A troublemaker and an outcast breathing poison air—childhood friendship never hurt this good.
Shinta is a sixth grader in Kawasaki City a troublemaker that dreams to become a soccer player. Yoshiko, a classmate who moved to Kawasaki from Iwate Prefecture two years ago, is a gloomy girl who suffers from asthma due to the polluted air in Kawasaki and is ostracized by her class. Shinta is placed next to Yoshiko in class and their stories will take a turn.
Acting
Child performances that feel devastatingly real.
Cinematography
Smog-choked Kawasaki as suffocating character.
Direction
Sawada's restraint makes small moments shatter.
Director
Yukihiro Sawada
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
1974 Kawasaki was Japan's most polluted city; this film captures the 'pollution hell' era rarely depicted in cinema.
Yūsaku Matsuda appears here early in his career—he'd become Japan's definitive cool guy before dying tragically young in 1989.
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