No tears. In the life of every family there comes a time when the chick flies away from the nest. Families living on the island of Daito are used to the fact that their chicks leave home much earlier than their compatriots from the big islands.
Yuna accompanied her older sister, her older brother, and her mother, who moved to Okinawa to take care of her elders. Yuna lives with his father, helps him on a sugar cane plantation, attends high school, plays samsin and sings in the Borodinki ensemble. Next year, she will follow her mother, brother and sister to move to Okinawa to continue her studies now in high school and then in college. She is overwhelmed by the feeling of deep sadness that she will have to leave her father alone, because her mother does not want to return to Minami Daito.
The isolation of certain areas of the country allows residents to preserve the originality of culture, but inevitably entails inconvenience. In this film, we see that, despite the common customs and traditions of all Japan, on the island of Daito there is a special spirit, a cozy original culture, blood associated with the cultivation of sugar cane, the soul of a farmer, a fisherman, the sea, a grateful attitude to nature. But those who really want to connect their lives with Daito, returning after studying to their native land, very few. This separation from loved ones is even more sad. It is superimposed all the childhood spent in school, in friendship, among countrymen, on the reed field, by the native sea, even if it is the same sea that splashes off the coast of Okinawa. But Okinawa is already other shores, even to Naha - the capital of Okinawa - only 360 kilometers, which by maritime standards is very small. But by the standards of the soul, that's a lot, because after years of being together, 360 kilometers is like 360 light years. But Yuna doesn't cry. Because tears will only increase the pain of separation. She has grown up and will be a worthy representative of her land called Minami Daito on a big island.
The topic of family in Japan is one of the most acute. In conditions of eternal running, parents often do not know much about their children, and children about their parents. This is the pace of life, and the problem cannot be solved so easily. But the Japanese make a movie about the family, about its values, problems, love, relationships within the family. Their cinema is deeply social, reflecting the main problems of Japanese society.
In this film, we see a choice. After all, there are those who did not go further, staying on the island, being forced to stay for the sake of their family, and there are those who really want to stay, but understand that you need to go further, then, later, make your choice. What's a better life? What do I want to be? What do I want to dedicate my life to? These questions preoccupy the heads of Daito teenagers, probably more so than those of the big islands. Yuna is probably the only one of the three children of his family who takes all his Daito with him to Okinawa, immensely loving him, his father, friends, and a music club.
I loved this movie deeply. It is filled with the originality of the Daito culture, the warmth of human hearts, the love of father and daughter, friendly smiles, tears of parting with the hope of an early meeting, hopes for the future, wonderful songs and many more good and kind things.
If we talk about the production, the script, the acting, I believe that everything is within the limits of a good quality film. I think that everything is done at the necessary level to convey the idea, because the idea that authors and actors carry is the most important thing in such a movie.