True Mothers

Film

After a long and unsuccessful struggle to get pregnant, Satoko and her husband decide to adopt a child. Over the next six years, the middle-class couple and their young son Asato settle into a comfortable, albeit routine, life. The family’s orderly existence is shattered by the arrival of Hikari, a young woman claiming to be Asato’s biological mother, demanding his return. As tensions mount, Satoko grows more and more emboldened to defend her family. Weaving multiple timelines and genres with a contemplative pacing and keen sense of place, hallmarks of Kawase’s work, True Mothers is “a deeply touching celebration of women who assume duties of love, support and compassion” (Awards Watch). Japan’s official entry to the 2021 Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film. A Film Movement release.

2020. 140 min. Directed by Naomi Kawase. With Hiromi Nagasaku, Arata Iura, Aju Makita, Reo Sato.

Tickets: $10 / $8 members for 3-day rental after purchase, with a 48-hour viewing window.

Japan Society Film’s programs are generously supported by the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund.

Additional season support is provided by The Globus Family, Masako H. Shinn, David Toberisky, Geoff and Fumi Matters, George Gallagher, Akiko Koide and Shohei Koide, Laurel Gonsalves, David S. Howe, and Masu Hiroshi Masuyama.

Transportation assistance is provided by Japan Airlines, the exclusive Japanese airline sponsor of Japan Society Film.