I Wish

I was away for this film - thanks to Jane for this review:

"Like others, I initially struggled to differentiate the two brothers, perhaps due in part to their being siblings in real life. These boys were already established professional actors aged 9 and 10 at the time of shooting. Nevertheless, this slightly overlong film eventually caught me in its weird wonder. The young people appeared to be the Railway Children for the 21st century, with their dreams , determination and ability to act independently in the absence of attention from the less than satisfactory adults in their respective worlds. Interestingly, the treatment of children , sometimes kind, sometimes careless, appeared to create independent and resourceful characters but ones who charmingly conformed to the values of good manners, obedience, tidiness and the Japanese equivalent of the Green Cross Code! 

All the young players gave compelling performances and the director , in spite of developing the theme of wishes, cleverly refused to provide a fairytale ending, withholding the fate of this sadly disconnected family, while simultaneously leaving the audience uplifted by his assertion of the power of loyalty and self-determination in the young."

 Audience feedback was 76%:

A	Friendship more important than family? Great music
A	A charming film. Nice to see a movie set in a society we don’t know much about.
A	Lovely film - fascinating insight into another culture .
A	Did what it said on the tin. Very thought -provoking. Interesting to see situation from a child’s perspective. Nice music.
A	A wonderful insight into Japanese culture. Brilliant child actor leads.
B	Quite poignant in parts. Enterprising little characters. Good child actors.
B	An interesting tale. Refreshing insight into Japanese childhood in the 21st century.
B	Initially confusing but a charming exporation of childhood aspirations
B	A sweet film with some very touching moments. Family life with all its ups and downs is no different wherever you are in the world
B	Rather slow at times, but lovely portrait of Japanese life and the eternal problem of fractured families.
B	Children tried to live their dream but come home to reality despite their disrupted circumstances. Well portrayed!
B	Really enjoyed it. Fantastic bunch of child actors.
C	Slow and confusing at first but it developed. Enjoyed the second half.
C	Violent. Wasn't expecting a happy ending!
C	A pleasant, easy watch film. Felt it was a bit too long.
C	Interesting take on the theme of separation. Good child acting. A bit slow- could have been shortened. Some interesting photography.
C	Good training for kids for the marathon.
D	Quite slow. Lovely boy actors trying to play the role of adults.
D	Found it a little tedious, but interesting insight into Japanese culture. Do the children always run everywhere?

On line:

Five star review from Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian: "moving and deeply satisfying"
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/feb/07/i-wish-review

Also came 9th in The Guardian's 10 best films of 2013:
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/dec/10/10-best-films-2013-i-wish

I couldn't find an on-line review by any other national UK paper!

IMDB 7.4 out of 10:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1650453/

Rotten Tomatoes 86% audience feedback:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_wish_2012/