Capturing dad: More than a photograph

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Once I had the opportunity to see a horror movie called”The Others” which dealt with the prospect of people who don’t know that they have passed on. The reason that I am bringing this up here is because one of the things that stuck with me after watching the movie was an unusual custom portrayed that involved taking pictures of the dead so as to guard their souls. So when I read the plot synopsis of this film and knowing that it is Japanese (they make the best horror movies) I was under the impression that I was in for a horror treat. Imagine my surprise when I saw a movie with a theme like this being all sunshine and rainbows.

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 Picturesque locations, colorful costumes and comic narrative were so at odds with the plot that initially I thought I must have read the plot wrong but that wasn’t the case. Taking up a theme like this the filmmaker Ryota Nakano has managed to make it a story of redemption and closure.  The plot goes like this A mother asks her two daughters, Hazuki and Koharu, to visit their dying father whom she divorced long time ago because of his affair with another woman  to take a picture of his face on his death bed and bring it back.

A seemingly simple task if not for the fact that the girls have not seen their father for years and her mother’s vindictiveness has them puzzled. Nevertheless they agree but as the story progresses the viewers begin to realize that the girls are set out to capture their Dad in more than one ways. 

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While it is the picture there are after they end up capturing his essence. Through recollections of long forgotten memories they piece together an absentee father with whom they share a number of traits. Through the eyes of their mother, their family and their father’s loved ones they see a picture of their father which was hitherto hidden to them. “Capturing dad” is a heartfelt film that is charming and delightful. It manages to make you laugh and cry at the same time. Spot on Casting and some terrific acting adds to the charm of this simple film that should be watched, for the simple reason as to put a smile on your face.