I WISH – The Review

Every so often a film will open the door to a childhood memory or an almost forgotten film. Or sometimes both. Settling in to watch I WISH, the film’s two young leads took my mind back several decades as I watched the big family TV on a Saturday morning that was nearing the afternoon (Mom was probably deciding what to whip up for lunch). Space Ghost, Spider-Man, and all the other animated heroes had bid adieu and a new live-action show was making its debut: “The CBS Children’s Film Festival.” Hosted by kid show pioneers Kukla, Fran, and Ollie (Fran was the human, the other two were hand puppets), this program presented family flicks from around the globe. The premiere offering was a tale of friendship from Japan, 1958’s SKINNY AND FATTY. These two little guys were about my age, but they lived in this almost alien land. Despite the clunky English dubbing (even then I could see that the sound didn’t match their mouths), I was fascinated and quite moved by this sweet little story. I WISH is set in 2011 and deals with a much more mature story, but I hoped to be wrapped up in another story of Japanese schoolboys.

That more mature theme of I WISH is divorce, or more accurately, a family separated. Koichi, a  serious twelve year-old boy, lives with his mother and her parents in a small village beneath an active volcano (part of his morning ritual is cleaning the ash off his bedroom floor and furniture). His younger brother, the carefree Ryue, lives with his father in a town many miles away. The two boys haven’t seen each other in several months but exchange frequent cell phone calls. Koichi’s village is a buzz with news that one of the super-fast bullet trains will  make one of its stops there. The boy also hears a rumor that when two of the trains pass each other so much energy is generated that anyone within close proximity will get their wishes granted. Koichi is so desperate to re-unite his family that he grabs some railway maps, makes some calculations, and hatches a plan. He and his brother will journey to this passing point and make this wish (that way they’ll double their chances). The boys confer over the phone, and with the assistance of some classmates (and a couple of adults), travel to a magical (they hope) rendezvous.

A pretty simple story, right? Unfortunately the film makers have clogged the film with too many unnecessary subplots. The boys’ Grandpa wants to open a bakery at the train station. One classmate wants to be an actress.  Another wants to marry his teacher crush. The father is making music at clubs again. These diversions help make I WISH at least 30 minutes too long. I really wanted it to stay focused on these brothers who share a special bond in those preteen years, although their personalities are quite different. Koichi is very determined and serious, while happy-go-lucky Ryue seems to always have a smile on his face and a bounce in his step (he grins so much I sometimes wondered if the young actor understood his dialogue in some of the more dramatic scenes). Also, their friends seem to be much more engaging than most of the adult characters. The cinematography is terrific especially the shots of that looming volcano. It’s also interesting to note the differences in the Japanese school systems, so it’s a fairly interesting, educational travelogue. But if only the film makers had taken a cue from those two best buddies I discovered on that long ago Saturday and focused on the film’s emotional core, then I WISH would have zipped along faster than any ole’ bullet train

Overall Rating: 3 stars out of 5