By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Miwa Nishikawa
Starring: Ami Koyae | Fumi Nikaido | Kaito Sakurai | Kotone Hanase | Yutaka Takenouchi
Year: 2026
Running time: 150
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt42669159/
Beth Cu says: “Film was a period piece, set in Japan the last year of WWII and a few beyond, and followed a girl who had been evacuated out of Tokyo, then brought back when the program ended, to find her family missing – so it’s about how she manages on her own. She joins other children/teens in same situation, realizes girls are a risk so poses as a boy and finds a gang of other boys to survive together. Meanwhile the teacher who left her on her own at the train station is going through exactly the things the lead girl wanted to avoid, and to assuage her guilt & keep herself distracted, decides to search for the girl. Once again, a period film about a group of young friends! This was 2.5 hours, a bit too long, and the music and the plot hit the melodrama theme too much, but both leads and the other boys in the gang were great, plus 2 perfect cameos about 3/4s in from what felt like screen legend actors, playing an old couple the boys encounter. 3.5 cats.”