Your mom's trauma is your art project — what could go wrong?
Yuki Ozawa is approaching her 50's and she has now began working on her first serialized manga. The theme of her manga will be based on her mother's personal war experience, who was only a 12 year old girl at that time. Yuki wants to create a piece that will pass down the memories of war to the future generations. With her editor, Sato, she goes to Nagoya to visit her mother, Ai (Ozawaai) to learn more about her mother's experience. At first, her mother reacts negatively to Yuki's request but soon she begins recalling her memories of love, life and the lives that were lost because of the air raids over Nagoya.
Acting
Kazuko Yoshiyuki's silences hit harder than dialogue.
Writing
Meta-layer: manga about making manga about trauma.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Nagoya was one of Japan's most heavily bombed cities in WWII, yet its stories are overshadowed by Hiroshima and Nagasaki in global memory.
The film mirrors real Japanese 'manga documentaries' where artists interview survivors — blurring journalism, art, and therapy.
JP
