Japan is diversifying. In Japan, 1 in 49 marriages are international
marriages. If you look further at the
data, you can find a significant number of marriages between Japanese and
Chinese, Japanese and Filipino(a), Japanese and Korean, and more. Whatever the roots, the children who come
from these international marriages are known as “haafu” (although some prefer
the term “double” to emphasize the presence of two different cultures).
This documentary movie follows the lives of
several individuals whose parents are of different cultural backgrounds. They each struggle with their own individual circumstances
and come out with their own personal accomplishments, and this is where this movie
shines. The interviewees come alive
through their own individual stories. One
cannot help but cheer on David as we see him connecting with his immediate
Japanese community to build a school in his mother’s country. One cannot help feeling for Alex, the older
son of the Oi family, who experiences adjustment difficulties at school because
of bullying. These are individuals who
we truly can empathize with, and it is likely that one finds oneself relating
to one of their stories.
