How does it feel to be raised by 3 fathers with one irresponsible mother? Just ask Yuko Morimiya san.
Taken from the novel entitled Soshite, Baton wa watasareta by Seiko Maiko, this 2-hour-long film brought tears to my eyes.
Yuko Morimiya aka Mitan met her surrogate mother when she was about 7 years old. Previously she had asked his father, Mito-san, where her mother was because she saw her school friends always got picked up from school by their mothers. The answer to her question was only a piece of photo of a woman with a baby about 1 year old in her arms. She is Mitan's mother who has passed away.
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| The running away mother |
Out of the blue, a beautiful woman appeared in the midst of Mitan and his father and claimed to be her new mother. Rika, this new mother really cherished Mitan as if her own daughter. In fact, you could say, she spoiled Mitan too much. New clothes, trips to the park, meals, gifts and so on were the new mother's form of attention to Mitan. One day, her father announced that he would open a company in Brazil, where he found his dream chocolate there. Previously, her father worked in a company that produced chocolate. And he was obsessed with creating his own chocolate in a faraway land. Unfortunately, Rika and Mitan objected to going with him.
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| Mitan with her birth father |
In the end, the father still insisted on going to Brazil and left the two of them in Japan. They began to face difficulties, especially financial problems. Not to mention Mitan's desire to learn to play the piano like her friends. The mother, Rika, has not lost her mind. She was eager to find a rich old man who had a beautiful house and a piano in his house, to present to Mitan.
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| Mitan with her second 'piano' father |
Unbeknownst to Mitan, Rika has married this old man. Meanwhile, the letters she had sent to her father in Brazil never received a reply. It seemed that she had to accept this strange man as her new father.
Not long after, the mother was acting up again. She disappeared for several months, and when she returned she announced that she would marry another man. Mitan, who was preparing to perform at a school recital, had to give up in order to attend her mother's wedding.
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| Mitan's third father who would take her to wedding |
And so, Mitan was passed to another father, Morimiya san. Her new father was younger, and seemed to get nervous and awkward every time and looked like an unpopular guy. I don't know what the reason was that made Rika marry a man like this. Rika, judging from her appearance, was attractive, but her fans (especially men) would easily turn away as soon as she said something about saving and insurance. However, Morimiya san seemed not mind about that. Mitan, who later changed her nickname to Yuko, grew up, without her stepmother mother.
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| the happy days with Mama |
Where on earth was the mother? She again disappeared without a trace.
The film adopted a back and forth mode according to the timeline of little Mitan to her teenage's life. A teenage Mitan grew up to be an independent girl who often put on a smile to calm herself down. A slight bully happened in her teenage life. But, it doesn't stop her to be nice to everyone. I can say she's very lucky to get 3 kind-hearted fathers, especially Morimiya san. He never thought that Rika would bring a daughter when they got married, but he took her anyway. And he took very good care of her. He kept saying this and that that this is a father's responsibility for his daughter. They never had a dispute unlike common parents and children.
Mitan grew up as a fine woman and ready to get married with
someone she loves. But there's something about her step mother she never
thought about.
Previously, I had thought what the hell did Rika do to
little Mitan that she could change from one man to another? The plot twist
would break your heart since it already broke mine. Six o'clock in the morning
when I finished watching this movie, I got swollen eyes for crying too much.
I can say that the casts are brilliant, especially Nagano
Mei as Yuko Morimiya and Ken Tanaka as Morimiya san. They could sync beautifuly
even though they are not real father and daughter. Whatever Mitan wants, he
would try his best to realize it, since he always thought that's the job of a
father.
The side characters are also amazing. Ishihara Satomi as a
running mother is awesome. And, Okada Kenshi as the love of Mitan is a sweet
treat, too. I always love to see Okada Kenshi in all his dramas/ movies.
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| Mitan or Yuko with her love life |
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| nosebleed....nosebleed to see Okada Kenshi |
Overall, this is a family movie that would warm your heart.
provide some tissues while watching this movie with you. And, well, it's kind
spoiler actually, judging from the title, you can guess the end of the movie.
However, it is really worth your time watching this movie.
Full casts:
Nagano Mei as Yuko Morimiya
Tanaka Ken as Morimiya Sosuke
Ishihara Satomi as Rika
Okada Kenshi as Hayase Kento
Omori Nao as Mito
Ichimura Masachika as Izumi Gahara
Adapted from a novel by Seo Maiko entitled そして、バトンは渡された (Soshite, Baton wa watasareta)
Release date: October 29, 2021
Duration: 2 hours 17 minutes
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