Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on October 2011

Tengoku Kara no Yell may either be one of the last productions from long-standing indie film studio Asmik Ace—or the savior of the production house with its revenue. The studio is in serious financial difficulties after the failure of Norwegian Wood last December and needs a huge winner to turn things around.

This combo weepy/do-gooder film in based on the life of Hikaru Nakasone, who was profiled on NHK and had a book written about him for his service to the community of Okinawa, where he lived. Called Hikaru Oshiro (Hiroshi Abe) in the film, the man owns a simple bento shop. When he finds out local school kids have nowhere to rehearse their bands he builds a free studio from scratch, also demanding good manners, academic performance, and civic service from the kids.

The film turns from saccharine to maudlin when Oshiro (referred to by his nickname Nini) finds his cancer has returned. Idol/gravure model Nanami Sakuraba appears as one of the star band members, improving her music to perform publicly. In some ways this the perfect Japanese namida chodai (weepy) pic, so it should be a big hit with fifty-something housewives. At least Asmik Ace desperately hopes so. (114 min)