I Wish (2011)

Hirokazu Koreeda is a film makers that wields a gentle yet powerful touch especially in portraying his trademark family films. I Wish is no exception. Relatively much more upbeat and energetic compared to Nobody Knows or Like Father Like Son, I Wish is a tale of brotherhood and ultimately of growing up.

Koreeda understands children. Here, he portrays the children's "innocent" and wishful thinking in a manner that it should be. Koichi's wish of a family being together (to his final wish) shows a 12-year-old child's longing and eventual acceptance of the things he can and cannot change. Ryu's wish for something reflects his innocence to his final wish reflects his growth and understanding. This is the same for the other young supporting characters as well.

I Wish isn't dramatic, perhaps it would even come out not as strong as Koreeda's other films (it's tone is similar to that of Our Little Sister and both were received well in Cannes). But it didn't matter because the star of the film are the children and how they're making sense and living their own respective situations. It's gentle and it's so natural. Once again, Koreeda proves his consistency as a director with his trademarks: frame and music pacing, young talented cast, little details, family theme, the apparent contrasts, beautiful cinematography and symbolism.

Here, we have much more upbeat songs which reflects the film's overall tone. The two leads being brothers in real life is a very good decision as it helps a lot with the chemistry. That's also saying that the young cast is such a delight to watch. The little details in the sponge cake, swimming trunks, volcanic ash, CD, vegetable, horse-meat sashimi are recurring and symbolic throughout the film.

The central theme revolving around two bullet trains intersecting is also a really nice touch: it reflects the brothers and their life. Each living at the end of each other (one in Kagoshima, known from being next to a volcano and the other in Fukuoka while not "countrysides", it's less suffocating that Tokyo; hence, really beautiful setting) and each of them going in their separate ways. Hitching a plan to meet and see this "miracle" of two trains symbolizes them.

The apparent contrast between the two also compliment each other: the eldest is unhappy and grumpy, the younger one is energetic and happy. Living in Kagoshima is problematic while living in Fukuoka seems more carefree. The father is a happy-go-lucky while the mother is more serious. Koichi wears a uniform to school and lives with his grandparents while Ryu doesn't wear a uniform and lives his father and his band mates. These contrast work to show the opposite between the two yet what also ultimately ties them together: brotherhood.

Perhaps the fact that its 2 hour running time seem to feel a little draggy and long to watch. I had no problem with Our Little Sister's lack of direction/ultimate goal and just mere storytelling which is similar to I Wish but I think I Wish touches on little sub-plots that could have been avoided so as to not let it feel like it was too stretched out. But other than that, this is another one of Koreeda's great works.

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A wish is all you need

Kore-eda has this magical sense of life's inertia. This movie really isn't about anything and yet it's message is beautiful.

A story about life as a young children who carry small burdens. The movie touches on family dynamics and its effects on children. We have the brothers with differing views on how they saw their parents relationship. We have a young Megumi who is trying to pursue a dream in which her mother doesn't approve. We have gambling problems, body problems and companionship. In a way the story was about the affect parental negligence has on children. Though nothing is explicitly expressed, Kore-eda's films usually deal with family structure and nuiance. Each child represented very real problems children can face and their resilience against adversity.

I thought the way the movie ended with Koichi not wanting to make a wish spoke volumes about him understanding the feelings of everyone around him. I felt for the most part of the movie he was a little selfish. But I think through all the help he received, he realized that everyone deserves their wishes to come true. His wish would of interfered with that. The montage of everything they went through to get to this point was beautifully done.

The kurukan cake I felt was also a metaphor for adulthood. Something so plain and unassuming like life but having a slight sweetness, spoke about life's little wins. A life that goes by day to day but there's hints of good. During the course of the movie we experienced these little wins and courage thriving on in your young protagonists.

As usual many of the shots in the movie linger on the inate beauty of the everyday. We have all these micro interactions such as; a hand being placed on a shoulder, the mixing of ingredients, the dusting of a table. Each one is nothing in the grand scheme of things but the focus on them is what makes his movies special. It's the little things that matter to Kore-eda. These small gestures all make up our daily lives, subconsciously affecting how we see the world.

I wouldn't say this is my favorite of his works, but it was an enjoyable 2 hours and a nice way to turn off your mind for a while.

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