Okay, I have two reviews for you today, but hopefully you can forgive me for the spam, especially those of you that I know feed this journal. But what a delightful story! Michael Sheen delivers a charming performance and quite a few scenes left me chuckling, as well as empathetic to the pain on his face.  It’s about Colin, (Sheen) and how he reacts when his wife leaves him for a good friend, and he’s left chasing her, leaving for one fantastic road trip.  The humor isn’t slapstick, and though it may have a slight tinge of Hollywood influence, the ending does not.  But I can say no more… : )  I would recommend this for anyone who enjoyed “Everything is Illuminated”, “The Squid and the Whale”, or “Harold and Maude”.

Mori poetically conveys the sentiments of a young girl who has lost her mother to suicide, because her husband has been having an eight-year affair, and only a year after Shizuko’s death Yuki’s father re-marries the same woman. Although most of the narrative is written from Yuki’s point of view, the thoughts of other characters (Yuki’s father, stepmother and grandparents) are also depicted in brief yet perceptive segments. A cast of three- dimensional characters, keen imagery and attention to detail produce an emotionally and culturally rich tale tracing the evolution of despair into hope.