Kaze no naka no kodomo

"Children in the Wind" is an interesting, slow, contemplative film that depicts two children's lives. It is nicely done, and with a down to the earth atmosphere, but at the same time, it suffers from just not offering much in the plot department and being a little bit repetitive.

The direction is fine, and the acting acceptable enough, even if it suffers from some stillness. The scenery and camera work is old-style, and brings the world to live, a world in which it is easy to immerse oneself in. On the other hand, the two children's story is not as interesting as it could have been, and it could be seen as a little bit shallow, as some moments are unnecessarily stretched.

It is not a bad film, but suffers from lack of focus.

Jun Yokoyama and his brother are two of the leaders of the local gang of boys. However, when their father, Reikichi Kawamura, is accused of embezzlement and arrested, their position changes. Their uncle, Takeshi Sakamoto, takes Jun to his home, but he doesn't play well with the other children, gets into scrapes, and wants to return home.

Hiroshi Shimizu's movie about youngsters dealing with stress is sustained through the naturalistic acting on young Jun. The director had a flair for directing kds, and the two brothers cavorting together, or the scene when Jun, in disgrace, tries to forget himself in his uncle's courtyard, seem to me just like the way children, who live in their own world, behave. In fact, it reminds me of the recent ROMA by Alfonso Cuarón, except that while the newer movie filters itself through the adult artist's sensibilities, Shimizu's movie observes the world and lets the audience enter unreservedly into his viewpoint.