Bittersweet. A beautiful exploration of family and poverty in 21st century Japan. Right from the start, the movie finds the exact right tone. It’s warm and sweet without ever becoming too sentimental, almost like a Ghibli film in live action. The cinematography is gorgeous and the acting feels so authentic and real (the younger cast included!). The writing specifically excels at investing you in these characters, while not forgetting to include some subtle complexity. The film opens with one of our protagonists shoplifting and kidnapping a child, and yet because the writing is so strong, you don’t think of him as this irredeemable asshole. As the film progresses, the film presents us with some dark emotional moments that are sure to leave an impression on your memory because you care so much about these people. It also plays with this idea of the chosen family vs the biological family, think _The Rise of Skywalker_ if those final moments had any authentic weight. This is honestly pretty much perfect for what it’s trying to do, every choice I find to be incredibly tasteful. You could call it a perfect ‘tearjerker’, but since we tend to associate that term with cheap trash, I’m not going to. Just know that if you’re the sensitive type, this one’s really effective at tugging at your emotions.

9/10