Firefly Dreams (Ichiban Ustsukushii Natsu)

Running time: N/A

California Premiere At 17-years-old, Naomi is a typical teenage girl of modern Nagoya, with short dyed hair and cell phone attached. When Naomi's parents separate, she is sent to the country to work in her aunt's hotel. There she reacquaints herself with an aging relative, Mrs. Koide, of whom she had been very fond as a little girl. Mrs. Koide, however, suffering from Alzheimer's, doesn't remember Naomi. Yet they find they are more alike than they are different-each a mirror of the other. The growing affection between the two characters is gentle and exquisite, yet determinedly and unsentimentally portrayed. The film is comprised of many quiet miracles: from the graceful and subtly nuanced performances of both newcomer Maho Ukai and veteran Japanese actress Yoshie Minami, who has worked with such Japanese masters as Ozu and Kurosawa; to the stunning cinematography, a low-key naturalistic approach which is pure classical Japanese; to the surprising fact that this so quintessentially Japanese film was actually directed by John Williams, a Welshman. But the overall heart and simple beauty of this tale of inter-generational conflict and reconciliation are perhaps the greatest miracle of them all. A film not to be missed. Reviewed by Charlie Cockey