Movie Digest
Yo, a high school student, lives with her father after her mother abandoned them when she was young. However, their relationship ended, and they began a new life as a family with a stepmother & her little daughter. Yo confides in a friend, Riku, about her uncertainty about her new life. She starts to develop an interest in her biological mother.
The Feel-Good Part
The cinematography is beautiful, and you will enjoy and feel every moment pass by. The film portrays various difficulties in youths’ lives realistically.
The Disappointing Factor
The film’s pace, at some point, becomes slow, which makes the film a bit hard to sit through after a while.
In-Depth Analysis
This film is an adaptation of Misumi Kubo’s short story Skeleton Flowers. It is a coming-of-age story about an artistic adolescent, a love triangle involving the heroine and two pals, and a family drama regarding her father’s remarriage and her first meeting with her birth mother after many years away. Contrary to the title’s gloominess, teenage angst is never where you would expect it to be the film’s central pair strives to cope with their difficulties with maturity and mutual compassion. Rikiya Imaizumi, the director, tells the tale of young people and the challenges they encounter with their families, feelings, and future in a non-dramatic approach. This strategy yields a realistic film that also exposes the nature of Japanese people, who prefer to avoid confrontation at all costs. Like the skeleton flower in the title, the protagonists become transparent when they open up and honestly communicate their lives with the people they trust. The cinematography portrays the protagonists’ environments that reflect their mentality.
Star Power
The cast of the film did a brilliant job. Shida Sara as Yo and Suzuka Ouji as Riku delivered measured and mature performances throughout the film.
Overall Opinion
It is a superb coming-of-age film where youths can relate to various aspects of their life.
