Satoko Kurihara (Arata Iula) receives a call from her six-year-old son Asato (Reo Sato) school. Her son was playing in the playground and apparently pushed another kid who fell from the jungle gym and was injured. Satoko rushes to the school to pick up her son who is insistent that he did not push Sora. The incident is followed up by a call from Sora's mother where she demands a settlement for medical expenses as The Kuriharas's live on the 30th floor and must be loaded. The story shifts to a time before the Kurihara's had Asato. Satoko and her husband Kiyokazu (Arata Iura) getting the results of his test that he may not be able to have kids without a surgery. The couple hear about Baby Baton a nonprofit organization that will house expectant mothers in difficult situations that agree to give their baby up for adoption until they give birth The paid decide to use the service resulting in Asato. They meet the birth mother Hikari (Aju Makita) a young 14-year-old girl and her parents at the exchange. Formal greetings are exchanged and Hikari gives to the Kurihara's hoping that they will read it to Asato one day.
The non-linear narrative next focuses on Hikari before she became pregnant. She learns that Takumi (Taketo Tanaka) likes her at school. They soon become intimate with Takumi promising that they will always be together only for that to end once Hikari becomes pregnant. Her parents are beside themselves deciding to send her to Baby Baton for the duration of the pregnancy. Thus begins a cycle of promises being broken and people not always having Hikari's best interest at heart.
Director Naomi Kawase's film based on a novel by Mizuki Tsujimura moves forwards and back in time set up by a key event. First its the incident at school then later a phone call from someone claiming to be Asato's birth mother 6 years after the adoption requesting the child back or money to remain silent. Several pillars of Japanese culture are on display in the production. Respect for others especially your elders, The need to honor your parents, and the importance of formalities that are often lost in other societies these days.
Aju Makita shines as Hikari. She is a nice young girl when she takes up with Takumi then the pregnancy, adoption process and life afterward hardens her until she is unrecognizable from the 14- year-old girl we first met. Hiromi Nagasaku is gentle and caring as Satoko. She is very patient when teaching her son Asato the right way to do things, stands up for him regarding the incident at school, and stands by her husband who offers her a divorce after hearing about his sperm count issues. Veteran actor Go Riju is also effective in a limited role as Hikari's protective boss Takeshi. He is perhaps the only person that had Hikari's best interest at heart.
***1/2 Out of 4.
True Mothers | Naomi Kawase | Japan | 2020 | 140 Minutes.
Tags: Medical Settlement, Azoospermia, Adoption, Adoption Agency, Teen Pregnancy, Kids Playing, Jungle Gym, Blackmail.
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