Finding yourself Minimum musical accompaniment, excessive unadorned entourage: all these narrow dirty streets, littered with all sorts of rubbish of the room - create the effect of documentary what is happening. The viewer seems to be in the place of the main character, looks at the surrounding life through her eyes, imbued with the spirit of the picture. The magnificent rural landscape, which seems to be observed forever, contrasts sharply with the plot presented to the viewer. It seems as if the creator gives the viewer a subtle hint at the artificiality of what is happening, with those cruel rules of urban life, to which Mio is simply not used. Think about it, and then come back closer to the end of the picture. There's a lot to think about.
She is thoughtful and trusting, a little shy and not at all used to living with others. Like she came from another planet. In her twenties, the heroine Hanoka Matsumoto has not yet experienced adulthood, being under the constant care and protection of a sick grandmother. Now she is seriously ill and sends her granddaughter to Tokyo. But what if you’re just not ready for all this? And Mio's usual rebelliousness doesn't help. She is afraid of talking about virginity and avoids strangers, and since it is all around – it just does not know where to go.
You should not do what you like, but what you can do. The harsh and practical friend of the late father (in general, she has no one), it seems, has seen a lot in his life, got used to everything. Therefore, he is not surprised by the sudden appearance of this girl in his house, which does not even become the event of the day. Just another addition to the harsh everyday life. Mio likes it, and they get along peacefully. But behind this, at first glance, fortress hides despair and confusion. Some, feeling the impending threat - take up business, others - hide in a hole and give up. And what actions we choose depends on our entire path. It seems that by the final episode, our hero finally realized this.
Five years ago, such a film - "The Diary of Umimati" - became the beginning of the takeoff for Suzu Hirose, managed to reveal the excellent potential of the actress, because in the author's film - the main thing is to hook, make the viewer think, convey the idea so that it seems close to him. And it requires a lot of skill from the entire crew. It seems that Hanoka Matsumoto coped well with the transfer of a very difficult character of his character Mio. The mysterious silence of her character, timid modest steps, thoughtfulness, as if she was hovering in the clouds, but fate will still test her strength. Hanoka is already making eight films a year, so I think this young actress has a good future.
Young talented director Ryutaro Nakagawa is widely known in Russia and needs no introduction. Several years ago, at the Moscow International Film Festival (ICFF), he received a double award for “April Dream Three Years Long” (2017). Therefore, it is not surprising that he decided two years later to debut “Light in My Hand” at the 41st Moscow International Film Festival (MIFF) in April 2019. It was here that the film first saw the viewer before its official release in his homeland in November of the same year. In the summer, the film was seen at the Taipei Film Festival-2019.
The film touches on many issues: loneliness and despair, choosing your own direction in life, but most importantly – the reverse side of “urbanization”. Who is this Tokyo: the cherished target of millions from the outback or a monster eating everything around? For those cherished meters on which the inhabitants of the slums live, he spares no one. And no one cares about those old men and women who still harbor the illusion of someone's prudence that they still believe in hope. They are only refugees in their own country. Some are ready to give up and lower their hands, silently await their harsh sentence, others – undertake to fight to the end. Like the amateur documentary director Daichi Watanabe or Mio who finally finds the light in her hand. But will others hear them? A film for thinking audiences. By the way, in English-speaking countries, as well as at home, the film was released under the title Mio on the Shore (2019), which is also very symbolic.
7 out of 10