I Wish

I WISH is the latest film from Japanese master filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda (NOBODY KNOWS, STILL WALKING). Twelve-year-old Koichi (Koki Maeda) lives with his mother and retired grandparents in Kagoshima, in the southern region of Kyushu, Japan. His younger brother Ryunosuke (Koki’s real-life brother Ohshiro Maeda) lives with their father in Hakata, northern Kyushu. The brothers have been separated by their parents’ divorce and Koichi’s only wish is for his family to be reunited. When he learns that a new bullet train line will soon open, linking the two towns, he starts to believe that a miracle will take place the moment these new trains first pass each other at top speed. With help from the adults around him, Koichi sets out on a journey with a group of friends, each hoping to witness a miracle that will improve their difficult lives.

A delightful tale of childhood desires and imaginative adventures, I WISH premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival and was recently featured as part of Lincoln Center’s Film Comment Selects series.

“A lovely and piquant examination of childhood.” -A.O. Scott, The New York Times

“Brilliant filmmaking...If the witty, offhanded I Wish is mainly a film for children, it is also the most delightful and uplifting study of kids and families that director Hirokazu Kore-eda has yet put on the plate of adult audiences.” – Deborah Young, The Hollywood Reporter