This is a true story, with the actual dates (in the 1990s) being shown on the screen at various intervals. It is actually quite important that it's a true story because otherwise the plot can easily be criticise for being too simple at some points, and too contrived at others. It runs almost like a documentary, but one with feelings.
The story starts by telling how young Tetsumu Ogawa (played by talented Yuya Yagira who won the prestigious Cannes Best Actor Award in 2004 when he was 14), the first Japanese ever to go to Thailand to be trained as a professional elephant trainer, initially obtained permission from his mother Sario Ogawa (played by ever popular Japanese actress Takako Tokiwa). Sario is a workaholic mother who brought Tetsumu and his old sister along into a second marriage, which gave her two more kids. Her second husband (Tetsumu's step-father) is somewhat laid-back while her mother-in-law is a kindly and very understanding woman. Sario finds herself carrying the bulk of the responsibility of running the family animal farm that rents animals to TV stations and filmmakers, among other things. On the surface, this is a simple, happy family but Tetsumu's life is not exactly rosy. At school, he has no friends because of his "animal smell" and at home, he feels terribly neglected by his mother. When Sario bought a couple of elephants for the farm, Tetsumu finds a goal for his life, to be a professional elephant trainer.
The middle section of the movie take us to exotic Thailand (not that Japan is not exotic) where we see how, with his rudimentary grasp of the Thai language, Tetsumu breaks down the communication barrier with his teachers, fellow students, and subject of study, the elephants. Through the process, he develops a unique spiritual connection with the elephants. The last part tells how he comes home to help training the elephant in the farm and how he meets his girlfriend Emi Murakami (played by lovely Yu Aoi who plays Alice in "Hana and Alice"). His dream, however, is to build a "paradise" for retiring elephants that have been brought to Japan and have provided years of joyful entertainment to the people there.
This is a movie that takes considerable patience to truly appreciate. As I mentioned, this is a true story that plays out almost like a documentary at times. Instead of taking the audience for a ride with sappy tear-jerking manipulation many Korean movies are doing today, this one just let you into the world of the protagonists, through their simple daily lives.
Takako Tokiwa, one-time queen of Japanese TV, departs from her sweetheart roles and plays the workaholic mother who has lost touch with his son, and put in a wonderful performance. Yu Aoi, who appears only after the mid-point of the movie, does not have much screen time but has an important role to play. It is of course Yuya Yagira that carries this move, making it shine, just as the English title goes: "Shinning boy and little Randy."
The story starts by telling how young Tetsumu Ogawa (played by talented Yuya Yagira who won the prestigious Cannes Best Actor Award in 2004 when he was 14), the first Japanese ever to go to Thailand to be trained as a professional elephant trainer, initially obtained permission from his mother Sario Ogawa (played by ever popular Japanese actress Takako Tokiwa). Sario is a workaholic mother who brought Tetsumu and his old sister along into a second marriage, which gave her two more kids. Her second husband (Tetsumu's step-father) is somewhat laid-back while her mother-in-law is a kindly and very understanding woman. Sario finds herself carrying the bulk of the responsibility of running the family animal farm that rents animals to TV stations and filmmakers, among other things. On the surface, this is a simple, happy family but Tetsumu's life is not exactly rosy. At school, he has no friends because of his "animal smell" and at home, he feels terribly neglected by his mother. When Sario bought a couple of elephants for the farm, Tetsumu finds a goal for his life, to be a professional elephant trainer.
The middle section of the movie take us to exotic Thailand (not that Japan is not exotic) where we see how, with his rudimentary grasp of the Thai language, Tetsumu breaks down the communication barrier with his teachers, fellow students, and subject of study, the elephants. Through the process, he develops a unique spiritual connection with the elephants. The last part tells how he comes home to help training the elephant in the farm and how he meets his girlfriend Emi Murakami (played by lovely Yu Aoi who plays Alice in "Hana and Alice"). His dream, however, is to build a "paradise" for retiring elephants that have been brought to Japan and have provided years of joyful entertainment to the people there.
This is a movie that takes considerable patience to truly appreciate. As I mentioned, this is a true story that plays out almost like a documentary at times. Instead of taking the audience for a ride with sappy tear-jerking manipulation many Korean movies are doing today, this one just let you into the world of the protagonists, through their simple daily lives.
Takako Tokiwa, one-time queen of Japanese TV, departs from her sweetheart roles and plays the workaholic mother who has lost touch with his son, and put in a wonderful performance. Yu Aoi, who appears only after the mid-point of the movie, does not have much screen time but has an important role to play. It is of course Yuya Yagira that carries this move, making it shine, just as the English title goes: "Shinning boy and little Randy."