After the collapse of their relationship, Kiwako abducts the 6-month old child of a man she was having an affair with. Raising the child as her own, it is four years before the authorities catch up with her and the young child.
Acting
Hiromi Nagasaku makes monstrous choices feel weirdly understandable.
Direction
Narushima lets silence do the screaming. No easy catharsis.
Writing
Refuses to let anyone be simply victim or villain.
Director
Izuru Narushima
Mao Inoue
Erina Akiyama
Hiromi Nagasaku
Kiwako Nonomiya
Eiko Koike
Chigusa Ando
Yōko Moriguchi
Etsuko Akiyama
Tetsushi Tanaka
Takehiro Akiyama
Miwako Ichikawa
Kumi Sawada
Mitsuru Hirata
Yuzo Sawada
Gekidan Hitori
Takashi Kishida
Kimiko Yo
Angel
Min Tanaka
Taki
Jun Fubuki
Masae Sawada
Tomekichi Himuka
army lieutenant colonel
Yuki Kan
Sakiko Bokumoto
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Based on Mitsuyo Kakuta's novel, which won Japan's prestigious Naoki Prize and sparked debates about maternal instinct vs. biological connection.
The film's Japanese title 'Yōkame no Semi' refers to a cicada that lives underground for years before emerging — a metaphor for Kiwako's hidden life and Erina's delayed reckoning with identity.
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