A slacker joins foreign aid, fights everyone, then redemption hits like a tsunami—literally.
Tatsuru Sawada works as an assistant cameramen. He spends his days just wasting away. To change himself, he joins the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers. At the training camp. he causes trouble. He opposes Kazunari Hamura and frequently breaks the rule at the camp. Tatsuru and Kazunari are then sent to the Philippines with Shiho Nomura . Even in the Philippines, Tatsuru and Kazunari do not get along as well. One day, Tatsuru goes to Baguio to take a picture. There, he meets a boy named Noel and his older sister Angela. He worries about the situation in the Philippines. He feels helpless and goes back to Japan. 8 years later, Tatsuru and Kazunari meet again in the Tōhoku region where the great earthquake and tsunami occurred.
Acting
Keiji's transformation from dead-eyed slacker to shattered man is devastating.
Cinematography
Baguio's misty mountains vs. Tōhoku's wreckage—two hells, beautifully captured.
Writing
The 8-year gap lands like a gut punch you don't see coming.
Director
Junichi Suzuki
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The JOCV program has sent over 40,000 volunteers since 1965; this film interrogates Japan's complicated relationship with Asian aid.
JP
