Others have summed it up. I'll just add that from the very first scene -- a simple conversation between a grown daughter and her mother, in the mother's kitchen -- I instantly recognised my own sister and my own mother. The dialogue is so accurate it could be a documentary. The fact that I'm (we're) not Japanese is entirely beside the point.
Which is part of the point, I think.
The characters in this film completely absorbed me, right from the start. Even the supporting roles are incredibly well-played. (C.f. The main character's kind, patient, cheery, long-suffering young partner.) And the script manages to be simultaneously funny and familiar and deeply heartbreaking, all at the same time.
It's also a very courageous movie that's not afraid to ditch storybook clichés and stick to plausibility. The main character in particular is played like an actual person; you want him to win, you want him to grow up, you want to kick him... but you don't. Because it's not that simple.
You don't see many films like that.
And don't walk out on the credits; the final song (Deep Breath, by Hanaregumi) is devastating and beautiful, and somehow manages to sum up the whole story without actually being about the story.
Just... brilliant.
Which is part of the point, I think.
The characters in this film completely absorbed me, right from the start. Even the supporting roles are incredibly well-played. (C.f. The main character's kind, patient, cheery, long-suffering young partner.) And the script manages to be simultaneously funny and familiar and deeply heartbreaking, all at the same time.
It's also a very courageous movie that's not afraid to ditch storybook clichés and stick to plausibility. The main character in particular is played like an actual person; you want him to win, you want him to grow up, you want to kick him... but you don't. Because it's not that simple.
You don't see many films like that.
And don't walk out on the credits; the final song (Deep Breath, by Hanaregumi) is devastating and beautiful, and somehow manages to sum up the whole story without actually being about the story.
Just... brilliant.