True Mothers Asa ga Kuru

Synopsis

After a long and painful struggle with infertility, Satoko and her husband Kiyokazu stumble across Baby Baton, a non-profit organization that matches couples who can’t conceive with mothers who are unable to raise their children. Realizing that adoption could make their family whole, the couple soon brings home a son, little Asato. But six years later, a young woman named Hikari, who identifies herself as the boy’s birth mother, comes calling, demanding compensation. As tensions escalate, Satoko chooses to confront Hikari over her claim to the child. Told with clarity and vibrancy, this involving dramatic thriller deftly weaves together breathtaking visuals with incisive social commentary. An evocative, assured addition to the canon of films that detail and redefine the modern family in Japan.

“There is a sustained emotional seriousness in this movie, with committed performances”
–The Guardian