tek's rating:

Tokyo Godfathers (PG-13)
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This came out in 2003 in both Japan and the U.S., but it was re-released on Blu-ray/DVD by a different company in 2020, with a new English dub, which is what I first saw in 2023. It was directed and co-written by Satoshi Kon. I had been wanting to see it for a long time, and it definitely didn't disappoint me. It's not really trippy or surreal, as Kon's works usually are, but the plot does rely on a stunning number of unlikely coincidences. And it's probably my favorite of Kon's works (at least that I've seen so far).

There are these three homeless people who live together, named Gin, Hana, and Miyuki. It's not quite clear to me whether Hana is a transgender woman or just a drag queen (I get the impression that the latter may be the case in the original Japanese version of the story, and the former in the newer English dub, but I could be wrong). Miyuki is a teenage runaway. And Gin is a middle-aged alcoholic. On Christmas Eve, the three of them find an an abandoned baby in the trash. Hana names the baby Kiyoko, and sees her as a gift from God, a chance to be a mother. Gin thinks they should take the baby to the police. But throughout the movie, the three of them search for Kiyoko's parents. We also learn their backstories, how and why they became homeless. And... a lot of stuff happens that I don't want to spoil. This is a rare sort of story that I would say is about both the journey and the destination. It's full of not just coincidences, but also some plot twists at the end.

It's a funny, weird, and oddly heartwarming story, with interesting main characters. And, yeah, that's all I can think to say. But it's really good.


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