Having worked with some of the biggest names in Japanese cinema, "Hey! Our Dear Don-chan" sees Shuichi Okita work with his most important star yet. Following the birth of his daughter, Okita played around with some workshop actors and a handheld camera as they tackled looking after the six-month-old. Three years later, an extended home movie/documentary/workshop/feature film charts the growth of his daughter and the three actors tasked with her temporary care.
Enoken (Hirota Otsuka), Michio (Tappei Sakaguchi) and Gunji (Ryuta Endo) are three struggling actors/writers house-sharing as they try to get by. Out of nowhere, a baby is left on their doorstep with a note for Enoken: unbeknownst to him, he is a father. Unwitting, but earnest, the trio's immediate instinct is to care for the child. Charmed by her and their new role as fathers, they delay taking her to any authorities; the sense of purpose she gives them seeing their careers develop also.
As Don-chan grows, so do the challenges she brings as their careers develop and Enoken's ex-girlfriend returns to the scene. But they bumble through, as three flatmates soon grow into a family of five.
The first thing you notice about "Hey! Our Dear Don-chan" is just how cute it is. With its extended length, one drawback is Okita perhaps doesn't show enough of the downsides. While he shows it is undoubtedly a struggle, Don-chan's tears are at a minimum, when you'd expect to hear far more whines and wails from a child at this age, particularly one separated from her mother. This, therefore, paints Don-chan as a wonderfully cheeky child you can't help but be charmed by.
But there is also cuteness from the three male leads. The fact that three young men in their youthful prime take on their new role with such diligence. And this adds a fun a playful element to proceedings, as Okita can throw his young actors into any scenario and see how they cope.
With this the case, and a young child who won't follow direction prominent, Okita lets the camera run and see how things develop. You can't plan too much when it comes to children, and so each scene is allowed to take its natural course. No doubt a real challenge for the actors to handle.
Being that this was never a planned work, it is very off-the-cuff, with a handheld camera and homemade feel throughout. It feels something of a stepdown in filmmaking for Okita on the surface, but necessary with the experimental, unplanned technique. So much so that this is probably a very personal film for Okita himself, with anyone seeing the final product less of a concern than enjoying the process.
As with any film heavily focused on the raising of a child, your response to it will be impacted by whether you have children or not. Patience for extended scenes of feeding and nappy changing will either bore or humour. But watching the growth, this is absorbing, developing well over the time, much like "The Story of Yonosuke" (2013). Okita can make you care for his characters, throwing in the right balance of laughs and seriousness to entertain, whether intentional or not.
As the film's coda shows, this is a work Okita can be satisfied with, as he sees the fruits of his hard work. Something we get to share in.
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