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I WISH (KISEKI)Movie Reviews
Japanese language drama about a boy who believes that a new bullet train is the answer to his wish to reunite his family after his parents' divorce. Cast:Koki Maeda, Ohshiro Maeda, Ryoga Hayashi, Kyara Uchida, Kanna Hashimoto, Rento Isobe, Nene Ohtsuka, Joe Odagiri, Yui Natsukawa, Masimi Nagasawa, Hiroshi Abe, Yoshio Harada, Kirin Kiki, Isao HashizumeDirector:Hirokazu KoreedaRelease Date:May 11, 2012DVD Release:November 6, 2012From:MagnoliaRating:PGLength:2 hr. 8 min.
I Wish (Kiseki) played in key cities to excellent reviews. • Joe Morgenstern wrote in the Wall Street Journal, "...wise and funny... works small miracles in depicting the pivotal moment when kids turn from the wishfulness of childhood into shaping the world for themselves." • And Andrew O'Hehir called the film for Salon, "...marvelous..." More Reviews Below...
I Wish (Kiseki) Positive Reviews (26 Reviews, reviews below)
Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...by the Japanese master Hirokazu Kore-eda, who is as gentle and wise as any director now working.... spirited and lovable."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 690 words, 05/30/12
Kat Murphy, MSN Movies: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a happy tribute to the gentle art of being human... It's an exuberant yet tender journey, never descending into saccharine cuteness or manufactured melodrama."(See all of Kat Murphy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 871 words, 05/09/12
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (8 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: VERY GOOD "...tends toward the vaporous... but whenever its children are on screen, lighted up with joy or dimmed by hard adult truths, the film burns bright."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 609 words, 05/11/12
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a beautifully told story of heartbreak and hope. Deceptively modest and utterly lovely, it's one of the most magical films about childhood I have ever seen."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 166 words, 05/11/12
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times/Chicago Tribune: VERY GOOD "There is a lot of hope in the air, but the film never feels sappy... 'I Wish' has a similar carefree feel of kids just being kids in that time before innocence is completely lost."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 701 words, 05/11/12
David Edelstein, New York Magazine: EXCELLENT "Hirokazu Kore-eda's compositions have a sympathetic detachment that Americans rarely value but is, for many Japanese, the whole point of art."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 504 words, 05/07/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...by the Japanese master Hirokazu Kore-eda, who is as gentle and wise as any director now working.... spirited and lovable."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 690 words, 05/30/12
Alison Willmore, Village Voice/LA Weekly: VERY GOOD "Hirokazu Koreeda allows his performers to guide the journey, both literally, to a town at the midpoint of the region, and emotionally, to a coming-of-age moment."(See all of Alison Willmore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 652 words, 05/09/12
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a wistful heartbreaker from the Japanese master of quiet observation, Hirokazu Kore-eda... a tale of discovery, of a world of grown-ups seen through children's eyes."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 311 words, 05/25/12
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...kind and wise... a warm, humanistic story of Japanese schoolchildren, their parents and grandparents, and the hopeful dreams that sustain them."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 350 words, 06/15/12
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: VERY GOOD(cg) "Koreeda's achievement is that he gives us children who might weigh more, emotionally, than their parents, yet they're still these little creatures learning..."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 678 words, 05/25/12
Walter Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "...shows us something essential in the experience of childhood in a way that eludes most filmmakers.... feels genuine and clear-sighted."(See all of Walter Addiego's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 378 words, 06/01/12
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "We hope for a miracle, and we get one -- but of the cinematic kind, in which we're carried away as if on that train; transformed, just for a moment, into a child again."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 422 words, 06/22/12
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD(cg) "...touching... a soft-edged slice-of-life movie.... Like a train, 'I Wish' is slow to build momentum, then it carries us away in a wondrous rush."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 236 words, 06/22/12
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (5 Reviews)
Alison Willmore, Village Voice/LA Weekly: VERY GOOD "Hirokazu Koreeda allows his performers to guide the journey, both literally, to a town at the midpoint of the region, and emotionally, to a coming-of-age moment."(See all of Alison Willmore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 652 words, 05/09/12
Gerald Peary, Boston Phoenix: VERY GOOD(cg) "At its worst, 'I Wish' is static. At its best, it has the warmth and subtlety of classic Asian works by Edward Yang and Yasujiro Ozu."(See all of Gerald Peary's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 133 words, 05/24/12
Noel Murray, AV Club: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...amply Kore-eda-esque, full of life, heart, and funny little details about daily existence, as it meanders its way toward moments of real profundity."(See all of Noel Murray's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 423 words, 05/10/12
Michael Nordine, Slant: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Both buoyed and brought down by its focus on the two brothers... has a tough time balancing the heartfelt with the saccharine and too often feels slight."(See all of Michael Nordine's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 664 words, 05/07/12
HIGHBROW PRESS (5 Reviews)
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: OUTSTANDING "...wise and funny... works small miracles in depicting the pivotal moment when kids turn from the wishfulness of childhood into shaping the world for themselves."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 760 words, 05/11/12
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: VERY GOOD "...tends toward the vaporous... but whenever its children are on screen, lighted up with joy or dimmed by hard adult truths, the film burns bright."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 609 words, 05/11/12
Chris Benderev, NPR: VERY GOOD "...invites us into the world of a child in more ways than one... The director scores life in suburban Japan mostly with bouncy, playful tones and quirky instrumentation."(See all of Chris Benderev's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 772 words, 05/10/12
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "There is a lot of hope in the air, but the film never feels sappy... 'I Wish' has a similar carefree feel of kids just being kids in that time before innocence is completely lost."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 701 words, 05/11/12
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: OUTSTANDING "...a film whose emotional power and intelligence sneak up on you... this marvelous work of all-ages movie craftsmanship has magic aplenty."(See all of Andrew O'Hehir's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,111 words, 05/10/12
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Dennis Harvey, Daily Variety: VERY GOOD "Never showy in storytelling or technique... builds a credible child's-eye view of everyday events, making the remarkable ones seem equally uncontrived."(See all of Dennis Harvey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 623 words, 09/20/11
Deborah Young, Hollywood Reporter: VERY GOOD "...delightful and uplifting... immersed in a magical time that sometimes moves at the speed of a bullet train and sometimes passes very slowly..."(See all of Deborah Young's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 591 words, 09/22/11
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "There is a lot of hope in the air, but the film never feels sappy... 'I Wish' has a similar carefree feel of kids just being kids in that time before innocence is completely lost."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 701 words, 05/11/12
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: VERY GOOD "...tends toward the vaporous... but whenever its children are on screen, lighted up with joy or dimmed by hard adult truths, the film burns bright."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 609 words, 05/11/12
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: OUTSTANDING "...wise and funny... works small miracles in depicting the pivotal moment when kids turn from the wishfulness of childhood into shaping the world for themselves."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 760 words, 05/11/12
10.6 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
I Wish (Kiseki)'s reviews are separated by an average 10.6 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
I Wish (Kiseki) (26 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:I Wish (Kiseki)'s reviews cover 32.8% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 13,635 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 524 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 24.2 Hours After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
I Wish (Kiseki)'s reviews on average broke 24.2 hours after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is I Wish (Kiseki)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
I Wish (Kiseki) (26 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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