SEPTEMBER 30: 7 PM
LEAVING ON THE 15TH SPRING: [Taidachi no shimauta]
Director: Yasuhiro Yoshida Japan, 114 minutes
Starring: Kaoru Kobayashi, Ayaka Miyoshi, Rena Tanaka
Fifteen-year-old Yuna lives on Minami-Daito, a small island located 360 km east of Okinawa. The island’s isolated population [just over 1000] can’t support a high-school, so students have to decide whether to stay at home to help their families [usually in agricultural work] or to board the ship for Okinawa.
Director Yauhiro Yoshida documents Yuna’s final year, showing the beauty of the landscape, the richness of tradition, and the closeness of community, all while maintaining a compassion for his characters. The decision that must be made is difficult, and it shows.
Yuna is lucky: she can live with her mother when she goes to school, but she worries about her father, who will be left behind when she leaves. This is a touching coming-of-age story that also serves as a cultural introduction to the landscapes, music, custom, and heart of Japan’s southern islands.
THE TRAILER [only in Japanese, but the film will, I assure you, have English subtitles... you can see how beautiful it is, if you don't understand Japanese]
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