"During a science class, 12-year-old Renko Urushiba (Tomoko Tabata) is confronted by her classmates for befriending Tachibana (Nagiko Tono), a girl from Tokyo who is shunned for having divorced parents. Refusing to give up her friendship, Renko hurls a laboratory burner on to her desk, setting it ablaze and throwing the class into chaos. Unbeknown to most of her friends, Renko's parents are separated, too."
"Renko's father, Kenichi (Kiichi Nakai), is gentle but ineffectual. Although his moments with Renko are playful, Kenichi's vacant gazes convey a deeper weariness. On the other hand, Renko's mother, Nazuna (Junko Sakurada), is fiercely assertive. After her split from Kenichi, Nazuna throws herself into the task of reinventing life for her and her daughter. However, her fervent resolve to restore order makes her affection for Renko harden into impatience and control."
"Caught in the downpours of Kyoto's summer, Renko stirs up a typhoon herself in hopes that her separated parents will reunite. Renko runs, she lashes out and, at times, she quietly observes her sense of normalcy crumble away. In one scene, she locks herself in a bathroom at home and forces her parents to confront one another. When a heated argument erupts, Renko glimpses in them a tempest she has never known."
Twelve-year-old Renko Urushiba defends a shunned classmate and ignites chaos by throwing a laboratory burner during class. Her parents are separated, and she navigates between a gentle, ineffectual father and a fiercely assertive mother whose efforts to rebuild life harden into impatience and control. Renko alternates between running, lashing out, and quiet observation as her sense of normalcy crumbles. Long takes and elaborate camera movements follow her hurried footsteps between her discordant parents. She attempts to reunite them, even locking herself in a bathroom to force confrontation, and witnesses a heated argument that reveals an unfamiliar tempest.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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