VIFF 2011: I WISH Review

Uplifting family films isn't exactly typical film festival fodder, but Hirokazu Koreeda, a festival shoe-in, has proven than he can do it perfectly with his new film I Wish. Tossing together a cast of seasoned familiar faces as well as a half a dozen plucky children, I Wish translates the naïve dreams of kids into an appreciation for the understated magic of earthbound realities. Kiochi and Ryu are young brothers who, as a result of their parent's recent separation, live at opposite ends of Kyushu Island at the southern end of Japan. Kiochi lives with his easy-going mother and his retired grandparents in Kagoshima where a volcano slumbers in the background dusting the town with ash. Ryu, a few years younger, lives with his bohemian rock and roll father in Fukuoka. The two boys talk regularly, but the gap that is growing between them weighs heavy on Koichi. His impossible dream of getting his family back together again receives a boost from a new bullet train line running the length of Kyushu--rumor has it that if you are able to see the northbound and southbound trains pass each other, the energy is so great that you are granted a wish.

Ryu and his three friends along with Koichi and his two friends devise a plan to buy tickets, cut school, meet in the middle and pitch their individual wishes into the air of the passing trains. As one might expect, it is not the destination but the journey that provides the kids with the ultimate reward of learning something about themselves, the world and the importance of friends and family. It all sounds very clichéd, but it couldn't be further from it. Koreeda's has mastered the ability to capture delicate shifts, shuffles and pangs of the heart without caving to predictable schmaltz and eye-rolling banality. Even the most jaded filmgoer will have trouble shaking the glow that rubs off from I Wish. Returning to the essential themes of Still Walking and Hana, Koreeda embraces all his characters, young and old, with the understanding that everyone has hopes and dreams. On the periphery you have a grandfather entertaining the idea of making the perfect sponge cake for the masses, a mother who is patiently waiting to see what the future holds, and a father chasing his dreams of being a musician with no apologies.

The two young charismatic young boys who carry the bulk of film are brothers in real life. Koreeda relied on the two boys to help him finish the script, using ideas that would be natural for the two of them. The result is an understandably genuine chemistry between the boys and the material they are conveying through their acting. But they get huge support from the other five child actors who make up their two circles of friends. Ryu falls in with a gaggle of three girls who seem to relish his uninhibited energy, where Koichi has two friends who are like-minded analytical and thoughtful boys. The kids are a breath of fresh air, and although they dominate the screen time of the two-hour film, there is not one moment that feels artificial or forced. The film is rounded out with small but effective roles for Joe Odagiri as the boys' father, Kirin Kiki as their grandmother, Nene Otsuka (Bashing) as their mother, and Yoshio Harada (in his last role) as a friend of their grandfather's.

There is a sort of humble perfection in I Wish that is hard to pin down but should be a breeze to market, and I mean that in the best possible way. There is nothing not to like about I Wish and its broad appeal is such a no-brainer that if it doesn't become some sort of arthouse hit outside of its own country (and specifically in North America) I give up on distributors.