Miracle Apples (2013)

In their hometown of Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, Akinori Kimura (Sadao Abe) and his wife Mieko (Miho Kanno) open an apple orchard. Because of Meiko's allergic reaction to pesticides, ... See full summary »

Director:

Yoshihiro Nakamura

Writers:

Takuji Ishikawa (based on the book by), Tomoko Yoshida (screenplay) (as Mini Yoshida)

Stars:

Sadao Abe, Miho Kanno, Mieko Harada

Cast

Credited cast:
Sadao Abe	...	Akinori Kimura
Miho Kanno	...	Mieko Kimura
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mieko Harada
Hiroyuki Ikeuchi
Tae Kimura
Sawa Suzuki
Rena Tanaka
Tsutomu Yamazaki

Storyline

In their hometown of Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, Akinori Kimura (Sadao Abe) and his wife Mieko (Miho Kanno) open an apple orchard. Because of Meiko's allergic reaction to pesticides, without the help of chemicals, Akinori Kimura must grow his apples. His family endures hardships due to this challenge and suffers severe financial difficulties. Akinori Kimura is even considering suicide.

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Genres:

Drama

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User Reviews

Important moral, stunning scenery; exaggerated acting & plot

Certainly the moral of this movie, based, we are told, on a real-life story, is an important one: a man strives against all odds to find a way to grow apples without the use of chemicals or fertilizer. Impossible, he is told. And it seems so, for a long while....

The lessons imparted are certainly vital in this age of industrial agriculture, in the face of the need to eliminate fossil fuels from all aspects of our lives, including how we feed ourselves. And the scenery is another big draw, especially one snow-capped peak in the distance.

Unfortunately the acting is uneven, often veering toward the ludicrous, and several plot twists do not withstand scrutiny.

The book on which the movie is based can be purchased, in Japanese, from Amazon Japan; the author, the real-life Akinori, has a website, akinorikimura.net; and at the latter there is a link to an English language online version of the book, introduced by none other than Yoko Ono.

If you share the belief that we need to return to a more natural, environment-friendly (and for that matter, human-friendly) mode of living, including food production, this movie will be well worth watching, if you can find it in English. If you can't, the book may be a worthy (and certainly less melodramatic) alternative.

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

8 June 2013 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Csodaalma

Filming Locations:

Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,737,264

Company Credits

Production Co:

East Japan Marketing & Communications Inc., Gentosha, Hakuhodo DY Media Partners

Technical Specs

Color:

Color