Cast overview: | |||
Kirin Kiki | ... | Tokue | |
Masatoshi Nagase | ... | Sentarô | |
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Kyara Uchida | ... | Wakana |
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Miki Mizuno | ... | Wakana's Mother |
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Miu Takeuchi | ||
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Saki Takahashi | ||
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Yurie Murata | ||
Taiga Nakano | ... | Yôhei (as Taiga) | |
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Wakato Kanematsu | ... | Wakato |
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Miyoko Asada | ... | Shop Owner's Wife |
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Etsuko Ichihara | ... | Yoshiko |
The manager of a pancake stall finds himself confronted with an odd but sympathetic elderly woman looking for work. A taste of her homemade red bean paste convinces him to hire her, which starts a relationship that is about much more than just street food. Written by pagurus
Yes, as others write, it's quite sentimental, and slightly didactic, but it isn't so in a corny way. The pain and moral dilemmas it portrays are very relatable and at times almost too much too bear. Maybe it's just that I find depictions of kind and lonely old folks very touching. Speaking of, Kirin Kiki's performance is brilliant. She's the real deal. She was so convincing that I actually checked if she was someone who had suffered from leprosy. This is a film in the tradition of Kurosawa's 'Ikiru'. There is even a sort of key moment in the film where Tokue uses the phrase 'ikiru' (to live).