Director – Naomi Kawase – 2020 – Japan – Cert. 15 – 140m
*****
An unmarried mum hands her child over to adoptive parents only to later decide that she wants the child back – Japan’s entry for the 2020/2021 Oscars is screening on Curzon Home Cinema from Friday, April 16th
Naomi Kawase’s new film True Mothers deals with the interface between unwanted teen pregnancy and infertility among married couples and was Japan’s entry for this year’s Best International Feature Film at the Oscars. Sadly, it didn’t make the Academy’s shortlist. However, UK audiences up and down the land will now be able to see it on Curzon Home Cinema. It had a brief UK big screen outing late last year at the London East Asia Film Festival (LEAFF), which, after several months of touch-and-go somewhat incredibly went ahead days before the UK went back into total lockdown.
Former documentarian Kawase has been getting a lot of exposure in the UK in recent years with both Sweet Bean (2015) and The Mourning Forest (2007) released here on Eureka! Video and Still the Water (2014) currently available on MUBI and BFI Player. I like Kawase but I must admit True Mothers sounded like it might be terrible. It turned out to be the best thing I’d seen for ages. When I saw it, I was unaware of its potential Oscar status. Worthy films and Oscar-bait are my least favourite genres, yet for me it admirably avoided being either. [Read more]
Full review at All The Anime.
Trailer:
Festivals (selected):
2020
Toronto International Film Festival:
Wednesday, September 16th.
London East Asia Film Festival (LEAFF):
16.30 BST Saturday, December 12th at Odeon Leicester Square.