I Wish

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I Wish

PG

2011

2h 8m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

93%

Tomatometer

76 Reviews

84%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

Forced to live apart due to their parents' separation, a sixth-grader (Koki Maeda) and his younger brother (Ohshiro Maeda) hatch a complicated plan to reunite their family.

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Critics Consensus

Elliptical and deliberately paced yet steadily absorbing, I Wish presents a beguiling portrait of childhood that grounds its sweetly nostalgic glow with well-rounded characters and attention to detail.

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Derek Malcolm

London Evening Standard

02/08/2013

4/5

The film is long and slow but repays close watching because Kore-eda is one of Japan's best contemporary directors and he avoids sentimentality throughout.

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Tim Robey

Daily Telegraph (UK)

02/07/2013

3/5

Undeniably beguiling, but more manufactured-feeling than Kore-eda's top-drawer work.

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David Jenkins

Little White Lies

02/07/2013

4/5

The spirit of Spielberg, transplanted to the east. Bliss.

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Dustin Chang

Floating World

02/28/2021

My favorite part of the film is the static shots of inanimate objects near the end: mementos from their journey. The shots are held just long enough for us to appreciate those shared eternal moments.

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Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

10/04/2019

10/10

This is such a perfectly formed gem of a film.

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Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

07/24/2019

Kore-eda's film hits all the right notes, but his secret weapons are his two child leads, Koki and Ohshiro Maeda.

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Claudio C

@Claudio666 Dec 6

Simple and Sensitive Tale of Loss of Innocence (12,110 – 17 Aug 2013 / 05 Dec 2025) In Kagoshima, the boy Koichi lives with his mother Nozomi in the house of his grandparents. Koichi misses his younger brother Ryunosuke and his father Kenji, who live in Fokuoko, and he dreams on his family coming together again. One day, Koichi overhears that the energy released by two bullet trains passing by each other would grant wishes and he shares with his brother and friends that meet each other at the point of intersection.. "Kiseki" is a simple and sensitive tale of loss of innocence of children that need to face reality instead of immature and naive dreams. The direction of Hirokazu Koreeda and the performances are top-notch and the movie shows landscapes of the countryside of Japan that are unusual in Japanese features. My vote is sevem. Title (Brazil): "O Que Eu Mais Desejo" ("What I Desire the Most") See the complete review at my Blog: https://maniacosporfilme.wordpress.com/

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04/05/2020

Hearth-warming movie. Very basic, real and human wishes, not even slightly dramatic, unite these children. Their pursuit with hints of humor and marked by personal growth and a great character arch throughout the film is all I expected from another great art piece by Kore-eda.

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Tim G

@tmgreene22 09/12/2019

Thoroughly pleasant, but came up short of the sublime "Shoplifters."

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nefasto r

@Nefasto 01/09/2019

This is a "tale of two cities" and two brothers, and it is a very good one. Hirokazu Koreeda has become a certainty to me: when I am in the mood for a good, quite, touching film, he is my man. "I Wish" is full of lovable characters (mostly little ones, and some big ones) and brilliant scenes. Another gem from this Japanese director, a man that can feel up with poetry every little thing he put on his films.

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07/19/2016

This is a really sweet film... Kids' Innocence <3

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06/12/2016

lovely heart warming drama from Japan

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Hirokazu Koreeda

Director

Koki Maeda

Koichi

Ohshiro Maeda

Ryunosuke

Ryôga Hayashi

Tasuku

Kyara Uchida

Megumi

Kanna Hashimoto

Kanna

Critics Consensus: Dark Shadows Doesn’t Scare Up Enough Laughs

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Synopsis

Forced to live apart due to their parents' separation, a sixth-grader (Koki Maeda) and his younger brother (Ohshiro Maeda) hatch a complicated plan to reunite their family.

Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Producer: Kentaro Koike, Hijiri Taguchi
Screenwriter: Hirokazu Koreeda
Production Co: Bandai Visual Company, East Japan Marketing & Communications Inc, Chugoku Broadcasting (RCC)
Rating: PG (Smoking|Mild Thematic Elements|Language)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 26, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $146.7K
Runtime: 2h 8m

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