The Door into Summer

The Door into Summer (2021) is a Japanese science-fiction drama you can watch online on iFILM. It adapts Robert Heinlein's 1957 novel and relocates the story to Tokyo, directed by Takahiro Miki. The year is 1995, and young engineer Soichiro Takakura is building household robots and perfecting a plasma battery cell.

His fiancée and his business partner conspire to strip him of his patents and his company. With nothing left, Soichiro takes a drastic way out — he enters cryosleep alongside his cat, Pete, hoping to wake to a kinder world. He opens his eyes in 2025, then finds a route back to 1995 to set things right and to reach Rina, the girl he left behind as a child. Kento Yamazaki and Kaya Kiyohara lead the cast.

A tale of time loops, loyalty and second chances, told gently, with none of the Hollywood clatter. It suits viewers who like their sci-fi unhurried and built on feeling rather than spectacle. Stream The Door into Summer (2021) online on iFILM.