Sono Sion talks about many subjects related to Japanese societal problems in Himizu, the most notable one is child/minor's mistreatment by parents. It's almost common knowledge that Japan does have one of the highest child abuse record in the world, and Himizu corroborates that aspect but in parallel with a post-tsunami Japan, a time where some have pretty much lost everything.
There is a feeling of hopelessness in the entire film. Sono Sion keeps going back at shots of a desolated town completely ruined by the aftermath of the tsunami, accompanied by radioactive sounds, obviously that of Fukushima's.
Moreover this sense of hopelessness is accentuated again in the later parts of the movie by other societal incidents the child actor witnesses such as a thug verbally abusing a waitress in a bar or a physically and sexually assaulted woman with a leash chain on her leg throwing out garbage bags. It's only the beginning of a descent into hell for Yuichi. I mainly give this movie a high score thanks to the marvelous acting of Fumi Nikaido in her best role here. A very realistic and mature interpretation at just 17 years of age, I was just blown away.
I think Sono Sion really took a risk by tackling the subject in this 2011 movie just a few month after the Fukushima disaster, but in the end is definitely a very touching and powerful performance by all actors.
