Japanese Film 2021
Soshite, Baton wa Watasareta (Japanese Film Review & Summary)
Soshite, Baton wa Watasareta poster
- Genre: Family, Life
- Release Date: 29 October 2021
- Origin: Japan, Adapted from the novel of Seo Maiko
- Film: 2hrs 17 minutes
Cast
- Nagano Mei as Yuko
- Tanaka Kei as Morimiya
- Ishihara Satomi as Rika
- Okada Kenshi as Hayase Kento
- Inagaki Kurumi as Mitan
- Omori Nao as Mito Shuhei
- Ichimura Masachika as Izumigahara Shigeo
- Asahina Aya – [Teacher]
- Hagiwara Minori – [Yuko’s friend]
- Nakai Chisato – [Yuko’s friend]
- Kino Hana as Yoshimi [Izumigahara’s Housekeeper]
- Ando Yuuko as Mito Kaori
- Toda Naho – [Hayase’s Mother]
- Kunimatsu Airi – [Mitan’s friend]
- Yamagami Nene – [Mitan’s friend]
- Kawada Kotaro as Mito Sho
Love this movie.
The story is about a girl who has three fathers and two mothers who loved her dearly in their own way.
The girl was Yuko. Her father worked in a chocolate factory.
One of his co-workers saw Yuko with her father, Mito.
The co-worker was the flighty but seductive Rika who found out that she could not have children.
So before Mito realised it, he was marrying Rika, who immediately became attached to the little girl Yuko.
Mito out of the blue announced that he left his job because he will go to Brazil to make chocolate and he wanted Rika and Yuko to go with him.
Rika absolutely vetoed the idea and then convinced Mito not to take Yuko with him.
Mito agreed though he was not happy.
Yuko wrote to her father but Rika was not posting the letters to Brazil and did not give Mitos letter to Yuko.
Anyway, Yuko told Rika that she wanted to learn to play the piano because everyone else does.
Rika immediately married a rich elderly man who had a grand piano in his mansion. The man was Izumigahara.
He was very kind and Yuko grew to love him.
Meanwhile, Rika disappeared for two months. She said she went to the highlands to find peace.
Then she announced to Yuko that she met a man from Tokyo University. She was going to marry him.
Yuko was very sad to leave Izumigahara but then she adores Rika. She is her mother.
The new husband did not know that Rika had a child already but he was such a lovely guy he accepted Yuko immediately.
The third husband was Morimiya who devoted his life being a single father to Yuko as Rika did another disappearing act.
Yuko met Hayase Kento at school. He was a musical prodigy who was so good playing piano but he was fighting with his parents as he does not want to go to a music school. Instead, he wanted to be a chef.
His idol was Rossini who was a god in music and in the kitchen.
Anyway, Kento told Yuko that he wanted to get married early and of course, Yuko was only too happy to get married but then Morimiya would not give his blessings because he thinks that Kento was not really ready yet as he cannot even decide whether to become a chef or a pianist.
But Yuko suddenly remembered that she has other parents and then started to visit them.
She said she also wanted to see Rika but she was too late. Rika had just died.
She did not know that Rika had cancer. It has been the reason why she did not go to Brazil as well as her disappearing act.
it was only Izumigahara who knew how ill Rika was. He told Yuko that Rika really loved her and did not want her to worry about her so she kept away and did not want to be a burden.
Yuko was very upset but Izumigahara said that Rika had looked on secretly on Yuko over the years and had known about her plan of marrying Kento.
Rika had already prepared Yuko’s wedding dress.
Yuko married Kento with her three fathers in attendance but everyone said that Morimiya had the right to walk Yuko down the aisle.
Morimiya said to Kento that the baton was passed to him and he was now giving it to Kento to look after Yuko.
I love this film. It was very heartwarming and Satomi as Rika was absolutely gorgeous and larger than life.