X
  • 2021
  • Film Movement
  • 2 h 20 m
  • 2021
  • Film Movement
  • 2 h 20 m

Summary After a long and unsuccessful struggle to get pregnant, Satoko and her husband decide to adopt a child. Over the next six years, the middle-class couple and their young son Asato settle into a comfortable, albeit routine, life. The family’s orderly existence is shattered by the arrival of Hikari, a young woman claiming to be Asato’s biol...

Directed By: Naomi Kawase

Written By: Izumi Takahashi, Mizuki Tsujimura, Naomi Kawase

  • 2021
  • Film Movement
  • 2 h 20 m
  • 2021
  • Film Movement
  • 2 h 20 m

True Mothers

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 11 Critic Reviews
64
User Score Generally Favorable Based on 5 User Ratings
7.2
My Score
Hover and click to give a rating Saved

Where to Watch

Summary After a long and unsuccessful struggle to get pregnant, Satoko and her husband decide to adopt a child. Over the next six years, the middle-class couple and their young son Asato settle into a comfortable, albeit routine, life. The family’s orderly existence is shattered by the arrival of Hikari, a young woman claiming to be Asato’s biol...

Directed By: Naomi Kawase

Written By: Izumi Takahashi, Mizuki Tsujimura, Naomi Kawase

Where to Watch

Top Cast

View All
View All Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 11 Critic Reviews
64
64% Positive
7 Reviews
36% Mixed
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 11 Critic Reviews
64
64% Positive
7 Reviews
36% Mixed
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
80
Jan 30, 2021
In Kawase’s delicate hands, however, it breathes with an everyday poignancy.
By Robert Abele FULL REVIEW
75
Jan 28, 2021
Naomi Kawase’s films don’t hammer toward arbitrary plot points but flow like water, so “True Mothers” doesn’t unfold like a Hollywood blockbuster, or indeed, even most arthouse films. It courses along softly and confidently, with unexpected ebbs and estuaries.
By G. Allen Johnson FULL REVIEW
70
Jan 28, 2021
It is, at least in its closing hour, a moving dramatization of maternal feelings.
By Deborah Young FULL REVIEW
67
Jan 28, 2021
The film shimmers with beauty and sadness despite its length, and the Japanese director’s background as both a photographer and a documentary filmmaker brings a gossamer naturalism to this realistic tale about a young woman’s regrets over abandoning her child years after the fact.
By Ryan Lattanzio FULL REVIEW
60
Apr 20, 2021
Kawase’s frequent use of handheld camera gives parts of the film a quasi-documentary feel, but it’s the lyrical touches . . . that hit the hardest.
By Simran Hans FULL REVIEW
60
Jan 28, 2021
There is a sustained emotional seriousness in this movie, with committed performances.
By Peter Bradshaw FULL REVIEW
50
Jan 28, 2021
Adapting Mizuki Tsujimura’s novel of the same name helps impose more of a narrative framework than is typically found in Kawase’s oeuvre, although the film’s mix of genres — from marital drama to teen romance to social commentary — don’t gel.
By Maggie Lee FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 5 User Ratings
7.2
80% Positive
4 Ratings
20% Mixed
1 Rating
0% Negative
0 Ratings

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 5 User Ratings
7.2
80% Positive
4 Ratings
20% Mixed
1 Rating
0% Negative
0 Ratings

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

Details

 View All
Production Company Kazumo, Kino Films, Kinoshita Group, Kumie, Playtime
Release Date Jan 29, 2021
Duration 2 h 20 m
Genres
Website http://www.asagakuru-movie.jp/
View All Details

Awards

Awards of the Japanese Academy
• 6 Nominations
Fribourg International Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
Asian Film Awards
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations

Related Movies

Dekalog (1988)

100
Universal Acclaim

The Godfather

100
Universal Acclaim

Tokyo Story

100
Universal Acclaim

Lawrence of Arabia (re-release)

100
Universal Acclaim

The Leopard (re-release)

100
Universal Acclaim

The Conformist

100
Universal Acclaim

Boyhood

100
Universal Acclaim

Citizen Kane

100
Universal Acclaim

Casablanca

100
Universal Acclaim

Three Colors: Red

100
Universal Acclaim

Notorious

100
Universal Acclaim

Fanny and Alexander (re-release)

100
Universal Acclaim

Touch of Evil

99
Universal Acclaim

Army of Shadows

99
Universal Acclaim

City Lights

99
Universal Acclaim

Moonlight

99
Universal Acclaim

Intolerance

99
Universal Acclaim

The Rules of the Game

99
Universal Acclaim

Seven Samurai

98
Universal Acclaim

The Wild Bunch

98
Universal Acclaim

Au hasard Balthazar

98
Universal Acclaim

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

98
Universal Acclaim

Related News

2024 Movie Release Calendar

2024 Movie Release Calendar

Jason Dietz

Find release dates for every movie coming to theaters, VOD, and streaming throughout 2024 and beyond, updated weekly.

  • movie
Every Zack Snyder Movie, Ranked

Every Zack Snyder Movie, Ranked

Nick Hyman

With the arrival of Zack Snyder's latest Rebel Moon chapter on Netflix, we rank every one of the director's films—from bad to, well, less bad—by Metascore.

  • movie
Every Guy Ritchie Movie, Ranked

Every Guy Ritchie Movie, Ranked

Nick Hyman

We rank every one of the British director's movies by Metascore, from his debut Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels to his brand new film, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

  • movie
April Movie Preview (2024)

April Movie Preview (2024)

Keith Kimbell

The month ahead will bring new films from Alex Garland, Luca Guadagnino, Dev Patel, and more. To help you plan your moviegoing options, our editors have selected the most notable films releasing in April 2024, listed in alphabetical order.

  • movie
DVD/Blu-ray Releases: New & Upcoming

DVD/Blu-ray Releases: New & Upcoming

Jason Dietz

Find a list of new movie and TV releases on DVD and Blu-ray (updated weekly) as well as a calendar of upcoming releases on home video.

  • movie