Film centered on Japanese 'war orphans' opens Friday

In the final days of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1931-45), thousands of children left by fleeing Japanese families were adopted by locals in northeastern China. With China and Japan establishing diplomatic relations in the 1970s, many of these war orphans returned to Japan, with most struggling to conquer cultural differences and language barriers to get settled.

Director Peng Fei was attracted by these stories during research for a film set in Nara, an idyllic city in Japan.

With veteran Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke on board as one of the two executive producers alongside Kawase, the film features actresses Wu Yanshu and Ying Ze as the foster mother and the young woman, an offspring of a Japanese war orphan, and Japanese actor Jun Kunimura as the police officer.

Interestingly, Peng cameos in one scene as a Japanese butcher who uses hand signs and mimics the voices of farm animals to communicate with Wu's character.

Despite ending on a tear-jerking note, the film unfolds with a restrained narrative and some funny moments, helping it win acclaim from some industry insiders and critics.

Actress Yao Chen said the film is a warm tale with a great sense of humor, but also conveys a deep sense of loneliness.