Review of I Wish (2011) by Walter M — 19 May 2012

In "I Wish," Kenji(Jo Odagiri), a musician, and his wife Nozomi(Nene Ohtsuka) have separated. Not only that but they have left their mutual home in Osaka to return to their hometowns. Nozomi took their eldest son Koichi(Koki Maeda) with her to live with her and her family in the shadow of an active volcano where his new school is at the top of a hill. Ryu(Ohshiro Maeda) gets to live with his father. So, both brothers live parallel lives, making new friends along the way. One day, Koichi overhears a conversation about how if one makes a wish where two bullet trains pass each other, it is bound to come true.

"I Wish" is lighter and less focused than Hirokazu Koreeda's other films that I have seen with an engaging plot that it occasionally forgets in favor of subplots like the grandfather(Isao Hashizume) making cake and other digressions that seem more suited for television programs that have the time to fully explore them.(As good as his movies usually are, this is not the first time they have reminded me of television.) Admittedly, in the grandfather's case, that might have something to do with new traditions superseding old traditions in Japan. In any case, there is just too much good will accumulated to not recommend this movie, despite its flaws and its protracted ending.