Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on February 2010

(c)メディアミックス・ジャパン

It’s always exciting to see the emergence of a talented new filmmaker, and that’s just the case with Akane Yamada and her debut effort Subete wa Umi ni Naru. Yamada wrote the screenplay for the inventive supernatural thriller Tea Fight (2008), but this work has significantly more emotional depth. Cute and intelligent bookstore clerk Natsuki (Eriko Sato) has always been stumped by romance—in fact, she titles one section of the shop “For People Who Don’t Understand Love.” One day she thinks she catches a woman shoplifting, but when a search yields no book, she must apologize to the family, which includes an abusive husband/father and a rude daughter. Later, high school-student son Koji (Yuya Yagira) turns up at the bookstore to help work things out, and Natsuki immediately recognizes a kindred spirit in the sweet but bullied boy. Although parts of the film are a little too cartoonish, there is emotional honesty that’s both realistic and affecting. English title: All to the Sea. (119 min)