Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

BeSummers Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

jandesimpson A group of children walking in an unfamiliar landscape stop to gaze in rapture at a garden full of colourful flowers. For a moment they seem to have forgotten the reason they have taken their journey; one lovely moment among many in Hirokazu Kore-eda's "I Wish," a meditation on how children would like their world to be that little bit better. The film has taken quite a while to reach this point. In a rather meandering exposition the elder of two brothers separated geographically by a family split comes to realise that his greatest wish is for them to be reunited again. He even wonders whether the smouldering volcano that dominates the town might one day burst, causing the mass exodus that could end in physical relocation and reconciliation. He paints a picture of the eruption, places it on a high point of his wall and gazes up at it from his bed. During the development that follows be excitedly learns that the passing of the two bullet trains on a newly constructed line joining his town and his brother's generates at their point of passing a force so powerful that anyone standing beside the track will have their wish come true - the very stuff of fairy tale here translated into a realistic contemporary setting. When both brothers gather together a few friends to make their collective wishes come true what has until then been a rather slow footed film cluttered with non-essentials suddenly springs to life. The two groups travelling from their two towns towards each other on their local line meet up at a country station. From this point there is magic in the storytelling. What I admire most about Kore-eda is his honesty. In real life not every wish can come true but every so often there can come about a coincidence that can in itself be something of a miracle. Here it takes the form of the children's chance encounter with very human "good fairies." the elderly couple who see in one of the girls a resemblance to a daughter whose company they no longer enjoy. This is just enough to get the children to the one place where they can be close enough to the bullet trains to scream their wishes. The rest of the films is the quietest of codas as the children return home with perhaps a wiser view of the world than when they set out.

Ben Smith Lighthearted but profound Japanese family drama about two young brothers forced to live apart after the separation of their parents. The more sensitive Koichi (Koki Maeda) lives with his mother and grandparents in Kagoshima under the shadow of the active Sakurajima volcano, while the happy-go-lucky Ryu (Ohshirô Maeda) has remained in Fukuoka with their slacker musician father. Koichi longs for them to be reunited and when he hears of a magical rumour that when two super-fast Bullet trains pass each other they create enough cosmic energy to grant your wish, he and his friends set out to put things back the way they were.The suburban tale of a troubled family told with a touch of fantasy and adventure draws obvious parallels with Spielberg, and it is more than worthy of the comparison. Director Hirokazu Koreeda elicits two incredibly natural performances from the boys (real life brothers) and indeed all of the young cast – in the scenes where they're hanging out he has seemingly turned the camera on some local school friends, their relationships seem so genuine. Koichi and Ryu's story is interspersed with those of their friends and family, all of whom have their own struggles and aspirations. Be it their grandfather's desire to bake a successful sponge cake, or Koichi's friend's dream of marrying the beautiful school librarian, every character – no matter how minor – is portrayed as a real person with their own hopes and fears. As a result it is constantly engrossing, establishing an affinity with everyone on screen and also allowing some fantastically warm funny moments to emerge from the characters themselves. Despite its concentration on character over narrative, and its general unpredictability, the film still has a mainstream tone and is more than capable of cultivating a wide, varied audience.A quiet natural film that avoids obvious melodrama and sentimentality, it retains a thoughtful depth about what it is to dream and hope for that which is just out of reach. As is often the case with the most affecting cinema its power lies in what the viewer brings to it from their own lives, and how much they are willing to invest in the film. With no obvious moral or message, it has the potential to be interpreted in many ways. A philosophical yet thoroughly accessible film that effortlessly gets under the skin.

Filaipus Siblings try to find a way out of the circumstances imposed on them by their parents. Their lives are turned upside down when their parents divorce and custody arrangements split them up. Twelve-year-old Koichi ends up with his mother Nozomi, and they move in with her parents in a small village where she gets a job at a supermarket. Koichi's younger brother Ryunosuke, meanwhile, moves in with his dad Kenji, a struggling musician who can't hold on to a day job. The brothers miss each other and want to bring their parents back together, and when they hear of an urban legend that if two people make the same wish at the same time while watching two bullet trains pass one another, the wish will immediately come true, they decide this is the way to reunite the family. It has its funny moments and it reminds you of your childhood (if you are more that 25 years old haha). The concept idea is a good one and the performance its quite good too. I was expecting way more to say the true, but everyone has its own tastes. Worth watching? 1 time, yes.

Kicino I first saw this at the Hong Kong International Film Festival. It was so good that I watched it again when it was publicly released.What was your dream when you were small? To be a dancer? To be an actor? To marry your teacher? To run faster? To reunite with your family after your parents' separation? For 12-year-old Koichi (Koki Maeda), his dream was for the volcano in Kagoshima to explode so he could go back to Osaka with his mom and live with his dad and younger brother Ryunosuke (Oshirou Maeda). Koichi accidentally heard that miracles happened when the first north and south bound bulletin trains passed each other in Kyushu. Elated, he called his younger brother in Osaka to plan for this secret rendezvous. What is appealing of the film is that it is totally carried by the children cast. Even grandpa, mama, teachers and strangers on the road were on their side – everyone was kind and everyone had their own dream. Grandpa was determined to try making his exclusive desert karukan. Mama missed his younger son but was too proud to get back with her husband. The teachers were all so kind to go along with the kids' kind lies. What I admire is how autonomous the children were in this movie. Not only did they have a dream, but they also actually developed a plan to realize their dream: Koichi and his friends looked for changes under the vending machines. When they found out it was not enough, they sold their toys and comic books and even gave up their swimming tuition. Then they made a detailed itinerary complete with train schedule and maps. The important point was their parents gave them a lot of freedom to do what they want.It did not come to my mind that the two brothers are real brothers behind the screen until I saw their old pictures in the later part of the movie. No wonder there were such strong resonance between them. All the characters were lovable in the film, even if they lie, even if they were too trusty - because they all have dreams and they believe in them. The message is also very positive: when there is dream, there will be miracles and things will fall into places. Even if miracles did not happen, we would be glad that we tried. A feel-good movie at the highest level. And it is exactly what Japan needs to rebuild itself from the ruins after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.