Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

I Wish Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 26, 2018

Note: This version of the film is available as part of Family Values: Three Films by Hirokazu Kore-eda.

The good folks at Arrow Video and/or Arrow Academy may be thanking their lucky stars that Hirokazu Kore-eda has just been feted with the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Festival (for Shoplifters), an award that may raise the profile of their so-called Family Values set of three Kore-eda films from the past several years. The timing for Kore-eda's award may seem especially fortuitous since this set, while not brand new, seems to be a repackaging (with some additional non-disc swag like a rather nicely done booklet) of three standalone releases that Arrow brought out not all that long ago (I Wish, Like Father, Like Son, After the Storm). As is discussed in some of the supplements included on this release, Kore-eda’s long history in Japan’s television industry tends to give his feature films a smaller scale, more intimate ambience, and it probably can’t be denied that at least some plot points in the three films in this set might be perfectly at home in what might be termed a “Lifetime Channel Very Special Film Made for Television” category. That said, Kore-eda is a remarkably facile director with children, and all three films explore a kind of childlike perspective that in some ways tended to remind me of the work of Robert Mulligan (To Kill a Mockingbird, The Other), at least in terms of Mulligan’s ability to capture an honest depiction of how kids see the world around them, if not in any pure content way. All three films delve into family dysfunctions in sometimes visceral ways, though often in an emotionally tamped down ambience that seems to be perfectly Japanese, where deep emotions are masked out what may be a fear that some kind of “communal” peace (however illusory) might be disturbed.

Of the three films in the Family Values set, I Wish probably reminded me most of Mulligan’s way of portraying a child’s perspective, though after I read some of the writing accompanying this release, I had to wonder if Mulligan had ever made a film funded by a railroad. That is evidently part of I Wish’s background, and probably a major reason why one of the more whimsical elements in this otherwise sincerely realistic effort is its reliance on a “magical wish” that will make things come true when two bullet trains pass each other. It’s a testament to Kore-eda’s skill how thoughtfully this rather fanciful aspect is woven into the story of a family roiled by divorce, with brothers Koichi (Kohki Maeda) and Ryu (Oshiro Maeda) living with different parents and with each facing different challenges. (As can probably be gleaned by their surnames, the extremely effective little actors are siblings themselves.)

While aspects of I Wish are somewhat vignette driven, the film has an undeniably potent emotional element that spills out almost immediately, despite (again, as referenced above) a tendency where, for example, Koichi’s obvious distress at not having a father in his home is referenced without any overt histrionics. While firmly in the “realist” camp that has become one of Kore-eda’s trademarks, there’s an almost magical realist use of a constantly erupting volcano in one set of scenes.

The film has a nicely balanced approach toward the differing home lives, with Koichi more or less smothered by his mother and grandmother and Ryu living with his slacker Dad, who pines to be a successful musician. The real emotion here, though, is between the estranged brothers, two kids caught up in a family situation they don’t seem to have any control over, which is where that “magic wish” involving trains comes into play.

I Wish Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

All three films in the Family Values set are presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Academy with AVC encoded 1080p transfers in 1.85:1. I have to say I was genuinely surprised to not find any information about the transfers in any of the material accompanying this release, a first (or at least what I'm recalling as a first) for an Arrow release. I even looked at the back covers of the previously released standalone versions (linked to above in the first paragraph of the review), and kind of interestingly, none of those seemed to have any information about the transfers on them, either. With that said, all three of these films share certain similarities (including the fact that all were shot on 35mm and finished at 2K DIs, according to the IMDb), so I'll speak in generalities before moving on to each film in particular.

From a damage or age related issue perspective, these are absolutely flawless transfers, no doubt due at least in part to their relatively recent vintage. Fine grain also looks natural on all three transfers for the most part (exceptions are noted below). My one slight qualm with all three of these is that they look just slightly bright at times to my eyes, something that tends to make contrast a bit anemic, especially in what are already more brightly lit moments. That said, palettes, while not especially vivid in any of the three films, look decently saturated, though as I'll discuss in the following individual comments, things can look a bit odd at times in terms of a "natural" appearance.

I Wish boasts a generally very warm looking palette, one that emphasizes blues and yellows a lot of the time and which looks fresh and natural almost all of the time. Fine detail is often quite striking as well, as in some of the scenes featuring volcanic ash being dusted off of various household items. Diffused or at times effulgent backlighting tends to give some shots a slightly soft appearance, and there are selected moments, as at around 1:36:40, where increased haziness or even a slightly noisy look to the grain can crop up. A few interior scenes look just slightly orange at times. There's one kind of odd recurrent anomaly that tends to afflict a number of outdoor scenes that made me wonder if there was a malfunctioning or at least problematic lens in use. At a few moments, there is what almost looks like "ghosting" or even edge enhancement halos that show up in just a section of the frame. Pay attention to the brim of the green cap on the head of the gentleman on the left at around 20:58, or the power lines above the boys just a few minutes later at around 23:55 and you can see this kind of odd phenomenon. It's transitory and not overly distracting, but it did stick out to my eyes on at least a couple of occasions.

I Wish Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

All three of the films in this set offer either DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 or LPCM 2.0 tracks. The LPCM 2.0 tracks on both Like Father, Like Son and After the Storm sounded like they had slightly heftier amplitude than their respective surround tracks, something that I Wish didn't. All three films feature rather winning scores, with I Wish offering both guitars (an allusion to the kids' rock star wannabe Dad, I'm assuming) as well as some really breezy "Stephane Grappelli"-esque violin cues. Like Father, Like Son has some very sweet solo piano, again alluding to some father-son activities. After the Storm has a more pop oriented score. The surround tracks on all three films benefit from good placement of ambient environmental sounds, and dialogue on all three films comes through very cleanly and clearly.

I Wish Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Introduction by Tony Rayns (HD; 22:40) finds the typically cheery Rayns discussing the three films in this set as well as Kore- eda in general.


• Family Ties Part I (HD; 20:03) is the first of three interviews conducted by Jasper Sharp with Kore-eda discussing his films, shot that the British Film Institute's London Film Festival in 2016. Here Kore-eda talks about I Wish.


• What Miracle Would You Wish For (HD; 40:43) has various cast and crew talking about their secret hopes, as well as some more general background information on the production. Some of the kids are absolutely adorable.


• The Making of I Wish (HD; 43:42) has lots of behind the scenes footage.


• Soundtrack Featurette (HD; 23:16) features Shigeru Kishida of Quruli and Kore-eda discussing the film's theme song and score.


• Theme Song (HD; 7:01) presents the film's theme underscoring scenes from the film.


• Roll Numbers (HD; 4:47) offers clappers with cast and crew set to the theme. This seems to be kind of oddly anamorphically stretched for some reason.


• Trailers

  Teaser (HD; 00:46)

  Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:54)

  TV Trailers (HD; 00:48)

Additionally, the box set contains a beautifully done insert booklet (almost a pamphlet, really) with stills and writing on all three films. Also, just a note about the supplements on all three films: while all of them are ostensibly high definition, at least some of them show signs of upscaling.

I Wish Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I Wish suggests that even if wishes don't (completely) come true, that hope springs eternal and that the bonds between family members, even estranged family members, can never be totally dissolved. This is an incredibly sweet film with a rather considerable emotional punch despite its traditional Japanese restraint. Highly recommended.