Such a touching film. It's a little long, but by telling the stories of both the adoptive parents and biological mother in such careful ways, a load of emotional energy is built up over its runtime. Naomi Kawase gives us a woman's perspective on love and motherhood, and it's often in beautifully understated ways, like a few seconds showing the teenage boy going on with his life as before, a contrast to the young girl's world having been upended by her pregnancy. She's only 14 and gives up the baby regretfully then falls into a hard life on her own, paving the way for some commentary on class, with heart wrenching feelings amplified by beautiful cinematography.
Kawase handles these characters with such love, and we see compassion in so many little moments - the woman at the "Baby Baton" adoption agency providing non-judgmental refuge, the boss at the newspaper worrying about her and telling her a deeply personal story, and the wife's gentle reassurance to her husband when they decide to discontinue extracting his sperm (don't ask). One of the exceptions is the teenage girl's parents, who despite providing a stable home, make the mistake of giving her nothing but pragmatic instruction, without mixing in emotional support. Maybe that's what "true mothers" are, the ones who always want to be there for you, and who provide warmth above all else.
