從岩井俊二早期的《情書》（1995）以至張藝謀的新作《山楂樹之戀》（2010），亞洲「純愛」影視作品及相關小說歷久未衰。乍看純愛故事歌頌至死不渝之情，重述真愛永恆的神話，並藉著愛人難逃早逝宿命的結局來賺人熱淚，不免被一些評論家貶損為天真浮淺的「催淚作品」。其實純愛故事在「催淚」之外，對戀人如何面對死亡、哀悼、感情的偏執和替代、愛情施與受的「禮物經濟」等層面不乏細膩刻劃，頗能發人深省。本文以《在世界的中心呼喚愛情》原著小說和行定勳導演的電影改編版為軸心，提出純愛故事總包含著時差、距離和欠缺的讀法，強調死亡與悼念在相關作品中的重要；然後探討該小說和電影中重要的物象及其意義，還有所謂「具身化」和愛慾的問題。所謂「物象」是指故事裡被賦予特殊意義的具體物件，在修辭學上也可稱之為「意象」，在電影語言中就是「影像」。本文所討論的物象包括照片、骨灰、愛人說話的錄音等等。

From Shunji Iwai’s Love Letter (1995) to Zhang Yimou’s Under the Hawthorn Tree (2010), “jun-ai,” or “pure love,” films, TV dramas, and their original novels have been hugely popular in Asia for well over a decade. A causal look at the genre would give the impression that such works are mere “tear-jerkers,” naively celebrating the myth of eternal love and exploiting simple plot devices involving separation and death. However, a closer scrutiny will show that some “pure love” stories offer detailed descriptions of how lovers face impending death, mourn for their beloved, and about the subtle psychological mechanisms involving the maintenance and displacement of affections, as well as the “gift economy” concerned. Focusing on the Japanese novel Socrates in Love (Sekai no chûshin de, ai o sakebu; 2001) and its film adaptation Crying Out Love, in the Centre of the World (2004), this paper offers a reading highlighting “untimeliness,” gaps, and lack in “pure love,” making sense of the importance of death and mourning in the stories concerned. The second half of the paper proceeds to discuss the meanings of some dominant objects in these written and film narratives, including photographs, ashes, and recorded voices. I also wish to explore the relations between desire, the body, and other material forms.