Watched at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.
There is no doubt that Chie Hayakawa is talented. The way she presents the gorgeous camerawork, colorful setting, atmosphere and tone is displayed perfectly to demonstrate the setting, time period, and the emotional intentions that are being explored. A story about a coming of age tale of a girl going through the different stages of life seems pretty personal to Hayakaww and her direction and approach to the subject is clear and well-intented. Throughout, the production designs and camera work is great. The soft and tender tone and atmosphere really adds a lot to the setting of Japan that showcases the beauty of its landscape and environment.
The performances from the cast are pretty good, despite especially the child actor as she was really great with her role. However, the writing and the characters didn't really resonate with me as I would have liked. I do feel bad because I did enjoy some of the concepts and themes that were explored within the narrative, especially ahout the themes of family and loss. Unfortunately due to the pacing issues and some of the writing concepts feeling thin, it felt meandering and lacked the proper emotional weight that it could have been. Which resorts to having characters that aren't as interesting nor connectable as it could have been.
Overall, Hayakawa clearly has a vision and she does offer a decent examination about growing up. But I personally believe her first movie Plan 75 was more effective and meaningful.
