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I Wish

Play trailer Poster for I Wish PG 2011 2h 8m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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93% Tomatometer 76 Reviews 84% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Forced to live apart due to their parents' separation, a sixth-grader (Koki Maeda) and his younger brother (Ohshiro Maeda) hatch a complicated plan to reunite their family.

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I Wish

I Wish

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Critics Consensus

Elliptical and deliberately paced yet steadily absorbing, I Wish presents a beguiling portrait of childhood that grounds its sweetly nostalgic glow with well-rounded characters and attention to detail.

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Critics Reviews

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Derek Malcolm London Evening Standard 02/08/2013
4/5
The film is long and slow but repays close watching because Kore-eda is one of Japan's best contemporary directors and he avoids sentimentality throughout. Go to Full Review Tim Robey Daily Telegraph (UK) 02/07/2013
3/5
Undeniably beguiling, but more manufactured-feeling than Kore-eda's top-drawer work. Go to Full Review David Jenkins Little White Lies 02/07/2013
4/5
The spirit of Spielberg, transplanted to the east. Bliss. Go to Full Review Dustin Chang Floating World 02/28/2021
My favorite part of the film is the static shots of inanimate objects near the end: mementos from their journey. The shots are held just long enough for us to appreciate those shared eternal moments. Go to Full Review Grant Watson Fiction Machine 10/04/2019
10/10
This is such a perfectly formed gem of a film. Go to Full Review Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com 07/24/2019
Kore-eda's film hits all the right notes, but his secret weapons are his two child leads, Koki and Ohshiro Maeda. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Claudio C @Claudio666 Dec 6 Simple and Sensitive Tale of Loss of Innocence (12,110 – 17 Aug 2013 / 05 Dec 2025) In Kagoshima, the boy Koichi lives with his mother Nozomi in the house of his grandparents. Koichi misses his younger brother Ryunosuke and his father Kenji, who live in Fokuoko, and he dreams on his family coming together again. One day, Koichi overhears that the energy released by two bullet trains passing by each other would grant wishes and he shares with his brother and friends that meet each other at the point of intersection.. "Kiseki" is a simple and sensitive tale of loss of innocence of children that need to face reality instead of immature and naive dreams. The direction of Hirokazu Koreeda and the performances are top-notch and the movie shows landscapes of the countryside of Japan that are unusual in Japanese features. My vote is sevem. Title (Brazil): "O Que Eu Mais Desejo" ("What I Desire the Most") See the complete review at my Blog: https://maniacosporfilme.wordpress.com/ See more 04/05/2020 Hearth-warming movie. Very basic, real and human wishes, not even slightly dramatic, unite these children. Their pursuit with hints of humor and marked by personal growth and a great character arch throughout the film is all I expected from another great art piece by Kore-eda. See more Tim G @tmgreene22 09/12/2019 Thoroughly pleasant, but came up short of the sublime "Shoplifters." See more nefasto r @Nefasto 01/09/2019 This is a "tale of two cities" and two brothers, and it is a very good one. Hirokazu Koreeda has become a certainty to me: when I am in the mood for a good, quite, touching film, he is my man. "I Wish" is full of lovable characters (mostly little ones, and some big ones) and brilliant scenes. Another gem from this Japanese director, a man that can feel up with poetry every little thing he put on his films. See more 07/19/2016 This is a really sweet film... Kids' Innocence <3 See more 06/12/2016 lovely heart warming drama from Japan See more Read all reviews
I Wish

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Cast & Crew

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Hirokazu Koreeda

Director

Koki Maeda

Koichi

Ohshiro Maeda

Ryunosuke

Ryôga Hayashi

Tasuku

Kyara Uchida

Megumi

Kanna Hashimoto

Kanna
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I Wish

I Wish (2011) I Wish (2011) I Wish (2011) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Forced to live apart due to their parents' separation, a sixth-grader (Koki Maeda) and his younger brother (Ohshiro Maeda) hatch a complicated plan to reunite their family.
Director
Hirokazu Koreeda
Producer
Kentaro Koike, Hijiri Taguchi
Screenwriter
Hirokazu Koreeda
Production Co
Bandai Visual Company, East Japan Marketing & Communications Inc, Chugoku Broadcasting (RCC)
Rating
PG (Smoking|Mild Thematic Elements|Language)
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
Japanese
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 26, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA)
$146.7K
Runtime
2h 8m
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