Nagasaki: Memories of My Son

This film is set in Nagasaki around the time the war ended. Early in the story, the protagonist—a medical student named Koji Fukuhara (played by Kazunari Ninomiya)—is exposed to the intense heat rays of the American atomic bomb and effectively “vaporizes” out of existence. The narrative revolves around the conversations between this deceased son’s ghost and his mother, Nobuko (Sayuri Yoshinaga). Akiyuki Nosaka, the story unfolds in a surreal manner, featuring a premise reminiscent of the Studio Ghibli animated film “Grave of the Fireflies”. Machiko (Haru Kuroki), an elementary school teacher and Koji’s fiancée, initially cannot forget her late lover; she frequently looks after his mother, Nobuko. However, eventually seeking her own happiness, she falls in love with a male colleague. While Nobuko understands Machiko’s feelings, she still voices her resentment toward the young woman to her son’s ghost. Near the end of the film, Koji says to his mother: “America is a strange country, isn’t it? They make such wonderful movies, yet they also created the atomic bomb”. Although Koji initially struggles to let go of Machiko, he eventually accepts her actions for the sake of her happiness and even gently admonishes his mother for her resentment. One day, Nobuko is told by her son’s ghost, “Let’s live together in the world of the dead from now on, for eternity”. The two then ascend to heaven together. A neighbor who came to check on her, along with “Uncle Shanghai”—a man who had always been kind to Nobuko and harbored romantic feelings for her—discover Nobuko lifeless on the tatami mats of her living room. The final scene, depicting the funeral at the Catholic church, is deeply moving and sure to bring tears to one’s eyes. #nagasaki #atomicbomb #movie #片山俊幸