Amikoisn’tlikeotherchildren.Herendlessenergyandcuriouseccentricitiesmakeheranoutcastatschoolandgetherintroubleathome.Whenapainfulfamilylossdisruptsherseeminglyidyllicseasidelife,hersenseofisolationintensifies,yetitdoesn’tstopAmikofrominvitingpeopleintoherworld.
MoriiYusuke’sdirectorialdebutisaconfidentandcompassionatestoryaboutachild’simagination.Thefilmbalancessorrowwithjoyandharshlessonswithnaivedelight–muchlikegrowingup.Crucially,Amikoneverforgetswhoisatthecentreofthestory.Thewryhumouranddetailedcompositionsofsmall-townJapan,aswellasthefilm’shopefultenor,arereminiscentofOgigamiNaokoorHirokazuKore-eda’sworks.ThegentleandlanguorousatmosphereisenrichedbyascorefromupcomingfolkstarIchikoAoba.
KanaOsawadeliversanexquisite,force-of-natureperformanceasyoungAmiko.Effortlesslynatural,hercommandingpresenceandvitalitycarrygreatweightwhilstensuringthefilmneverfallsintodespair.Amiko’sunbeatenspiritinthefaceoftiredadultsanduncooperativeclassmatesletsusgothroughthepain,aswellasexperienceflashesofmischievouswhimsy,alongsideaspiritingmusicalsequencethatwillensureyou’llneverlistentoacongadrumthesameway.