In this hypnotic, meditative film, a family’s breakdown sets a 12-year-old girl’s coming-of-age in motion as she constructs various ploys to reverse her parents’ separation
uring a science class, 12-year-old Renko Urushiba (Tomoko Tabata) is confronted by her classmates for befriending Tachibana (Nagiko Tono), a girl from Tokyo who is shunned for having divorced parents. Refusing to give up her friendship, Renko hurls a laboratory burner on to her desk, setting it ablaze and throwing the class into chaos. Unbeknown to most of her friends, Renko’s parents are separated, too.
Equal parts perceptive and mischievous, little Renko is the protagonist of 1993’s Moving, the acclaimed 10th feature by the Japanese auteur Shinji Sōmai. Attuned to the sensibilities of childhood, Moving delicately traces the uncertainties that line the thorny path towards adolescence. With Sōmai’s signature long takes and elaborate camera movements, the film tries to keep up with Renko’s hurried footsteps as she dashes between her discordant parents.
Renko’s father, Kenichi (Kiichi Nakai), is gentle but ineffectual. Although his moments with Renko are playful, Kenichi’s vacant gazes convey a deeper weariness. On the other hand, Renko’s mother, Nazuna (Junko Sakurada), is fiercely assertive. After her split from Kenichi, Nazuna throws herself into the task of reinventing life for her and her daughter. However, her fervent resolve to restore order makes her affection for Renko harden into impatience and control. Caught in the downpours of Kyoto’s summer, Renko stirs up a typhoon herself in hopes that her separated parents will reunite.
