Sawako Decides (2010) Kawa no soko kara konnichi wa (original title)

Director:

Yûya Ishii

Writer:

Yûya Ishii (screenplay)

Release Date:

1 May 2010 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

After 5 years in Tokyo, 5 part-time jobs, 5 boyfriends, Sawako's life is going nowhere. When her father gets seriously ill she have to take over his struggling factory. Gradually she becomes the decider of her own life. |

Cast

Hikari Mitsushima	...	Sawako
Kôtarô Shiga	...	Tadao
Ryô Iwamatsu	...	Nobuo
Kira Aihara	...	Kayoko
Masashi Endô	...	Kenichi
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Makiko Amuro
Kurt Chiba
Katsuki Emura
Yumi Hirose
Miyoko Inagawa
Toshiaki Inomata
Tsubasa Itô
Tsubasa Kikuchi
Tomiko Kudô
Emi Makino
Akie Maruyama
Maki Meguro
Ryû Morioka	...	Tennis club captain
Keiko Shinohe
Satoshi Shiomi
Natsumi Suzuki
Tong Toro Tong
Nawo Uchiyama
Yoshiko Yoshino

Directed by
Yûya Ishii

Writing credits
Yûya Ishii		(screenplay)

Produced by
Mayumi Amano	....	producer
Ryuhei Chiba	....	executive producer
Natsuhiko Ujiie	....	executive producer
Yasuhide Uno	....	executive producer
Toshiyuki Wake	....	assistant producer
Hiroshi Yauchi	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Chiaki Nomura

Cinematography by
Yukihiro Okimura

Film Editing by
Koichi Takahashi

Art Direction by
Tatsuo Ozeki

Costume Design by
Kyoko Baba

Production Management
Shunta Kezuka	....	assistant production manager
Hiroaki Matsushita	....	assistant production manager
Naoko Nakamaruo	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Yuki Kondo	....	assistant director

Art Department
Naoki Ohtani	....	assistant art director
Hanako Yanagi	....	props

Sound Department
Yamato Katô	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Yasuko Kawamura	....	gaffer
Manpei Kobayashi	....	gaffer
Tadahiro Miki	....	still photographer
Kazuhiro Okamoto	....	assistant camera
Ken Sekiguchi	....	lighting technician
Yasuyuki Suzuki	....	assistant camera

Production Companies

• Avex Entertainment
• Imagica
• PIA
• Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS)
• Tokyo FM Broadcasting Co.
• USEN Corporation

Distributors

• Euro Space (2010) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Third Window Films (2010) (UK) (all media)

Other Companies

• Imagica  post-production facilities
• Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs  funding
• Kodak Japan  special thanks
• Studio LubLab  sound post-production

Also Known As:

"Kawa no soko kara konnichi wa" - Japan (original title)

Runtime:

Japan:112 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Company:

Avex Entertainment

Some Funny Parts, Japanese Audiences Liked it, A Bit Slow

(See the previous review for a very good plot synopsis)

I went to see this movie in Tokyo because Pia Magazine (the leading Japanese language entertainment magazine in Tokyo) had done theater exit polls for several movies and this one had scored best with 50+ respondents giving it an average of >90/100 points. Clearly Japanese audiences liked it.

I liked it too, in general. There were parts that were quietly funny and pleasantly quirky. There were scenes that were very funny. The performance of the leading lady, however, was somewhat mixed. She was very convincing in some scenes, less convincing in others. Also, the overall pace of the movie was a little slow. It probably could have been edited down by about 10 minutes with beneficial effect.