Doro no kawa

The tone and pacing are remarkably consistent, always teasing deeper more complex story beats, but wisely staying away from devolving into melodrama, leaving all of the thematic richness explored but never overexplained or used to brow beat a message out of the film. The two leads aren't the greatest actors, but they're good enough to feel sympathetic and genuine, giving reasonable emotional heft to the various revelations and key turning points.

the first third or so is a bit slow, and the child actors aren't the best, but despite these things it is still incredibly good

An excellent and careful examination of a family and children's innocence. It's very apparent that some of this innocence is gone by the end of the film, but it is never overdone.

The missing link between I Was Born But... and George Washington.