A funeral is an awkward time for a family reunion. The pressure of the occasion — compounded by all those stiff formalities and starchy kimonos — is all the more overwhelming for Ella (Gabby Padilla), a Filipina anthropologist who has traveled to Japan following the sudden death of her estranged father.
He left when she was still a child and moved to Rikuzentakata in the northeastern Tohoku region to start a new family, including a half-sister, Reina (Arisa Nakano), whom she’s never met before. Like I said: awkward.
Lacking a common language or shared memories, the only thing the siblings seem to have in common is grief and a conviction that the other was their father’s favorite. While Reina makes efforts to communicate using broken English and a translation app, Ella doesn’t seem interested in getting to know her younger relative.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.