Kiseki no ringo

Certainly the moral of this movie, based, we are told, on a real-life story, is an important one: a man strives against all odds to find a way to grow apples without the use of chemicals or fertilizer. Impossible, he is told. And it seems so, for a long while....

The lessons imparted are certainly vital in this age of industrial agriculture, in the face of the need to eliminate fossil fuels from all aspects of our lives, including how we feed ourselves. And the scenery is another big draw, especially one snow-capped peak in the distance.

Unfortunately the acting is uneven, often veering toward the ludicrous, and several plot twists do not withstand scrutiny.

The book on which the movie is based can be purchased, in Japanese, from Amazon Japan; the author, the real-life Akinori, has a website, akinorikimura.net; and at the latter there is a link to an English language online version of the book, introduced by none other than Yoko Ono.

If you share the belief that we need to return to a more natural, environment-friendly (and for that matter, human-friendly) mode of living, including food production, this movie will be well worth watching, if you can find it in English. If you can't, the book may be a worthy (and certainly less melodramatic) alternative.