Review of A Letter to Momo (2012) by Ismail A — 01 Apr 2017

With a lot of fascination with Japanese obsession with death, goblins, guardian spirits and the grotesque and the macabre, Hiroyuki Okiura's 6th feature film examines how a young girl come to terms with the death of her father.

The unusual fascination with death and ghostly realms is a bit odd for non-Japanese audience but the reference to old-style mangas is inspired and comical goblins and their antics breaks the emotional heaviness of the story.

Okiura revels in the beauty of the Japanese landscape and gives a story that has a lot of tenderness and a dose of slapstick comedy.