Eastwood...rescue pilot.
Color--shows japanese nicely.
Tony is a small boy who has been staying with his aunt while his parents are in Japan. He now is about to travel there by plane....which, at first, seems like a good thing. However, the plane experiences engine trouble and is forced down in the ocean on the Japanese coast. Unfortunately, while the boy is safe, he's all alone in a raft. Fortunately, a nice family of fishermen discover the boy and rescue him...and the family's small son speaks English. Soon the boys are good friends and the family take him ashore to be reunited with his parents. Unfortunately, the Japanese boy hears that his parents are going to the police....and he misunderstands...thinking his new friend will be arrested!! This is silly...but with very young kids, it's not too farfetched. Soon the pair are on the run through the Japanese countryside.
According to IMDB, this is supposedly the first post-war Japanese movie to portray them sympathetically. I am not sure if this is the case...though it certainly does show they as decent people...which is true of nearly all people worldwide. My experiences visiting the country were quite positive as well.
So is the film any good? Well, it does help rehabilitate the Japanese image and the studio, RKO, obviously wanted the project to work, having filmed the movie there and in full color. It also is a nice look at Japan...with many lovely sites, such as Kyoto and the countryside. My only complaint, and it's not the film's fault, is that the print is a bit yellowed...which isn't surprising and not unusual.
Some might object to the film seeming a bit schmaltzy. Well, I think it does a good job of being cute without being cloying. And, I thought the children in the film were quite precious...but natural in their behaviors as well.
Color--shows japanese nicely.
Tony is a small boy who has been staying with his aunt while his parents are in Japan. He now is about to travel there by plane....which, at first, seems like a good thing. However, the plane experiences engine trouble and is forced down in the ocean on the Japanese coast. Unfortunately, while the boy is safe, he's all alone in a raft. Fortunately, a nice family of fishermen discover the boy and rescue him...and the family's small son speaks English. Soon the boys are good friends and the family take him ashore to be reunited with his parents. Unfortunately, the Japanese boy hears that his parents are going to the police....and he misunderstands...thinking his new friend will be arrested!! This is silly...but with very young kids, it's not too farfetched. Soon the pair are on the run through the Japanese countryside.
According to IMDB, this is supposedly the first post-war Japanese movie to portray them sympathetically. I am not sure if this is the case...though it certainly does show they as decent people...which is true of nearly all people worldwide. My experiences visiting the country were quite positive as well.
So is the film any good? Well, it does help rehabilitate the Japanese image and the studio, RKO, obviously wanted the project to work, having filmed the movie there and in full color. It also is a nice look at Japan...with many lovely sites, such as Kyoto and the countryside. My only complaint, and it's not the film's fault, is that the print is a bit yellowed...which isn't surprising and not unusual.
Some might object to the film seeming a bit schmaltzy. Well, I think it does a good job of being cute without being cloying. And, I thought the children in the film were quite precious...but natural in their behaviors as well.