User reviews

What I live the most of this film is that it show us the rural Japan...well that and the story. Our protagonist is a shy girl trying to fit in a complex world. The film show us that life is not easy and that sometimes it is under pressure when we bring out the best in us. This is why I enjoyed so much the movie, the introvert girl becomes a shining star.

A slow start and weird story yet it will not bore you.

A shy, silent girl's journey to break forth her own shortcomings and stand on her own.

As much as the story, the cinematography and the location of the plot is equally refreshing.

Situated in rural Japan; something that is a bit different than many other Countries rural areas; I mean; no super modern but you have everything there included libraries!

The story is about how a kid evolves into a young Woman letting a bit aside dumbness and other teenager´s feelings to start to grow at rapid pace.

All tinted with the traditions of the place like the Shamizen and even Ningen isu (a rock/heavy metal with some shamizen mix band) is what another gal was listening...no doubt that I was born in the wrong place.

Anyway; I really liked the role of the Grandma; very subtle and cool like she does not care at all letting things flow.

Background Music seems made for the movie.

Acting just ok.

Camera work could be better.

Set in the northern prefecture of Aomori, with its strong local dialect and attenuated connections to modern industrialized Japan, Ito tells the story of a high school girl whose shyness, reinforced by her heavy local accent, belie a fierce desire for independence and the courage to overcome her social shortcomings. Played with great subtlety by Ren Komai, who like her director Satoko Yokohama hails from Aomori, Ito ventures into the world by taking part-time work at a maid cafe, where she must dress in a cute uniform (although not like the short tight little black numbers found in Tokyo's Akihabara district) and project an outgoing jollity to the customers that is completely at odds with her personality.

Gradually, with the help of her kindly manager and co-workers, she opens up, somewhat, in a series of amusing episodes. Ito's personality has been shaped by the loss of her mother at the age of five and her life with her somewhat pedantic university professor father and her shamizen-playing grandmother, portrayed by a real professional player, Yoko Nishikawa. In the shamizen, which Ito has learned by listening and imitation, she is able to express some of her strength and determination in place of the words that do not come so easily.

While the set up of the somewhat isolated teenager finding a way out of her shell is hardly new, this film is distinguished by its calm, steady pacing, the appeal of its various characters in the unfamiliar setting of rural northern Japan, and above all, Ren Komai's finely tuned performance. Quite tall by Japanese standards at 5 foot 7, her gangly awkwardness adds a physical dimension that perfectly corresponds to her character but above all she never misses a note in her scenes with her family, her colleagues, or the customers. The film ends as it should . . . I will say no more but it is satisfying without being cloying. Yokohama has not created a masterpiece but she has shown once again how movies can make you care.

'You don't hear my silence'. What an amazing little movie. Most simple story, most simple tools, yet one feels it has everything in it. Life as the ultimate therapy. Finding friends 'out there'. Finding a nurturing environment where the soul can grow. Where there is love, everything heals eventually.

The actors were so natural. They played characters that are beautiful inside and outside as well. The songs and the soundtracks were also very well done. Go for this movie if you want something completely different from Hollywood. Japan can be proud to be able to produce movies like this one. 9/10.