Overview
- The film had its competition premiere at the Venice International Film Festival on Monday, placing Kore‑eda’s adaptation in contention for the Golden Lion.
- Reviewers widely praised Kore‑eda’s work with the young cast, the film’s visuals, and its detailed sound design while some critics said the feature feels overextended compared with the shorter anime and original manga.
- Kore‑eda recorded pen and drawing noises and trained the four principal actors in manga technique, and several of the actors’ own drawings appear in the finished film.
- Festival coverage reports that GKIDS will handle distribution, which signals plans for a broader international theatrical rollout after Venice.
- The film adapts Tatsuki Fujimoto’s well‑known one‑shot that was made into a 2024 anime, and Kore‑eda’s deliberate emphasis on process and texture highlights the challenge of expanding a compact comic into a full‑length live‑action drama.