Release Date: October 2004
Origin: Japan 
Genre: Coming of Age, Drama
Pace: Very Slow

Director : Hirokazu Koreeda

Starring: Yuya Yagira, Ayu Kitaura, Hiei Kimura, Momoko Shimizu, Hanae Kan

Synopsis:

In Tokyo, the reckless single mother Keiko moves to a small apartment with her twelve years old son Akira Fukushima and hidden in the luggage, his siblings Kyoko, Shigeru and Yuki. The children have different fathers and do not have schooling, but they have a happy life with their mother. When Keiko finds a new boyfriend, she leaves the children alone, giving some money to Akira and assigning him to take care of his siblings. When the money finishes, Akira manages to find means to survive with the youngsters without power supply, gas or water at home, and with the landlord asking for the rental. And so begins the children's odyssey, a journey nobody knows. Though engulfed by the cruel fate of abandonment, the four children do their best to survive in their own little world, devising and following their own set of rules. When they are forced to engage with the world outside their cocooned universe, the fragile balance that has sustained them collapses. Their innocent longing for their mother, their wary fascination toward the outside world, their anxiety over their increasingly desperate situation, their inarticulate cries, their kindness to each other, their determination to survive on wits and courage. (imdb.com)


Personal Thoughts:

Although the film has very memorable and cute scenes of the lovable siblings, it is truly a depressing film. Being based on a true story makes it only sadder. The films plays like an memoir of Akira’s (the oldest son) adolescence as he attempts to take care of his three siblings after his mother disappears. It is an endearing story of boy that seems to lose his childhood in taking up a responsibility that should never had been placed on such a young boy. Any parent would be proud of Akira for the responsibilities he takes up as a twelve year old. The film is very slow and in the middle seems to go on forever, but perhaps the constant replaying of their harsh lives and mundane lives is what makes their story so impressionable. My parents had four children as well and I too could remember my parents hiding some of us from the landlord, so they wouldn’t get kicked out. But aside from that my family was well-off and my parents were always there for us. I could relate to the children by how much they came to value their family, but learned with such conviction how lucky I am in comparison. So convicted by how blessed my childhood was that I wrote a letter to my parents to thank them for being there for me. The children's acting are superb and provide for many memorable scenes of their youthful interactions with each other. The film shows a courageous boy’s struggle to care for his family while still being a child at heart that still needs someone to care for him. I would want everyone to see this film, for it’s meaning, testimony of the children’s struggle and convicting message, but it is also dreadfully long and un-climactic; a film most people cannot bear to watch all the way through. This is a must-see film, but one that most will not see.