A middle-aged man who is released from prison and does not like sweets, sells dorayaki purely for a living, but the appearance of an old lady, Ms. Dejiang, has made him have a deep connection with dorayaki.
The opportunity for change lies in those ordinary red beans. In Ms. Dejiang's hands, the sound of their journey from the soil is heard, the bitter foam they spit is slowly rinsed under the tap, and they are even given the luxury of two. Hour to adapt to the new sugar. The carefully made red bean paste changed the texture of the dorayaki, and also moved the manager who was immersed in numbness and sadness.
What impresses me most about Naomi Kawase is the tenderness of all beings. The cherry blossoms in the film are picturesque, but when we know that lepers like Ms. Dejiang are forbidden to have children and erect monuments, and only one tree can be planted as a memorial after death, those cherry blossoms suddenly come to life, and they seem to be one by one. The eyes of ordinary life in this world are silently staring at this noisy world.
After all, is everything itself sentient? No, it is a caring person like Ms. Dejiang who makes the cold objects in our ordinary life shine. What is always unforgettable is the mother's white shirt that Ms. Dejiang never forgets. It was the only bond between her and her family, but it was ruthlessly cut off when she first entered the isolation center. What impresses us is not the white shirt itself, but the continuous affection it carries.
There are many similar objects in the film, such as the cushions that Ms. Dejiang woven by herself, the dessert making utensils she left to the store manager after her death, and even the red bean filling lunch box she gave the store manager to try at the beginning. From the barrel to the turning point of slowly opening, it seems to have life. Not to mention the dorayaki, which the audience watched as they grew from embryos on iron plates, to finished products containing red bean paste, to the smiles on the faces of the students who tasted them.
We don't need to over-interpret the social criticism of the film. With the passing of these lepers, the history of cruel isolation and discrimination will also become the past tense. The most touching thing is precisely Ms. Dejiang's gentle attitude towards life, which slowly comes to us with the help of life-rich objects.
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