The Place Promised in Our Early Days (Japanese: 雲のむこう、約束の場所, Hepburn: Kumo no Mukō, Yakusoku no Basho, lit. 'Beyond the Clouds, the Promised Place') is a 2004 Japanese anime film written, produced, cinematographed, directed and edited by Makoto Shinkai in his feature film debut. Set over several years in an alternate history where the Soviet Union occupies the Japanese island of Hokkaido it follows two childhood friends who grow apart after one of their friends disappears. As international tensions rise and a mysterious tower built by the Union starts replacing matter around it with matter from...