True Mothers (2020) Watch Online and Review

Adapted from the novel of the same name by Mizuki Tsujimura, the latest film directed by Japanese director Naomi Kawase (Vision, 2018), it tells the story of women who because of their conditions and circumstances later become mother figures.

True Mothers begins with the story of a couple Satoko (Hiromi Nagasaku) and Kiyokazu Kurihara (Arata Iura) who after so many years of marriage but are still unable to have children.

The two then decided to adopt a child. With the help of an adoption agency led by Shizue Asami (Miyoko Asada), the couple is reunited with Hikari Katakura (Aju Makita), a 14-year-old teenager who decides to give up her pregnancy for adoption.

The adoption process went smoothly. However, six years after adopting the child, Asato Kurihara (Reo Sato), Satoko receives a call from Hikari Katakura who wants her child returned to her. 

The story script that Kawase worked on together with Izumi Takahashi (Love and Murder of Sheep and Wolf, 2019) explores the storyline of the two main characters through three branches of storytelling. 

After telling the story of the life of the couple Kiyokazu and Satoko Kurihara together with their adopted son at this time, True Mothers turned around and told about the life of the couple before deciding to adopt a child, and continued by telling the story of the life of Hikari Katakura's character as a teenager who is in love and has to bear the consequences. 

Before the storylines of the two characters meet at one point in the story, Kawase's narrative work for True Mothers feels like two unrelated stories that stand on their own.

With two different storylines – one revolving around domestic life and the other revolving around a teenage romance that will remind many viewers of Dua Garis Biru (Gina S. Noer, 2019) – there are many moments in this film that make both stories feel looming. one with the other. 

This is coupled with Kawase's efforts to expand and explore the depiction of the mother figure of the female characters: 

Satoko's character is the mother figure for her adopted child; despite releasing the child she gave birth to for adoption, Hikari Katakura's character grows up and then seems to be a mother figure to her troubled friend; then there is still a little story about the character of Shizue Asami who builds an adoption agency because of her inability to have children. 

Even though it is full of layers of stories, True Mothers is not a film that has the impression of being complicated or complex.

However, still, Kawase's excavation of the story on these conflicts clearly takes up quite a lot of the duration of the story.

Luckily, despite being sluggish with the story running for 140 minutes, True Mothers never feels boring. 

The narrative that Kawase builds for his film can forge an emotional bond that is quite effective. 

Kawase also uses his experience in directing a number of documentaries to shape a number of parts of the story in this film to be able to present with an authentic impression. 

The quality of film production is also present in a satisfactory capacity. The cinematography, directed by Kawase together with Naoki Sakakibara and Yûta Tsukinaga, managed to maintain the warm atmosphere of the story even at its darkest moments. 

The musical accompaniment produced by composers Akira Kosemura and An Ton That does not always stand out. However, the music produced by both of them can always be relied on at the most crucial moments in the True Mothers storyline. 

This film will probably appear with a much stronger narrative quality if Kawase and Takahashi can provide a denser story wrap. Even so, Kawase's success in getting the best performances from every filler in his film acting department has clearly given its own impetus to the quality of True Mothers' storytelling class. 

Every character that is present in the storytelling of this film can be brought to life with a real and humane impression. 

Nagasaku and Makita, who play the role of Satoko and Hikari Katakura, respectively, have a clear strong role to play in maintaining a stable emotional rhythm in the delivery of the story.

However, Makita gives an appearance that will leave a very deep impression on every eye that follows the story of the character he plays. Her appearance is understated, never overwhelming, but capable of reaching a deep emotional reach.