A deceptively basic, familiar story told exceedingly grandly, “Firefly Dreams” is a quietly confident and cumulatively affecting start feature from Japan-based writer-director John Williams. Pic takes the tried-and-true fish story of a rebellious teenager falling tipsy the spell of a mystifying elder and reinvigorates it via a fine, firm directorial eye and a couple of astutely crafted perfs. As one of those special titles that transfer get strong human plea and emotional resonance wherever it plays, niche traffic should be biting, with ancillary prospects unequalled as well.
Seventeen-year-old Naomi (Maho Ukai) is profoundly affected by the strained relations between her moody father (Atsushi Ono) and constantly defensive mother (Chie Miyajima). Insolent and sullen, she sasses everybody older than she, skips school and tags along with a class chum who’s posing for a pornographer. (One of pic’s successful strategies is to set up key events but then leave the actual encounter to the viewer’s imagination.)
When her mother apparently leaves home, Naomi’s father sends the reluctant yet defiant teen to work at a hotel in the mountains owned by his sister’s family. With no visible improvement in her behavior, Naomi finally is sent to watch her aging relative, Mrs. Koide (veteran Yoshie Minami), at her nearby home. The old woman is prevented by advancing Alzheimer’s disease from either remembering or wishing to talk about a life hinted to be full of both success and tragedy. But Naomi and Mrs. Koide slowly form a bond. Their friendship catalyzes Naomi’s acceptance of the rural family and environment, as well as her place in it.
Brit-born, Welsh-raised helmer Williams moved to Japan in 1988, and based the long-in-gestation story on his experience of being approached to give advice to a troubled Japanese youth. Film feels authentically steeped in the culture of the small village in which it was made.
Perfs are compassionate across the board. As Naomi, 21-year-old novice Ukai moves effortlessly from complete hostility to a kind of healthy adolescent self-esteem via the mercurial mood swings expected of a child that age. Minami (the teacher in Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 classic “Ikiru”) is a popular character actress specializing in warm grandmotherly types, and she uses the stillness of fragility to communicate a profound dignity and peace.
Tech credits are tops, with Yoshinobu Hayano’s crisp lensing displaying Aichi prefecture, in central Japan, in all its verdant summertime glory. Paul Rowe’s sprightly guitar-based score is a major plus.