Yojin is a very child-like farmer boy who lives with his grandma in a seaside town. Desperately in love with kindergartner Machiko, he tries to grab her attention by burying himself up to his head in a cabbage field, taking showers of agrichemical to boost his growth, and eventually even proving that he can live on even after his heart stopped beating... Yokohama Satoko, in the spotlight since "German + Rain", realized her first major film production in her hometown Aomori, with Matsuyama Kenichi (who is from Aomori as well) in the leading role. And what can I say, it even outstrips its predecessor in terms of uniqueness! Although it's hard even for Japanese to follow he deep local "tsugaruben" dialect, after a while you will realize that words aren't really important in the first place, thanks (probably) to the movie's peculiarity. Also pay attention to Otomo Yoshihide's soundtrack that accompanies the out-of-this-world story.

By Maru June 5, 2009