Customer Reviews

Firefly Dreams

This exquisite piece from an English teacher in Japan (making his film debut) is a somewhat slow, simple tale that nonetheless captures the gorgeous environs of Horiacho -- a relatively untouched, uncommercialized region of Central Japan -- with a warm and captivating glaze!

The theme is fairly unpretentious. Our protagonist, Naomi, is a forlorn, rebellious seventeen year old girl from just about any Japanese city (in our case, Nagoya) whose parents bear the brunt of urban filial discord so common in contemporary Japan. She smokes, dabbles in forbidden activities (not uncommon for teenage girls in Japan), plays truant from school, and rattles off obscenities in front of her parents when they question her actions.

As a corrective penalty, she is packed off to spend some time with her grandmother in the countryside. Which naturally she initially detests. But things come around, she comes of age and to terms with her world, and discovers the follies of her own rebellions.

The movie's delicate handling of old versus the new is fascinating. The moments when the girl and her grandmother interact brim with common wisdom and affection. The girl's actions, though alarming to people not in the know, do not come across as cheap or startling. You end up caring for pretty much every character in the film, including a village boy who delivers chicken.

John Williams' script and direction are focused and allow the natural grace of the tale to unfold. But what absolutely swept me off my feet was the stunning cinematography of Yoshinobu Hayano that bathed the quieter, more introspective moments with glowing light and deep shadow. Not something you'd expect from a semi-indie banner, especially in a debut!

Overall, while it may be a somewhat lax-paced movie for modern tastes, I found that it unfolds delectably and reaches its credible resolutions quite effectively. Highly recommended if you're in any way interested in Japan.