I began watching this movie with modest expectations, but by the time it finished, it not only exceeded them, but has become one of my favourite indie movies in event memory! I taped this movie on my PVR or as known in the U S, DVR, several times over the course of a year or so, only to find myself always erasing it to free up some space for other programs. However the last time I recorded it, I said " this time I'm going to watch it!" And am I glad I did. It tells the story of a pair of Japanese siblings who wind up in a small California town on their way to San Fran and Manzannar, a town know for Japanese internment during WWII, in which the grandparents of the siblings were held. Along the way, they get stranded in a town and find friends with the local teens who are around the same age of the two siblings. The brother speaks very little English, just enough to get by, but the sister, no English at all which really adds to the movies story, I fact IMO, it's what takes this movie for just okay to over the top, or from a rating of 5 to a rating of 10. Without describing too much of the plot, I will just say the movie is about Atsuko's relationships with her new found friends in the small town her and her brother stumble upon. Highly recommended for someone who wants to see something a little different!! I would also like to add, this movie is proof positive that you can tell a great story and make a wonderful movie with a limited budget!
