By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Jun'ichi Satô
Starring: Mei Oshitani | Shinnosuke Furumoto
Country: japan
Year: 2003
Running time: 105
IMDB: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0382114/combined
Michael says: “Sunday afternoon at the Boston Fantastic Film Festival found me catching two Japanese movies about a couple of very different beasts. First up was the family anime film, JUNKERS COME HERE. Junkers is a special dog, a cute miniature schnauzer. He’s 6th-grader Hiromi’s closest companion. He also happens to use a urinal (and he flushes too) and talks to Hiromi, something she continually reminds him that he must not do in front of other people. The celebrity hoopla surrounding a talking dog would just be too much.
“Other than Junkers, Hiromi leads a fairly solitary life. Her mother and father are both consumed by their careers. They rarely see each other, and parent Hiromi by proxy. Fumie is the family housekeeper, and Keisuke the 22-year-old lodger who tutors Hiromi.
“The story is simple, that of a young girl coping with loneliness, the threat of divorce, and the heartbreak of first love, but all told with a maturity and humor rarely found in ‘family films’ in the States. JUNKERS COME HERE has been out for several years, and what a joy it was to see it on the big screen for the first time in New England. The animation is simple and beautiful.” 4 1/2 cats