Mitsuko Delivers

Director: Yuya Ishii
Starring: Riisa Naka, Aoi Nakamura, Ryo Ishibashi
Rating:
Japanese title: Hara ga Kore Nande

Headstrong, impulsive and more prone to following the direction of the wind than the dictates of common sense, Mitsuko (Riisa Naka) isn't going to let the fact that she's nine months pregnant stop her from putting the world to right. When a cloud leads her back to the grotty tenement where she spent part of her childhood (don't worry, there's an interminable slew of flashbacks to fill you in on the details), she soon sets about trying to improve the lives of the residents. There's the crippled landlady (Miyoko Inagawa), childhood sweetheart Yoichi (Aoi Nakamura) – who now runs an ailing restaurant – and Yoichi's uncle Jiro (Ryo Ishibashi), still making lame efforts to court the same coffee shop owner he's always fancied.

Your enjoyment of Mitsuko Delivers will hinge largely on whether you find Hara's one-dimensional heroine amusing or absolutely insufferable (I tended towards the latter opinion). Either way, there's no escaping the fact that the plot's a total mess, gradually escalating in hysteria – though not necessarily humour – before screeching to a sudden and inexplicable halt. Coming from the usually dependable Yuya Ishii (Sawako Decides), this feels like a major misfire.

Mitsuko Delivers is released nationwide on November 5

Return to main TIFF article