Times reviews I Wish

[Maria Jose Gonzalez]

The original story was rather different.
Koreeda's original script was about a boy in Kagoshima and a girl in Hakata,a young romance story.
However,when the famous Kansai-combi Maeda Maeda appeared at the audition,Koreeda changed the story completely to accomodate the twins,a very popular pair that would undoubtedly have contributed to the film's commercial success.After all,this film was a JR Kyushu project ,offered to Koreeda because he is a "tetchan",train fan.
It is not uncommon in Japan for siblings to live separately with a different guardian after divorce procedures,less so these days,all the more with twins.but it wouldn't be considered odd,just possible,especially if we consider that they still live on the very same island.
Bear in mind that in this country close family members do not always necessarily live under the same roof.One example is tanshinfuni.

Maria-Jose


________________________________
 From: Roger Macy <macyroger at yahoo.co.uk>
To: KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu 
Sent: Sunday, 13 May 2012, 18:32
Subject: Re: Times reviews I Wish
 

  
This response also needs a spoiler alert.
 
Thanks for that, Mark.  When I saw the film at the 
London FF back last October, the back story that Mark has given us only slowly 
emerged.  Whilst I can agree with Mark about his reflections on the dad, 
it's hardly the only parenting issue that is questionable, in particular the 
splitting of siblings, an arrangement that seems to answer to each extended 
family's need for an heir, rather than any interest of the children. That 
splitting seemed to be presented as a necessary consequence of the parents' 
splitting as far as I could make out.
Moving just a sufficient distance away as to make visiting 
difficult is an all-too-common gut move by a parent with residence in all 
cultures that I know.  Because courts work in retrospect, 'child's best 
interests' so often works to reinforce - and thus further encourage - those 
parental moves.  But I don't think there is a court in the UK - or Europe - 
that would agree on the splitting of siblings as chattels.
Is the child-splitting just a necessary requirement for 
the story - or does such a practice have some currency in Japan ?  Koreeda, 
after all, is hardly a stranger to such issues in his films.  Perhaps he 
addressed that at a Q&A ?
Roger
 
 
----- Original Message ----- 
>From: Mark Roberts 
>To: KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu 
>Sent: Sunday, May 13, 2012 9:09 AM
>Subject: Re: Times reviews I Wish
>
>
>Spoiler alert: if you haven't seen "I Wish" you may wish to stop reading  right here.
>
>
>At a press screening last year in Tokyo, Kore-eda was asked: "are  you more optimistic, now that you're a father?" His reply expanded on one of  the main issues in the film, and he expressed hope that it could be an  opportunity for viewers to reflect on the richness of the world. As he  described the film story, the dissolution of the family was to be seen as the  occasion for the children to have an adventure, and in that way discover  a greater sense of possibility.
>
>For me, this was a bit puzzling, for the film shows pretty clearly 
  that the family falls apart because the father is completely self-involved in 
  his music and doesn't care to hold down a job or think much about the concerns 
  of his wife. She resents this, they cannot agree, and eventually she takes one 
  of the boys and moves home to live with her parents in Kagoshima. When the 
  father later tells the boy (during a phone call, at night), that he should 
  think about "the world ... about music ... instead of just yourself", it is 
  meant to be altruistic and humble, but in the context of the story it sounds 
  an awful lot like rationalization for his own slackerdom. The boy tries to 
  understand what "the world" means, and in the final scene, tells his brother 
  that he didn't wish for anything when the trains passed, because "I chose the 
  world and not our family".
>
>
>So, the film seems to setting out a fairly straightforward irony about  the irresponsible dad with his higher calling in music/art. The interest  really lies in watching how the children try to understand this situation,  with perhaps a second moment of irony when one of the boys internalizes the  father's attitude without really understanding it. Yet, at the same time,  Kore-eda also seems to be affirming that the father should choose "the world",  the kids will sort it out, and that this is the occasion for a lovely voyage  of childhood discovery on JR-Kyushu.
>
>
>
>M
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>
>On May 13, 2012, at 10:10 AM, Sybil Thornton wrote:
>
>Hi,
>>It was screened in Scottsdale, AZ one night as one of a  series of as-yet-unreleased films, Talk Cinema.
>>Cheers,
>>SAT
>>
>>--- On Fri, 5/11/12, Michael Kerpan <mekerpan at verizon.net> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>From: 
                  Michael Kerpan <mekerpan at verizon.net>
>>>Subject: 
                  Re: Times reviews I Wish
>>>To: "KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu"  <KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu>
>>>Date: 
                  Friday, May 11, 2012, 5:41 AM
>>>
>>>
>>>Nice to see this lovely film getting any sort of  release in the US. (I wonder whether this will get screened  outise NYC and LA?)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>________________________________
>>> From: "Nornes,  Markus" <amnornes at umich.edu>
>>>To: KineJapan <KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu> 
>>>Sent: Friday, May 11, 2012 8:27 AM
>>>Subject: Times reviews I  Wish
>>>
>>>"The nominal story involves Koichi’s 
                  belief ― he heard it, so it must be right ― that wishes come 
                  true for those who stand in a certain spot in front of two 
                  passing trains. Marshaling some friends and coordinating with 
                  Ryunosuke, he heads off to wish for his family to be reunited, 
                  a grand adventure that is more persuasive in its emotional 
                  reverberations than in its practical details. That scarcely 
                  matters and soon becomes beside the point of Mr. Kore-eda’s 
                  gift for carefully excavating deep emotions that his 
                  characters cannot express or may not be conscious of. “I Wish” 
                  tends toward the vaporous and not just because of its volcano; 
                  but whenever its children are on screen, lighted up with joy 
                  or dimmed by hard adult truths, the film burns 
                  bright."
>>>
>>>http://nyti.ms/JmtFe7
>>>
>>>
>>>H
>>>  
>
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