I will not lie. If you watch a lot of Japanese movies in the jun'ai genre (jun'ai = pure love, such as Heavenly Forest, Say hello for me, Nada sou sou, etc.) you will see that Be with you is the best of them all. However, I strongly disagree with some of the reviews that said "if you have a pulse, you will enjoy this movie", or something along that line, just because everyone has their own cup of tea. This was one of the first Japanese movies that I watched, and though I did enjoy the beautiful, almost magical, scenes done by the director, I think the unreal aspect of it turned out to be the factor that ruined it for me. Beautiful scenery does not equal beautiful filming; in fact, this movie (and Heavenly forest, as well as Say hello for me, for that matter) seemed like a tale in heaven or in some lands where there are angels and fairies and not necessarily people. The love story here is indeed touching; I do like the family scenes a lot, but the structure of the movie is just too confusing, and the plot seems like it was written solely to "move" people. When I feel like my feelings are manipulated through each situation in the movie, particular the ending, I usually am not moved by that particular incident.
So bottom line: very good acting, beautiful filming, but unrealistic love story (I know it's not meant to be realistic, but come on, the setting was real life and not a "Once upon a time" sort of setting). Convincing for its genre, but to say it's "the best Japanese movie", or that it had a significant impact on Japanese movies as a whole, is probably misleading. If you want a movie that most likely will make you cry, you can try this movie. However, it didn't work for me. If you want more realistic love stories that are touching, but on the more subtle side, both cinematically and plot-wise, try "Rainbow Song" (Niji no megami) or "Love Letter" (by Iwai Shunji). If you just want a good (but realistic!) love story that can happen just about anywhere, try Oto-na-ri (done by the same director as "Rainbow Song").
So bottom line: very good acting, beautiful filming, but unrealistic love story (I know it's not meant to be realistic, but come on, the setting was real life and not a "Once upon a time" sort of setting). Convincing for its genre, but to say it's "the best Japanese movie", or that it had a significant impact on Japanese movies as a whole, is probably misleading. If you want a movie that most likely will make you cry, you can try this movie. However, it didn't work for me. If you want more realistic love stories that are touching, but on the more subtle side, both cinematically and plot-wise, try "Rainbow Song" (Niji no megami) or "Love Letter" (by Iwai Shunji). If you just want a good (but realistic!) love story that can happen just about anywhere, try Oto-na-ri (done by the same director as "Rainbow Song").