THE STORY – A young aspiring Japanese-British writer visits her Japanese mother outside of London, where she asks for details about her mother’s experiences living in Nagasaki during-and-after the war.
THE CAST – Yoh Yoshida, Camilla Aiko, Kouhei Matsushita, Tomokazu Miura, Hirose Suzu & Fumi Nikaido
THE TEAM – Kei Ishikawa (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 123 Minutes
World history is taught very differently in countries around the world. The school curriculum of each country often glamorizes its own perspectives and teaches very little about people living in other countries. Countries like Japan and Germany, which committed heinous acts of violence during World War II, are often looked at as simply the enemy. However, the regular civilians of these countries, who don’t share the views or support the atrocious acts of the government, are forced to live their lives grappling with their country’s actions and have fascinating tales of how they handled the fallout of such atrocities. In the case of “A Pale View of Hills,” the film deals with a different kind of trauma, focusing on the aftermath of the Nagasaki atomic bomb and the physiological effects it had on the survivors. But the story comes to fruition through the Japanese-British daughter of a Nagasaki survivor, who is deeply interested in her mother’s story, one that would never be taught in the English curriculum where she grew up and was educated.
It’s 1982 in England. Niki (Camilla Aiko), a curious young writer, visits her Japanese mother, Etsuko (Yoh Yoshida), to ask her about her life in Nagasaki for a book she is writing. Reluctantly, Etsuko begins to recount her life from the 1950s. She is newly pregnant with her first child, has a work-occupied husband who pays her little attention and works to please everyone as a kind and caring person. Everything changes when Etsuko meets Sachiko, a fierce mother of a somewhat troubled child. The two quickly become good friends and support each other along the way. Sachiko, from the moment they met, talks about wanting to move to America to live the dream life away from the terrible memories of Nagasaki. Etsuko becomes seemingly enlightened and changes as a person, realizing that not abiding by traditional values and making a life by having a forward-thinking mindset is not so bad. This story is what Etsuko tells her daughter, but not everything lines up as her daughter begins to piece together the story. This leads to the mystery side of the film, with an unknown woman who is often mentioned, appearing to disrupt the ongoing narrative.
Everyone knows about the atomic bombs that America dropped on Japan to end its involvement in World War II, but not everyone knows the deeply traumatic impact it had on those living in and around the Japanese cities affected. History books tell certain stories, while real people tell others, but at the end of the day, it’s impossible to get the absolute truth from anyone, as memories can never be fully clear or capture the entire truth. This is where the film’s unreliable narrator comes in, as it becomes increasingly clear that the memories seen on-screen are not entirely true. Nevertheless, the images captured by Polish cinematographer Piotr Niemyjski of Etsuko’s life in Japan are downright sumptuous. The warm golden yellows of the Japanese sunlight paired with beautifully lensed shots make for a spellbinding experience in the cinema. The perfection of the visuals plays a big part in how the audience views the past; it’s almost too perfect. The juxtaposing blues of rainy England in the present-day scenes show Etsuko’s present reality, which isn’t at all glamorous. Still, at times, the visuals liven up as she and her daughter step into nature and her gorgeous Japanese-style garden.
Film, as an art form, has the means to tell such stories, giving insight into the past lives of others in different places and times. Even though director Kei Ishikawa’s film is flawed, the story that it tells is truly impactful and relatable for those with similar familial histories. Children of immigration, especially those from countries that have suffered such atrocities, are often protected from the whole picture, as seen with Aiko’s character. However, as a person of mixed ethnicity, she finds a desire to connect with her Japanese side after living in England for her entire life, a generation removed from what her mother went through in Japan. The film chooses this unique viewpoint to kickstart its story, showing everything through vivid flashbacks that capture the beauty of Nagasaki and its people in a post-war setting. These types of stories are precious and are rarely told, as those who live abroad, away from their parents or grandparents’ homelands, often forget about their history. This film will certainly connect to audience members who can relate but will perhaps lose those with little connection to such stories as the film’s flaws become too prevalent to ignore.
Ishikawa’s writing is what lets the film down, along with the line delivery of most of the English language portions of the film. There is a disconnect with the dialogue spoken in English; it feels stilted and staged. This contrasts with the Japanese language flashbacks that flow effortlessly and feel far more natural; this could come down to differing direction styles in the two languages. Additionally, the central mystery is somewhat convoluted to the extent that it almost feels accidental, as if they realized what the twist should be later on. These deficiencies are threatening enough to derail the experience of watching “A Pale View of Hills,” but the impact of the story, paired with gorgeous filmmaking, is enough to keep one engaged throughout.
