I'm not usually a fan of children leading films, but hats have to come off here for a really delightful performance from the young Hinata Hiiragi as the shy and shunned "Hoshikawa". We will get to him in a minute, but first the film is delivered in three parts as a fire slowly devours a city centre tower block. The first episode introduces us to "Minato" (Soya Kurukawa). He's a bright and friendly boy who lives with his widowed mother (Sakura Ando). She starts to notice that his behaviour is a becoming a bit erratic and after some investigation begins to suspect that he is being bullied at school. A visit to the recently bereaved Principal (Yûko Tanaka) reveals that his teacher "Hori" (Eita Nagayama) might be the culprit and apologies are made. The next segment takes up the same story, only this time we look from the perspective of the teacher, a caring and enthusiastic professional. Though there are similarities between the two scenarios, the conclusion from the first doesn't quite tie up with the information from the second. Then to the final instalment where the two boys take and hold really well the centre stage of this drama and we get to grips with the puzzles set already and discover more about their complex characters. It's this third phase that is quite captivating to watch. The older boy must tread a thin line between a peer pressure that thinks his friend is odd, even that he has "a pig's brain" whilst he, himself, realises that "Hoshikawa" is a friendly, curious and loyal lad who has quite a few domestic demons of his own to face, on pretty much a daily basis. Amongst the adults, there's plenty going on too. The head teacher is clearly sitting on a fairly hefty secret of her own and "Mr. Hori" faces a series of predicaments that reminded me a little of the recent "Teacher's Lounge". A typhoon, some tunnels and an old railway carriage provide a perfect focus for the concussion that isn't so much that, it's an invitation to see what might happen next. The director excels here at putting us into the minds of the children and of the adults whilst also allowing our own observations to watch a story of two young children at a sensitive stage of their lives - and it really does make you think and reminisce about your own childhood in equal measure.
