It is the LAST SHADOW AT FIRST LIGHT

 

Jeri Jacquin

Currently on DVD from writer/director Nicole Midori Woodford and Indiepix is the haunting tale of LAST SHADOW AT FIRST LIGHT.

Ami (Mihaya Shirata) is a young girl who is constantly thinking about her mother Satomi (Mariko Tsutsui). To keep her going daily are the recordings of her mother’s voice. At home, Ami’s grandmother is moving into her father Low Wen (Peter Yu) house yet, it is the recording that comfort her, or do they?

Her struggles at school bring about a confrontation with her father about her mother and what truly happened to her. Ami believes she is still alive somewhere. Learning she has an uncle Isamu (Masatoshi Nagase) that lives in Japan, Ami wants to go to find out why she is so consumed with her mother. Her father says he cannot go due to his mother’s illness.

Isamu meets her at the airport and Ami realizes that she doesn’t remember him at all. He also doesn’t seem very interested in getting to know his niece. Intending to send Ami by herself on the bullet train to northern Japan, Isamu changes his mind. His disposition also changes when he comes across the signs that where they are is exactly where a tsunami swept away so many lives.

Ami begins to learn more and more about the family and lets Isamu know that she has more than just recordings but letters and photographs that are a mystery to her. There is a blow out between them as Isamu begins to feel again that the world he once knew is empty, cold and just as deserted as now. Ami takes off and finds a friend who spends time with her and taking her mind off of her troubles.

Neither Ami nor Isamu can continue to run away from what is in front of them. Uncle and niece must find a way to deal with a past that continues to haunt them both. What is true and what was meant to protect young Ami comes full circle. Both are pulled by something they cannot explain!

Shirata as Ami is a young girl that has been living in a world that is full of mystery. Wanting to understand why her mother left and the message she feels she is getting; it is causing strain with her father as well. Shirata is absolutely stunning portraying this character with such intense emotion, depth of feeling and confusion that only this young girl can feel. No answers, no one to talk to and extended family she’s doesn’t remember having contact with, Ami takes it upon herself to get the answers and her journey is heartfelt.

Nagase as Isamu is a man who has his own grief to deal with and having Ami show up in his life, he builds a bit of an emotional wall. Trying to stay clear of her, there are moments where he knows that Ami can not do this alone but there is also something else pulling at him. Going toward his own grief, the stress drives him to do and say things that push him to his saddest point. Nagase is wonderful in this role and playing opposite Shirata proves to be a winning combination.

Other cast include Michiyo Yokoyama as Asako, Kwan Sau Yuet as Grandmother and Yong Ser Pin as Grandfather.

IndiePix Films, Inc is an independent film distribution and online streaming service based in New York City. IndiePix Unlimited, the company's subscription-streaming service, uses Streamhoster to deliver the desktop version for the service, and Ireland-based DMD Max for its mobile content. For more information, please visit https://indiepixfilms.com.

Director Woodford says of her film, “This film explores scars left on individuals who wrestle with different forms of escape from the same traumatic past. We shot on location in Rikuzentakata, one of the worst hit cities of the 2011 tsunami disaster. Although the debris had been cleared, the coaster part of Rikuzentakata, remained as undeveloped brown earth. Being there, I felt a profound existentialism which led me to making a film that captures the emotion of arriving at a faraway destination containing the memory of a personal tragedy, but also asking us “what is the future?”

LAST SHADOW AT FIRST LIGHT is such a stunning story between a young girl stuck in a place she doesn’t understand and an uncle who has lived with grief by hiding. Filmed at the actual tsunami site of Rikuzentakata, the location adds a level of mystery and grief to characters that are already filled to the brim with both. I was moved by the entire film from beginning to end and, without saying much more, is a tale to be experienced. Have Kleenex on hand, absolutely.

In the end – remembering is better than forgetting!