe ache of a love recognised too late lingers, along with the tender melancholy of a search that may never reach its end.
How it ends · evidence
Bittersweet ending

Story archetype

where it sits among all films
Monster — 21% of films. A threat menaces the hero's world and must be defeated.Rags — 3% of films. A rise from lowliness to fortune, status, or recognition.Quest — 10% of films. A journey toward a defined objective, with companions and obstacles.Voyage — 4% of films. Into a strange world and back again, changed.Comedy — 11% of films. Confusion and cross-purposes resolved into harmony.Tragedy — 9% of films. A flaw or fixation drives the protagonist to ruin.Rebirth — 13% of films. A stalled or darkened life reopened and renewed.Mystery — 7% of films. A question drives the story — who did it, what happened, what is real — until it is answered.No archetype — 22% of filmsPredator — 6% of films. A creature or killer hunts the protagonists (Jaws, Alien).Tyrant — 6% of films. A human villain holds power over the hero's world (Die Hard).Invasion — 2% of films. An external force attacks the home or world (Independence Day).Oppressive state — 2% of films. A government, its agencies or a secret faction inside them is the monster (V for Vendetta).Corporate villainy — 1% of films. A company or its bosses are the monster (Erin Brockovich).Institutional injustice — 1% of films. A court, prison, police force, school or church is itself the enemy (Spotlight).Class system — under 1% of films. The gap between rich and poor, or a rigid hierarchy, is the monster (Parasite).Technology turns — under 1% of films. Technology people rely on becomes the threat (The Terminator).Inner demon — 1% of films. The monster is within — addiction, illness, a dark double.Underdog triumph — 2% of films. Rise through competition or contest (Rocky).Social ascent — under 1% of films. A climb in class or status (Pretty Woman).Fame and fortune — under 1% of films. An artistic or showbiz rise (A Star Is Born).Rise and fall — under 1% of films. Wealth or power gained, self lost (Scarface).Hidden worth revealed — under 1% of films. The protagonist's true value finally recognized.Treasure hunt — 1% of films. Retrieve an object of value (Raiders of the Lost Ark).Rescue — 4% of films. Retrieve or save a person (Saving Private Ryan).Mission — 5% of films. Accomplish or destroy a defined objective (Mission: Impossible).Journey home — under 1% of films. The goal is getting back (Finding Nemo).Pilgrimage — 1% of films. The journey itself transforms; the destination is symbolic.Portal fantasy — under 1% of films. Transported into another world (The Wizard of Oz).Fish out of water — 2% of films. Displaced into an unfamiliar social world (Elf).Survival ordeal — 1% of films. Trapped in a hostile environment, fighting back (Cast Away).Time displacement — under 1% of films. Unstuck in time (Back to the Future).Descent — 1% of films. A night-journey into an underworld or subculture (After Hours).Romantic comedy — 4% of films. Lovers kept apart by confusion, united at last.Comedy of errors — 3% of films. Mistaken identity or misunderstanding drives the plot.Farce — 2% of films. Escalating absurd chaos and coincidence (The Hangover).Buddy comedy — 1% of films. A mismatched pair forced together (Rush Hour).Comedy of manners — 1% of films. Social codes and class satirized (Clueless).Hubris — 1% of films. Pride or ambition invites the fall (There Will Be Blood).Obsession — 2% of films. A fixation consumes the protagonist (Black Swan).Corruption arc — 2% of films. Step-by-step moral decay (The Godfather).Doomed love — 2% of films. Love destroyed by circumstance (Brokeback Mountain).Crushed by fate — 3% of films. Destroyed by forces beyond the protagonist's control.Redemption — 3% of films. Moral reawakening of a hardened soul (A Christmas Carol).Healing — 5% of films. Recovery from grief or trauma (Good Will Hunting).Liberation — 2% of films. Breaking free of a confining life (Room).Second chance — 2% of films. A stagnant life re-opened to love or purpose (Groundhog Day).Puzzle — 1% of films. A clue-by-clue puzzle you can try to solve before the reveal (Knives Out, Clue).Investigation — 5% of films. A long pursuit of the truth that may never be fully solved (Zodiac, Memories of Murder).Enigma — 2% of films. The mystery is what is real, or what is actually happening (Mulholland Drive).
Every story archetype, clockwise from the top
  • Monster 21%: Predator 6% · Tyrant 6% · Invasion 2% · Oppressive state 2% · Corporate villainy 1% · Institutional injustice 1% · Class system under 1% · Technology turns under 1% · Inner demon 1%
  • Rags 3%: Underdog triumph 2% · Social ascent under 1% · Fame and fortune under 1% · Rise and fall under 1% · Hidden worth revealed under 1%
  • Quest 10% (this title): Treasure hunt 1% · Rescue 4% · Mission 5% · Journey home under 1% · Pilgrimage 1% (this title)
  • Voyage 4%: Portal fantasy under 1% · Fish out of water 2% · Survival ordeal 1% · Time displacement under 1% · Descent 1%
  • Comedy 11%: Romantic comedy 4% · Comedy of errors 3% · Farce 2% · Buddy comedy 1% · Comedy of manners 1%
  • Tragedy 9%: Hubris 1% · Obsession 2% · Corruption arc 2% · Doomed love 2% · Crushed by fate 3%
  • Rebirth 13%: Redemption 3% · Healing 5% · Liberation 2% · Second chance 2%
  • Mystery 7%: Puzzle 1% · Investigation 5% · Enigma 2%
  • No archetype 22%

Quest: A journey toward a defined objective, with companions and obstacles. · Pilgrimage: The journey itself transforms; the destination is symbolic.

10% of films fit this archetype

with Mystery underneath

A loose fit — the map only half-holds this one.

Why this archetypeA photographer returns to Japan searching for the lover he abandoned, and the journey through the places they once shared becomes a reckoning with what he did — a quest whose real destination is understanding.

What it's about

7 groups · 53 themes
Bonds — 27% of filmsSelf — 22% of filmsPower — 7% of filmsMorality — 16% of filmsSurvival — 15% of filmsSociety — 9% of filmsIdeas — 5% of filmsRomantic love — 15% of filmsMarriage — 2% of filmsFamily bonds — 21% of filmsParenthood — 2% of filmsFriendship — 9% of filmsLoyalty — 4% of filmsIdentity — 14% of filmsComing of age — 5% of filmsAging — under 1% of filmsSelf-worth — 7% of filmsAmbition — 7% of filmsPurpose — 9% of filmsMemory — 3% of filmsObsession — 3% of films. A fixation consumes the protagonist (Black Swan).Power — 2% of filmsCorruption — 3% of filmsGreed — 3% of filmsClass — 3% of filmsOppression — 4% of filmsFreedom — 5% of filmsJustice — 13% of filmsDuty — 2% of filmsRevenge — 4% of filmsGuilt — 3% of filmsRedemption — 6% of films. Moral reawakening of a hardened soul (A Christmas Carol).Forgiveness — 1% of filmsSacrifice — 4% of filmsBetrayal — 5% of filmsDeception — 9% of filmsSurvival — 17% of filmsWar — 1% of filmsViolence — 4% of filmsMortality — 2% of filmsGrief — 6% of filmsTrauma — 7% of filmsMental illness — 1% of filmsAddiction — 1% of filmsIllness and disability — under 1% of filmsCommunity — 14% of films. Consequences reach a town, institution or group.Isolation — 5% of filmsPrejudice — 3% of filmsDisplacement — 1% of filmsFaith — 3% of filmsTradition vs change — 2% of filmsFame — 3% of filmsLegacy — 4% of filmsFate — 1% of filmsFree will — under 1% of filmsTruth — 4% of filmsHope — 5% of filmsNature — 2% of filmsArt — 4% of filmsTechnology — 1% of filmsSelf
Every theme, clockwise from the top
  • Bonds 27% (this title): Romantic love 15% (this title) · Marriage 2% · Family bonds 21% · Parenthood 2% · Friendship 9% · Loyalty 4%
  • Self 22% (this title): Identity 14% · Coming of age 5% · Aging under 1% · Self-worth 7% · Ambition 7% · Purpose 9% · Memory 3% (this title) · Obsession 3%
  • Power 7%: Power 2% · Corruption 3% · Greed 3% · Class 3% · Oppression 4% · Freedom 5%
  • Morality 16% (this title): Justice 13% · Duty 2% · Revenge 4% · Guilt 3% (this title) · Redemption 6% · Forgiveness 1% · Sacrifice 4% · Betrayal 5% · Deception 9%
  • Survival 15%: Survival 17% · War 1% · Violence 4% · Mortality 2% · Grief 6% · Trauma 7% · Mental illness 1% · Addiction 1% · Illness and disability under 1%
  • Society 9%: Community 14% · Isolation 5% · Prejudice 3% · Displacement 1% · Faith 3% · Tradition vs change 2% · Fame 3% · Legacy 4%
  • Ideas 5%: Fate 1% · Free will under 1% · Truth 4% · Hope 5% · Nature 2% · Art 4% · Technology 1%

Bonds

Romantic love · 15% of filmsGuilt · 3% of filmsMemory · 3% of films
Mourns its theme: Grieves its theme, or what has been lost of it.Intimate stakes: Consequences reach a person or a household.Single lead
How it treats its themeThe film centres on a love abandoned out of professional ambition and pride, and on the belated understanding of what that cost the abandoned woman.
StanceAn intimate mourning of a love lost to pride and distance, told from the side of the man who left and learns the cost too late.

The world

WorldAmbientSupportive music · original score
SettingA Dutch photographer's search through 19th-century Nagasaki, Yokohama and Tokyo for the geisha lover he abandoned.

Cast and crew

Who is in Felice... Felice...?

Cast

Johan Leysen
as Felice Beato
Yoshi Oida
as Matsukichi
Togo Igawa
as Kurosu
Kumi Nakamura
as O-Kiku
Toshie Ogura
as Ume
Rina Yasami
as O-Take
Noriko Sasaki
as Hana
Keiko Miyamoto
as Innkeeper
Yoshi Ota
as Ueno
Noriko Proett
as O-Koma

Crew

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