Review: My Grandfather is a Nihonjin is a gentle story about learning to understand each other

I'm a sucker for a movie about members of a family (usually from different generations) moving toward a better understanding of each other, and in doing so, becoming better and more fully-realized themselves. Very specific, yeah? And it's exactly what's being served up in Celia Catunda's My Grandfather is a Nihonjin, adapted from Oscar Nakasato's award winning novel, Nihonjin. The whole time I was watching this movie, I kept being struck by how gentle it was, how caring. It's a deeply empathetic film, one that allows its various characters to not always show their best faces without judgment. It understands that we're all complicated beings, shaped by so many factors, many of them not easy to see or understand. But if we take the time to talk to each other and try, the world might up a little brighter.

Noboru is a Japanese-Brazilian boy living in São Paulo who receives an assignment at school to write about his family's history. His classmates are pretty stoked about it, because it seems like an easy assignment: just find an elderly relative to ask, and write it all down. A piece of cake.

Not so for Noboru. His grandfather, Hideo, who immigrated from Japan in 1920, isn't exactly the talkative type. He's a grumpy old man, one who's set in his ways, and one who is generally a closed book. Despite having been in Brazil for sixty years, he still clings tight to his Japanese culture and language, and resents how much Noboru doesn't seem that interested in either. Even when his grandmother offers to make udon for dinner, Noboru is tentative -- he doesn't know what that is, or if he'll like it. Are there fish eyes in it, or other "weird" ingredients?

So it isn't exactly easy-going for Noboru to crack the tough nut of his grandfather. But he persists, and his grandpa (who insists on being called "jityan," as in, ojii-chan) gradually starts to talk about his past, difficult as it is to look back on it. What happens when the unstoppable force of a child's curiosity meets the immovable object of a stubborn old man who doesn't want to answer any questions?

One of the major themes My Grandfather is a Nihonjin is fascinated with, and explores beautifully, is how much our personal histories are tied up in the goings-on of the world around us, and even in much-larger historical events. I didn't know, prior to this movie, that Brazil has the second-highest population of Japanese people in the world (behind Japan, unsurprisingly). This was due to a need for farm workers when slavery was outlawed in Brazil, and also the widespread poverty and overpopulation in Japan. So, Hideo became a figure in a much wider-spread history, one that carried many Japanese halfway across the world to work on coffee plantations.

As we move through the years, another major historical touchstone is WWII, during which Japanese was forbidden from being spoken in Brazil. The film evocatively captures the tension of being a Japanese-Brazilian at the time: the friction between two identities stemming from countries that are at war with each other. Hideo always wants his children to be proud of their Japanese heritage, and even in the face of intense discrimination, he leads by example, covertly teaching Japanese in secret classrooms.

The film has a nice push-and-pull, give-and-take to its structure. We alternate between scenes of Noboru and Hideo in conversation (mostly told through flashbacks to the stories Hideo is telling), and interstitial touch-base scenes of Noboru and his friends talking about their progress. These scenes are so sweet, and I think really important for younger viewers. One of Noboru's friends is a white girl of Portuguese heritage, who's totally sailing through the assignment. Her grandpa is a character, full of stories, hilarious: easy A, for her. Another friend is Black, and his family history is harder to untangle, as his ancestors were slaves, and thus there's a lack of documentation. These scenes really highlight the diversity of Brazil, and of our experiences in general. It's not always easy, or even possible, to completely tell the stories of the past. 

While the film touches on some of these heavier themes like racism, discrimination, and slavery, it always does so with such a deft touch. It's clear the filmmakers wanted to give this story the care it deserves, and to make it a story that's accessible to everyone. Even the way the film looks reinforces the tender approach. All the characters are soft, and have a lightness to them. The backgrounds are much more painterly, beautiful and colorful and allowing the characters to pop. This really is one of those movies where you just feel like you're in good hands.

I've avoided touching on what is likely the film's most resonant subplot, because I loved seeing how it played out, and I don't want to spoil anything here. But, let's just say, I was an absolute blubbering mess at the end of this movie. It pays off its story beautifully.

My Grandfather is a Nihonjin is currently playing in theaters in Brazil. It's still lining up distribution around the world, but based on how sweet and lovely a movie it is, I don't doubt it'll makes its way to many other country's screens in no time at all.