Sawako Decides
Encyclopedia
is a 2009 Japanese comedy-drama film directed by Yuya Ishii
. The film stars Hikari Mitsushima
as Sawako who has gone through five different part-time jobs and boyfriends in the past five years. When she is invited to return to her hometown to take over the family business, the indecisive Sawoko must choose what she really wants out of her life.
Sawako Decides premiered at Tokyo at the PIA Film Festival in 2009. At the Fantasia Film Festival, the film won the award for Best Feature Film and Best Actress for Hikari Mitsushima
.
) is in her fifth part-time job and with her fifth boyfriend since after finishing high school. Kenichi Arai (Endo Masashi) is designer at the toy company where Sawoko works is has a four-year-old daughter, Kayoko (Kira Aihara). Kenichi keeps pressing Sawoko to get married but she considers him "only average" and dislikes children. Sawoko's uncle, Nobuo (Ryo Iwamatsu) keeps phoning her to return home as her father Tadao (Kotaro Shiga) is dying from cirrhosis
of the liver and wants her to take over his freshwater clam packing company he owns called Kimura Fisheries. When Kenichi is fired form his job he persuades Sawoko to return home and take him and Kayoko along. The trio arrive in the Pacific coast town of Kawaminami in southeast Japan, where Sawoko is derided by the womenfolk for leaving five years ago with Yoshio (Ryu Morioka), her school's tennis club captain. At this point Sawoko is forced to decide what she wants to do with the company, Kenichi, and her whole life.
found the story to the film amusing and personally negotiated with director Yuya Ishii stating that he would "regret it if he didn't cast me."
Sawako Decides had it's North American premiere at the New York Asian Film Festival
on July 1, 2010. It was shown in the United Kingdom
at the London Film Festival
in October of 2010.
. Total Film
gave the film three stars out of five, noting that the film's "jokes occasionally get lost in translation". The Guardian
gave the film two stars out of five, stating that the film is "somewhere between funny and irritating". The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a mixed review by praising Mitsushima's acting, while stating that the film "does not challenge the status quo that makes life so miserable for non-achievers."
Yuya Ishii (director)
is a Japanese film director, writer, editor, producer and actor best known for his 2010 movie Sawako Decides for which he won best director at the 2010 Blue Ribbon Awards...
. The film stars Hikari Mitsushima
Hikari Mitsushima
is a Japanese film actress, born on 30 November 1985, in Okinawa, Japan. She began her career in 1997 as a teenage idol singer in the J-pop groups Folder and Folder 5. She made her acting debut in Rebirth of Mothra II in 1997, but did not start acting regularly until 2005...
as Sawako who has gone through five different part-time jobs and boyfriends in the past five years. When she is invited to return to her hometown to take over the family business, the indecisive Sawoko must choose what she really wants out of her life.
Sawako Decides premiered at Tokyo at the PIA Film Festival in 2009. At the Fantasia Film Festival, the film won the award for Best Feature Film and Best Actress for Hikari Mitsushima
Hikari Mitsushima
is a Japanese film actress, born on 30 November 1985, in Okinawa, Japan. She began her career in 1997 as a teenage idol singer in the J-pop groups Folder and Folder 5. She made her acting debut in Rebirth of Mothra II in 1997, but did not start acting regularly until 2005...
.
Plot
In modern day Tokyo, the 23-year old Sawoko Kimura (Hikari MitsushimaHikari Mitsushima
is a Japanese film actress, born on 30 November 1985, in Okinawa, Japan. She began her career in 1997 as a teenage idol singer in the J-pop groups Folder and Folder 5. She made her acting debut in Rebirth of Mothra II in 1997, but did not start acting regularly until 2005...
) is in her fifth part-time job and with her fifth boyfriend since after finishing high school. Kenichi Arai (Endo Masashi) is designer at the toy company where Sawoko works is has a four-year-old daughter, Kayoko (Kira Aihara). Kenichi keeps pressing Sawoko to get married but she considers him "only average" and dislikes children. Sawoko's uncle, Nobuo (Ryo Iwamatsu) keeps phoning her to return home as her father Tadao (Kotaro Shiga) is dying from cirrhosis
Cirrhosis
Cirrhosis is a consequence of chronic liver disease characterized by replacement of liver tissue by fibrosis, scar tissue and regenerative nodules , leading to loss of liver function...
of the liver and wants her to take over his freshwater clam packing company he owns called Kimura Fisheries. When Kenichi is fired form his job he persuades Sawoko to return home and take him and Kayoko along. The trio arrive in the Pacific coast town of Kawaminami in southeast Japan, where Sawoko is derided by the womenfolk for leaving five years ago with Yoshio (Ryu Morioka), her school's tennis club captain. At this point Sawoko is forced to decide what she wants to do with the company, Kenichi, and her whole life.
Production
Actress Hikari MitsushimaHikari Mitsushima
is a Japanese film actress, born on 30 November 1985, in Okinawa, Japan. She began her career in 1997 as a teenage idol singer in the J-pop groups Folder and Folder 5. She made her acting debut in Rebirth of Mothra II in 1997, but did not start acting regularly until 2005...
found the story to the film amusing and personally negotiated with director Yuya Ishii stating that he would "regret it if he didn't cast me."
Release
Sawako Decides premiered at the PIA Film Festival in Tokyo on July 30, 2009. It premiered theatrically in Japan on May 1, 2010.Sawako Decides had it's North American premiere at the New York Asian Film Festival
New York Asian Film Festival
The New York Asian Film Festival was first held in 2002, growing out of the previous year's New York Korean Film Festival...
on July 1, 2010. It was shown in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
at the London Film Festival
London Film Festival
The BFI London Film Festival is the UK's largest public film event, screening more than 300 features, documentaries and shorts from almost 50 countries. The festival, , currently in its 54th year, is run every year in the second half of October under the umbrella of the British Film Institute...
in October of 2010.
Reception
At the Fantasia Film Festival, the film won the award for Best Feature Film and Best Actress for Hikari MitsushimaHikari Mitsushima
is a Japanese film actress, born on 30 November 1985, in Okinawa, Japan. She began her career in 1997 as a teenage idol singer in the J-pop groups Folder and Folder 5. She made her acting debut in Rebirth of Mothra II in 1997, but did not start acting regularly until 2005...
. Total Film
Total Film
Total Film is a British film magazine published 13 times a year by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and offers film, DVD and Blu-ray news, reviews and features...
gave the film three stars out of five, noting that the film's "jokes occasionally get lost in translation". The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
gave the film two stars out of five, stating that the film is "somewhere between funny and irritating". The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a mixed review by praising Mitsushima's acting, while stating that the film "does not challenge the status quo that makes life so miserable for non-achievers."