A Far Shore

This is a really powerful movie. It's an indictment of Okinawa where there are twice as many teenage pregnancies as the rest of Japan. We see are protagonist, a single teenage mom, faced with no economic options and no help from family or government. The system is crooked, having no qualms with using resources to remove her child from her care but offering none to help her. This movie is the plight of many young women in a similar situation and the results are bleak: abusive relationships, prostitution, substance abuse, and crime. The lead performance is powerful and the film is shot in a really raw and powerful way, leaving no respite for the viewer as we experience the world from her position. Overall a bit long and I think maybe too focused on making a point, rather than telling the story. It's a powerful film not concerned about the viewer's entertainment.

This movie is harsh...REALLY harsh...Definitely don't watch this if you're feeling depressed. The main character, who has been dealt really bad and unfair cards in her life, and been abandoned by her parents, struggles with her everyday life, and working hard to take care of her little son together with her abusive, selfish, lazy, thieving, unsupportive boyfriend (the boy's father), even though she is only 17 years old. She faces one grim development after another in her life, and things just go from bad to worse...If you don't feel sorry for her over the span of the movie, you're not human imo.

The movie is based on a bunch of different real life stories from different people in Okinawa, but the story in the movie instead takes those bits and pieces and puts them together into a single made up story about a single made up character. I suppose the movie serves as a commentary about the social problems in Okinawa. I would have liked a more satisfying ending though. Also, while there aren't many of them, be warned that certain scenes may be distressful and hard to watch. Don't say I didn't warn you.