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- Hey! Our dear Don-chan
おーい！どんちゃん Hey! Our dear Don-chan
- 2022 / Drama, Comedy / 157min
- Available Worldwide (except Japan)
- English, Spanish (Latin America), Indonesian, Thai, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese
- Contains drinking and smoking scenes.
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Synopsis
A miracle independent film capturing the growth of a single baby over a period of 3 years.
Director Profile
OKITA Shuichi
- CAST
- Don-chan, SAKAGUCHI Tappei, OTSUKA Hirota, ENDO Ryuta
- DIRECTOR
- OKITA Shuichi
- SCREENPLAY
- OKITA Shuichi
- INTERNATIONAL SALES
- OKITA Shuichi
- Ueda Eigeki: NAGAOKA Shumpei
- Manager
Is this a movie or a home video?
Director OKITA Shuichi, renowned for films like “The Woodman and the Rain” and “A Story of Yonosuke”, presents an independent film where he and his fellow actors playfully record his daughter’s life from six months after birth to the age of three and a half. It offers an unprecedented sense of excitement and a hint of bewilderment.
The setting is a share house in Tokyo, where struggling actors reside. The presence of the baby “Don-chan,” and the adults’ growth recorded over three years, create the illusion that this is indeed a movie (in a delightful way).
Surrounded by delightful adults, Don-chan grows up on the screen, and in parallel, the adults experience changes in their emotions and environments. The film elevates Okita’s style of celebrating humanity through documentary techniques, making it a captivating piece of entertainment.This truly independent film showcases the essence of filmmaking and the unexplored possibilities, leaving everyone delighted by its charm.
- OKITA Shuichi
- Director
When my child was born, I purchased an 80,000-yen handheld camera at an electronics store. However,now iPhones can also take photos, I ended up not using it. One day, through a workshop, I began to play around with some actor friends I met, using that unused camera to capture something with my child. At that time, I never intended for it to become such a long film, nor did I ever plan to screen it in theaters, let alone distribute it to the world! I never could have imagined that. Originally, we were showing it as a special event in Japanese theaters, but thanks to the opportunity provided by JFF+ INDEPENDENT CINEMA 2023, I’m really looking forward to how people outside of Japan will experience this film. I hope the special moments of Don-chan and the adults around her, will reach people all over the world. Additionally, I would be thrilled if this film could be screened in cinemas worldwide in the future.
Comments
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So glad I took the time to watch this! Lots of heart and humor. Easily my favorite film of the current lineup.
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Three men and a baby -now that’s a sharp learning curve. Thank you so much for not making this excessively sweet.
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With its docu style and improvised dialogues this film follows in the footsteps of John Cassavetes, Jacques Rivette and Henry Jaglom. Well drawn characters, well-rounded plotlines and good humour: all these virtues make it a masterpiece… and, moreover, the baby is cute ideed!
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This was a wonderful relaxed film that let the drama unfold in a naturalistic way. Deserves a wide cinematic release.
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What a heartwarming story. I’m so lucky to have an opportunity to watch this film.
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What a great story! How lovely of the men/friends to look after the little girl as if they were all her fathers.
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It was amazing! So adorable, moving and well-directed movie. The scene in the prision touched me deeply. Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you! Japan Foundation for JFF+ project. I’m so glad to have the chance watching the film that directed by my fav director “Shuichi-san”. I’m looking forward to the next Shuichi-san’s film and all fresh Japanese films from JFF+ 🙂 ขอบคุณมากๆค่ะ ชอบโครงการนี้มากจริงๆๆๆ
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I love the last scene when they are saying goodbye with tears and then it ended hilarously. The baby is so cute
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Me encantó esta pelicula, tiene una ternura maravillosa, el estilo japones de demostrar con hechos como querían a su bebita, es muy sencillo pero impacta, como se dedican a ella, las actuaciones muy buenas y en ellas incluyo a Don Chan
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El ambiente en el que se desarrolla la historia es muy curioso, pero en el fondo es una historia muy humana y en la que se muestra mucho amor por esa linda pequeñita. Es difícil no enamorarse de ella🥰
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So adorable. I think I was smiling the whole film long. A very special and enjoyable movie, thank you for sharing it with us.
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Don-chan is such an adorable natural actor! Heartwarming to watch her and the three young struggling actors grow side-by-side. Life is beautiful no matter what.
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We loved this film! we want to buy it to watch again years later . It’s a keeper. We felt so good watching it. Beautiful beautiful film!
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Thank you for making this delightful film available for streaming outside of Japan. This film is uplifting, amusing, and enjoyable from beginning to end. I hope you continue sharing films of this caliber with Japanophiles and cinephiles around the world.
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Very interesting thanks a lot
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I super, super loved this film. So heartwarming.
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Absolutely delightful!!!
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What a sweet and beautiful film about the simple pleasures of watching a baby grow into a toddler. Although a little long, the movie is poignant and filled with humanity and thoughtfulness and a perspective about parenting, childcare and family and what makes a family. These three struggling actors cum friends find themselves changed as they parent Don Chan. I enjoyed this a lot.
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The film is so natural and the story is heartwarming! Kudos to the director, the actors and all the people behind this film.
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Enjoyed this sweet film, especially now that I am a grandmother and watch the parents figure things out.
It’s true that we from a “self” focus to an “other” focus when we have children. More so, our children teach us so much and how to take pleasure in life. While we all can’t become parents, we can certainly shower our friend’s children with our time and involvement in their lives.I also LOVED “The Fish Tale” 💙❤️💚🧡💜🥰
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I loved this movie! It is so funny and sweet at the same time. All the characters are unique but believable. Very fun film!
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I loved this movie! It seems like a simple story about people growing up (adults and children) and thriving in strong relationships, but it gave me a wonderfully warm feeling. ☺️ Arigatou!
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Gracias por esta película tan emotiva, un reflejo de la ternura que puede transmitir la llegada de un bebé a la vez que retrata la problemática social que puede suponer la crianza.
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gracias por la ternura que todavía es posible para con los niños. En su aparente sencillez nos ofrece una visión de algunos problemas de la vida japonesa (trabajo,vivienda educación etc.) Muy buenas actuaciones, naturales.Dong Chan es adorable. MUCHAS GRACIAS.
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Very heartwarming, thank you so much for this wholesome movie.
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Este filme me dejó con una mezcla de emociones. Al principio y en algunos momentos se me hizo lenta, me costó conectar; en otros me reía y disfrutaba de las escenas y las situaciones que los 3 tenían que vivir; también tuve tiempo de pensar en cómo ve la sociedad que un hombre (o en este caso 3) sean los principales educadores de un bebé, por lo menos en los primeros años de vida que fueron los que mostraron. Un filme para ver más allá de la cotidianidad, la evolución que tiene cada ser humano y lo bello que resulta darse cuenta cómo crece y aprende un ser que llega a este mundo de forma inesperada.
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Una pelicula de lo cotidiano, algo lenta, donde los personajes van tomando su sitio como las piezas en un rompecabezas. Donde algo inesperado, se convierte en el centro del mundo.
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I really enjoyed watching this! it’s super heartwarming and the camera language makes the film feels closer to the audience. The last scene is the best one for me. It’s sad in one second and just completely hilarious in the next!
don-chan is the cutest!
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A very unusual movie. Heartwarming, funny and touching. I loved the way it shows how not only Don-chan but all the three friends really “grow up” and find their way of life.
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La película no sólo es conmovedora, sino también extremadamente adorable, tanto la pequeña Don-chan como el resto del elenco se gana tu corazón. ¡Muchas gracias por compartir estos fragmentos de su vida con el público!
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Heartwarming,fresh,goofily funny. Honest perspective on the uncertainty and reward of being open to art and life.
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Gran película! Arigatō Gozaimasu a todos los que la habéis hecho posible y a la persona que la eligió para este festival de cine independiente porque verla aquí en un lugar tan lejano ha sido un regalo para mí! 🙏🏼❤️🤩
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Okita Shuichi san, thank you very, very much for this really heartwarming and wonderful movie!
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A heartwarming movie indeed. It really made you feel as if you were part of the friend’s group, taking care of Don-chan! Thank you! 🙂
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An amazing movie. You can get all sorts of emotions within a simple story.¡Gracias!
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Feelgood movie of the year. All kinds of wonderful in one single movie. Some scenes are truly memorable. This one will stay with me for a long time, thank you
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愛爆！
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Okita Shuichi you are my hero
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I loved this heartwarming film! The actors made me laugh and it was fun to go on the journey with them as they raised Don-chan and were themselves transformed in the process.
What a brilliant movie! Don-chan is very cute, and the wonderful sense of humor from the director made me very happy during my watching. All the actors and actresses show their best in the movie. Through the video shot by handheld camera, I have every reason to believe that this story really happened in Ueda City. ありがとう、沖田さん！