Oshin

In the early 1980s, pretty much the entire country of Japan was obsessed with a television series about the trials and tribulations of a girl named Oshin. The 297 15-minute episodes, broadcast twice a day for about a year, broke ratings records. Viewers were riveted by Oshin's life story, from her youngest days as a live-in servant through to her marriage and eventual establishment of her own business. It's easy to see why: thirty years after she first captivated audiences, Oshin remains a wonderful character, heartbreak and strength wrapped up in a determined little package.

Director Shin Togashi's film focuses squarely on a young Oshin (Kokone Hamada) who, at the tender age of seven, must leave her home and family to work as a live-in servant for a timber trader. But, tough as her circumstances already are, the vicissitudes of life do not spare Oshin. Soon, she finds herself stumbling through a blizzard into the forsaken log cabin of ex-soldier Shunsaku (Shinnosuke Mitsushima), before she fetches up in the home of the wealthy rice-trading Kagaya family, run by its matriarch (Pinko Izumi).

In remaining true to the spirit and narrative of the television series, this incarnation of Oshin has the tendency to feel rather episodic. It's quite easy to trace the beats and rhythms of a more fragmented story. But that doesn't really detract from the power of Oshin's tale, which is really one about mothers, daughters and women. As it turns out, three decades has made little difference to an age-old story extolling the virtues of sacrifice, humility and perseverance, one that's told here with great sensitivity. The frequent tests of her fortitude and integrity – not to mention the depths that her own mother (Aya Ueto) must sink to in order to make ends meet – will wring tears out of the hardest of hearts.

Hamada is a marvel. Beating out close to 2,500 other candidates for the part, she carries the film easily on her tiny shoulders. As Oshin, she switches – seemingly effortlessly – from sunshine-bright innocence to steely resilience. She's so enormously expressive that it's almost impossible to take your eyes off her in a scene, even when she's surrounded by a great cast of supporting actresses. Ueto and Izumi are both excellent, the former despairing of the need to essentially sell her daughter into indentured servitude, the latter transcending class and prejudice to see the intelligence and spirit burning within Oshin. Fans of the original television series will be thrilled, too, to see Ayako Kobayashi – who played Oshin then – as a mother within the Kagaya family.

It's no wonder that Oshin's story has become part of Japan's cultural heritage – and a symbol of strength and endurance the world over. In a media industry that still has trouble developing and portraying powerful, rounded, non-sexualised female characters, Oshin comes as a breath of fresh air – which is, sadly, all the more troubling for the fact that this is a story that's thirty years old.

It took me almost a week to be convinced to finally watch this movie. You know, I wasn't in the mood to watch a sad and heartbreaking movie lately. That's why I kept putting this movie off. Until yesterday I decided that I was ready.

Honestly I didn't know if this movie is based on a real story. It's just that I've been familiar with Oshin since I was just a little kid, but in drama series form.

This movie is not just telling story that can make you cry. Or mere a story that suits your melancholic feeling. But this movie also gives you strength to live your life. No matter how hard and tough your life might have been. Just live it to the fullest and to the lowest. It's just a journey you have to finish.

I like all the casts, especially of Oshin, Kayo, and Kayo's granny. In spite of Oshin's face expression that sometimes confused me if it is showing mad, sad or just trying to be tough.

I cried hard when Kayo admitted to her granny what she had done to Oshin that made her got beaten by Oshin. This moment is so special and so rare to me to have that certain kind of twist plot after I managed to predict the plot about the money matter in her first job. Amazing. I just love this movie and the inspiration it gives.

i don't know what everybody is writing about this movie, although i would presume that the movie would get high grades from movie fans and critics alike. all i have to say is that i have watched a couple of thousand movies in my life and i have never experienced something like this.

...i am a guy and i am ashamed to say that through the second half of the movie till the end i was literally bawling or my eyes were wet. so..., be warned, if you're looking for something uplifting throughout, this is not the movie!

some of the nature shots in the snow were so beautiful...it was literally, breathe-taking. that was another plus for the movie, some of the shots outside in natural surroundings with minimal human interaction...were just breathe-taking and so enjoyable, like good poetry.

...that is all i want to say about this movie..like good sad poetry...drifting and soon gone with the wind, like time passing

An incredible biographical movie about a seven-year-old Japanese girl called Oshin that is set in the Meiji period (1907). The life journey of a little kid who went through the family difficulties. It was, actually a movie adaptation of the popular 80s television series. Not only the Japan, but it rocked all the neighbor countries and became one of the most watched program. Knowing by reading about the series created more interest in me than this movie that I saw. Hope some day gonna get an opportunity to see it.

A young girl Oshin is forced to drop out school to help her family's financial situation. Her contribution is that she's sent to a rich house as a live-in servant. She has to work hard in order to feed her family. It is not a smooth job as she had no experience before. Sooner, the problem arises that put her job and family in peril. How she works out on the issue and learns to blend in thinking only the outcome, not individually by herself is what the whole movie speaks about.

''Wars are won by killing people. That's not great.''

Here is the movie for 'tearjerkers'. It was a sentimental movie that uncovers the crisis of a poor family. The responsibility is always shared equally whether you are in your early age or too old in a family that suffers from food and income shortage. We won't get out to the streets to learn about below poverty level people so this movie is a good lesson to study. The people who liked 'The Pursuit of Happiness' will definitely like this movie as well.

The story takes place 100 years ago and in the unknown cultural territory. So cultural wise it is a new dimension to observe and struggle wise it is same everywhere in the world. The kid acted so awesomely. I also heard that her mother was used to be the character Oshin in television series. So great to hear that she did a role in this movie. All in all it is a very good family drama to spend our 2 hour valuable time for it. Must go for it by tearjers and children movie fans.

This movie is on par with the Japanese series of the same name that was aired in the 1980s around the world and captured the hearts of million of international viewers.

A beautiful story told from the perspective of a poor girl who struggled during the early decades of the twentieth century in Japan.

This is what a movie is about: it should ignite our thought process, ignite our emotion and make us feel alive, and make us totally captivated by its storyline and characters.

This is one the reason why I have permanently departed from Hollywood's propaganda-laden and braindead, psychologically reinforced rubbish. What Hollywood called a "movie", everyone else around the world called rubbish. Start watching Japanese movies like Oshin and you'll know why you need to get away from Hollywood.

The only time I would watch a Hollywood piece of rubbish is so I can review it and recommend everyone to stay away.