Jamie passion and passionfruit!

A Japanese film from the director of the lovely After Life, Hiro Kore-eda.  This is the story of a group of kids who are left by their mother to survive for a year on their own with dwindling money and no help, no school, nothing.  The eldest Akira is 12 and is the only one allowed out by the batty mother who is some sort of shop worker or service girl (read into that what you will).  The others are obliged to stay inside and occupy themselves as best they can. When mother disappears, the children keep to the rules for a while and maintain the pretence but then the order starts breaking down however hard Akira tries to keep it going.  It is a film about families, about the need for children to have a life as children, about the moral values that children learn often despite adults, about the small things and promises that make up life.  And it is another beautiful movie.  Yuya Yagira is excellent as Akira – but all the kids act well and singer You does a great job as the mother.  While it is a slow moving film, the small details that Kore-eda uses to explore the world of his characters is exquisite and I found this to be a thoroughly engaging and satisfying film.

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