is a 2009 Japanese comedy-drama film directed by Yuya Ishii. The film stars

Hikari Mitsushima is a Japanese actress, singer and model. In 2017 she was the vocalist and dancer in Mondo Grosso's videos for "Labyrinth", which has garnered over 32 million views on YouTube as of 2 February 2022, and "In this World". Career She began her mus ...

as Sawako. ''Sawako Decides'' premiered at Tokyo at the

PIA Film Festival The (also known as the PIA Film Festival or PFF for short) is an annual film festival established in 1977. According to film scholar Jasper Sharp, the festival "not only ranks as a vital hotbed from which the careers of some of Japan's most talen ...

in 2009. At the

Fantasia Film Festival Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...

, the film won the award for Best Feature Film and Best Actress for

Plot

In present-day Tokyo, 23-year-old Sawako Kimura (

) is in her fifth part-time job and with her fifth boyfriend since leaving high school. Kenichi Arai (

Masashi Endō is a Japanese actor. He has appeared in more than ten films since 1993, most notably in'' Wild Zero'' and '' Sawako Decides.'' Selected filmography ;Film ;Television External links * 1974 births Living people Japanese male film act ...

) is a second-rate designer at the toy company where Sawako works, and has a four-year-old daughter, Kayoko (Kira Aihara). Kenichi keeps pressing Sawako to marry him, but she considers him "only average" (as indeed she considers herself "nothing special"), and on top of that she dislikes children. At the same time, Sawako's uncle, Nobuo (Ryo Iwamatsu) keeps phoning, asking her to return to her hometown, as her father Tadao (Kotaro Shiga) is dying from cirrhosis of the liver and wants her to take over the failing freshwater clam packing company he owns. When Kenichi is fired from his toy-designer job, he persuades the reluctant Sawako to accept the offer to return home, and to take him and Kayoko along into the bargain. The trio arrive in the Pacific coast town of Kawaminami in southern Japan, where Sawako finds herself scorned by the womenfolk for having run away from home five years earlier with her high school tennis club captain, Yoshio (Ryu Morioka). At this point Sawako is forced to decide what she wants to do with the company, Kenichi, Kayoko, and her whole life.

Production

Actress

found the story of the film amusing and personally negotiated with director Yuya Ishii, saying that he would "regret it if he didn't cast me." Hikari Mitsushima and Yuya Ishii subsequently married in late 2010. They divorced in 2016.

Release

''Sawako Decides'' premiered at the

in Tokyo on July 30, 2009. It premiered theatrically in Japan on May 1, 2010. ''Sawako Decides'' had its North American premiere at the

New York Asian Film Festival The New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) is a critically acclaimed film festival held in New York City, dedicated to the display of Asian Film Culture. The New York Asian Film Festival generally features contemporary premieres and classic titles ...

on July 1, 2010. It was shown in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

at the

London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and sho ...

in October 2010.

Reception

At the

, the film won the award for Best Feature Film and Best Actress for

. ''

Total Film ''Total Film'' is a British film magazine published 13 times a year (published monthly and a summer issue is added every year since issue 91, 2004, which is published between July and August issue) by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched ...

'' gave the film three stars out of five, noting that the film's "jokes occasionally get lost in translation". ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' gave the film two stars out of five, stating that the film is "somewhere between funny and irritating". ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'' gave the film a mixed review by praising Mitsushima's acting, while stating that the film "does not challenge the status quo that makes life so miserable for non-achievers."

Notes

External links

* * {{Yuya Ishii 2009 comedy-drama films 2009 films Films directed by Yuya Ishii Japanese comedy-drama films 2000s Japanese films