Location: Long Island
"One Thousand Paper Cranes"
Directed by Naomi Kawase
Written by Naomi Kawase
Main Cast
Suzuka Ohgo as Sadako Sasaki
Ken Watanabe as Dr. Hideki
Masanobu Ando as Takashige Sasaki
Angela Aki as Ayako Sasaki
Yûya Yagira as Takeshi Sasaki
Tagline: "In just 1,000 paper cranes, Sadako Sasaki taught millions that peace is the only answer"
Synopsis: Sadako Sasaki is a star athlete, and at 11 years old, a beautiful, intelligent young girl. Her home of Hiroshima was bombed in 1945 when she was just 2 years old, leaving some survivors inflicted with the Atom Bomb disease, now more professionally known as luekemia. The film starts with a track meet. A letter, from Sadako's classmate, describing the ill-fated life of Sadako provides a voiceover that becomes commonplace throughout the rest of the film. Sadako overhears another girl speaking of an origami legend: once a person crafts 1,000 paper cranes, they will be granted one single wish. Once the race begins, Sadako gets halfway before blacking out and falling unconcious.
Another letter is read, this time by a male classmate instead. Sadako overhears her mother, Ayako Sasaki, talking with a Dr. Hideki. Ayako is devestated to hear that her daughter shows symptons of the Atom Bomb disease, and throughout the course of a few days, has thus been officially diagnosed with it. Sadako remembers the legend from the race, and explains to Dr. Hideki that she will be making 1,000 origami cranes so that she will get better, and that her mother won't have to cry anymore.
Dr. Hideki grows emotionally attached to his optimistic, dying patient, so he spends much of his time keeping her company while she makes cranes. Her mother, meanwhile, grows agitated with Dr. Hideki and demands that he tells her daughter to rest peacefully. Takashige Sasaki, Sadako's father, tries to convince his wife that she should let Sadako do what she wants, and end her life with hope rather than sorrow. Ayako finds no reason to lie to her daughter, and she, against Dr. Hideki's wishes, tells her daughter that no amount of cranes will help Sadako's disease.
More letters are narrarated to Sadako, who has refused to stop crafting the cranes. Ayako, desperate to do what she feels is only fair to her daughter, hides all of Sadako's paper, however her older brother Takeshi secretly supplies her with more every night. When he is caught by Ayako, which prompts a large arguement, Dr. Hideki finds ways to get around the paper shortage, and borrows used medicine wrappings and now useless hospital forms. In an effort to get her to move around the hospital rather than lie in bed all day, Takashige and Dr. Hideki also take her to other rooms where patients gladly give up materials for her to use.
Ayako once again confronts her daughter about how her effort in the crane making was dangerous to her already dwindling health, but Sadako remains confident. After more voiceovers read their letters to Sadako, Sadako's health seems to have spiraled down quickly, with a now useless left leg and the peaking of her white blood cell count. On a visit to see her daughter, Ayako overhears Sadako and Dr. Hideki talking about her. Sadako makes her mother's heart melt, by once again saying that the reason she wants to finish 1,000 cranes is not for her own benefit, but for her mother's, and so that everyone in the world can see that overcoming hardships is not impossible when you have peace in mind.
A few days later, Sadako's condition reaches its worst point. She can hardly speak, eat, or move, and any chances of finishing her crane collection is diminished. In an emotional scene, she eats her last meal, surrounded by her mother, father, and siblings. When Dr. Hideki walks in, she glances at her crane collection, smiles at him, and then closes her eyes to go to sleep. She never wakes up. She finished 644 cranes before her death. Her mother now narrarates her own letter, and voices regrets about how uncomfortable Sadako's last few days were, and reiterates her daughter's, and many other children's, longing for peace.
What the Press would say:
More than a simple tear-jerker, clever writer/director Naomi Kawase crafted "One Thousand Paper Cranes" into an important, poignant cry for peace through the eyes of a little girl. Suzuka Ohgo, who gives a tour de force performance as the always optimistic Sadako Sasaki, gives one of the most impressive performances by a child actor in the history of film. Her portrayal of the dying, hopeful child is so natural that you will have sworn that Sadako Sasaki was, in fact, a good friend of Ohgo's. Ohgo is not alone, however, as her scene partner Ken Watanabe arguably steals the show in many scenes. Watanabe has never been better, and realistically masters a touched doctor with no solution to his biggest concern. The chemistry of Ohgo and Watanabe, as once seen in their brief partnership in Memoirs of a Geisha, is undeniably strong, and Watanabe comes off like a fatherly figure to her. A powerful performance is also seen in Angela Aki, who truly surprises as the young, troubled, and confused mother of Sadako. You would never know it, but One Thousand Paper Cranes is actually Aki's film debut. Knowing her from her successful music career, Kawase was quick to notice the range Aki was hiding from the acting world, and her risk paid off tremendously. It's hard not to sympathize with a potentially unlikeable character, so it's just another plus for Aki's already groundbreaking performance. Small but honorable mentions are also needed for Masanobu Ando and Yûya Yagira, Ando greatly compliments Aki as the supportive parent, while Yagira is nothing short of great as one of Sadako's heroic and relate able siblings. While it could be described as an "acting movie", much would be lost without Kawase's precise directing and seamless screenplay. One Thousand Paper Cranes, a tale of peace, is easily one of the most lukewarm films of the decade is sure to be highly regarded as an all around contender come time for the Academy Awards.
For Your Consideration:
Best Picture
Best Director - Naomi Kawase
Best Actress - Suzuka Ohgo
Best Actor - Ken Watanabe
Best Supporting Actress - Angela Aki
Best Supporting Actor - Masanobu Ando
Best Supporting Actor - Yûya Yagira
Best Original Screenplay - Naomi Kawase
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