Let's get this out of the way. The makers of this film should have done some homework about goldfish. They cannot live in seawater and releasing one into the ocean is not an act of liberation.
But let's also not get overly upset about this relatively minor aspect of what is otherwise a beautiful and delicately told story. This is a film about people, not fish, despite the foolish title and the disturbing image of the goldfish swimming away in the sea. Rather, it's about 18-year old Hana (the Japanese word means flower), luminously portrayed by Miyu Ogawa (who is not related to the director Sara Ogawa) and a younger child, Harumi, played by a talented young actress Runa Hanada, one about to have to leave her foster home of the past 10 years and the other having just arrived. Hana, perhaps seeing in the withdrawn Harumi a reflection of herself when she first arrived at the home after her mother was imprisoned for a poisoning she allegedly committed, takes her under her wing and gives her the loving attention that Harumi's abusive mother had not.
The film has a lot going for it. Even though it is only 76 minutes long, it never feels rushed. It is beautifully shot, taking full advantage of the coastal scenery around Akune, in southern Kyushu (the westernmost of the four main Japanese islands). The story unfolds somewhat predictably, with touches of sly humor (particularly Harumi's efforts to sneak her favorite candy into Hana's shopping basket), but it is mercifully free of uncaring adults - instead, the foster home is run by a kind and understanding man sympathetically played by veteran character actor Tateto Serizawa. He readily admits to his mistake when he lets Harumi go home for a day to her mother who, though never shown, has apparently learned nothing from losing custody of her daughter. Hana may not know what the future holds, as she wavers about going to university, but she and Harumi find a measure of peace in each other, Hana tentatively becoming the mother she wished her mother had been and Harumi finding the mother she really needed. And when Hana has to make a fateful choice between a chance to visit the prison where she has not seen her mother for many years and saving Harumi from her mother's continuing abuse, she chooses the future over the past.
Critics have noted the Harukazu Kore-eda-like sensibility brought to the film by 25-year old first time director Sara Ogawa, herself a talented actress, reinforced no doubt by her cinematographer and frequent Kore-eda collaborator Yutaka Yamazaki. That's a high compliment, but well-deserved in this case. At times, the film reminded me of Our Little Sister, right down to the scene with children playing with sparklers and the midsummer Tanabata festival with children dressed in yukatas (summer kimonos). If this was a deliberate homage to the great Kore-eda, it did not feel out of place. Can Ogawa rise to greatness? We shall see, but this was a splendid first step. Just go easy on the goldfish.
But let's also not get overly upset about this relatively minor aspect of what is otherwise a beautiful and delicately told story. This is a film about people, not fish, despite the foolish title and the disturbing image of the goldfish swimming away in the sea. Rather, it's about 18-year old Hana (the Japanese word means flower), luminously portrayed by Miyu Ogawa (who is not related to the director Sara Ogawa) and a younger child, Harumi, played by a talented young actress Runa Hanada, one about to have to leave her foster home of the past 10 years and the other having just arrived. Hana, perhaps seeing in the withdrawn Harumi a reflection of herself when she first arrived at the home after her mother was imprisoned for a poisoning she allegedly committed, takes her under her wing and gives her the loving attention that Harumi's abusive mother had not.
The film has a lot going for it. Even though it is only 76 minutes long, it never feels rushed. It is beautifully shot, taking full advantage of the coastal scenery around Akune, in southern Kyushu (the westernmost of the four main Japanese islands). The story unfolds somewhat predictably, with touches of sly humor (particularly Harumi's efforts to sneak her favorite candy into Hana's shopping basket), but it is mercifully free of uncaring adults - instead, the foster home is run by a kind and understanding man sympathetically played by veteran character actor Tateto Serizawa. He readily admits to his mistake when he lets Harumi go home for a day to her mother who, though never shown, has apparently learned nothing from losing custody of her daughter. Hana may not know what the future holds, as she wavers about going to university, but she and Harumi find a measure of peace in each other, Hana tentatively becoming the mother she wished her mother had been and Harumi finding the mother she really needed. And when Hana has to make a fateful choice between a chance to visit the prison where she has not seen her mother for many years and saving Harumi from her mother's continuing abuse, she chooses the future over the past.
Critics have noted the Harukazu Kore-eda-like sensibility brought to the film by 25-year old first time director Sara Ogawa, herself a talented actress, reinforced no doubt by her cinematographer and frequent Kore-eda collaborator Yutaka Yamazaki. That's a high compliment, but well-deserved in this case. At times, the film reminded me of Our Little Sister, right down to the scene with children playing with sparklers and the midsummer Tanabata festival with children dressed in yukatas (summer kimonos). If this was a deliberate homage to the great Kore-eda, it did not feel out of place. Can Ogawa rise to greatness? We shall see, but this was a splendid first step. Just go easy on the goldfish.
