True Mothers(朝が来る) Japanese Film Thoughts(2020)

 

   True Mothers is a 2020 to 2021 film that was written and directed by Naomi Kawase. Hiromi Nagasaku, Arata Lura, and, Aju Makita star in the film that was chosen as Japan's entry to the 23th Academy Awards best international film but didn't make the cut sadly....Still, many reviews praised the film's strong sensitivity for a subject once looked at as hard to discuss among mothers. 

    A family is met with torment as a women returns to get her child back after she put him up for adoption......

    I, just like many others who viewed this film, enjoyed the method used to talk about adoption and who can be called someone's real mother. Does being someone related by blood make you a true mother or does being the one who raised a child make you the true parent? True Mothers explores this question without making the child the central focus of the film. Instead you get the spotlight place on the women: one who wanted to have a child but can't due to her husbands low sperm count and a young teenage girl who had a baby too early in life. I also have to applaud the story for not being a stereotypical "find the blood related mother" kind of story. The child knows early on that he's adopted and that his mother is out there. What's sad about his film is the sacrifice one must make in giving their baby away even if they might want to keep the child..... Being a fourteen year old mother in Japanese society is defiantly frowned at. Then on top of that, having a child without a father is even worse, Social norms like these cause many young girls to give their babies to adoption centers whether they want to or not. Imagine doing that then still wanting to see your baby years later? True Mother's plot progresses on the edge of this shifting tension. 

  The acting performances were well done on all accounts. Makita's performance as the young mother that's come back for her child was powerful. Even more so when you see her background story. She deserves an award for her performance. 

     I noticed the use of scenery such as the river and the cloud filled sky during certain points in the film. It was like these sights signals a sign of rebirth for all the characters involved. Especially in the film's conclusion where all the conflicts are cleared up. I love the last scene's overall feel so much. 

   True Mothers is a great melodrama film about a topic that many other films have touched on however, not in the same way that Kawase has done.  People who love Japanese cinema need to have this film in their collections...... I was also already in my feelings because I watched Blue Bayou(great emotional film BTW) before watching this film.