A funeral is an awkward time for a family reunion. The pressure of the occasion ¡ª compounded by all those stiff formalities and starchy kimonos ¡ª is all the more overwhelming for Ella (Gabby Padilla), a Filipina anthropologist who has traveled to Japan following the sudden death of her estranged father.
He left when she was still a child and moved to Rikuzentakata in the northeastern Tohoku region to start a new family, including a half-sister, Reina (Arisa Nakano), whom she¡¯s never met before. Like I said: awkward.
Lacking a common language or shared memories, the only thing the siblings seem to have in common is grief and a conviction that the other was their father¡¯s favorite. While Reina makes efforts to communicate using broken English and a translation app, Ella doesn¡¯t seem interested in getting to know her younger relative.
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