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With subtlety and sensitivity, Hello, Goodbye depicts an unexpected friendship between two girls on opposite sides of the adolescent social ladder.
Hazuki and Aoi are classmates but their relationship outside class is fraught, and outside school non-existent. But when both girls are drawn to helping an elderly woman, they're forced to interact, confronting their differences and similarities as well as their deepest secrets.
This is the second feature film directed by Takeo Kikuchi, who for the past decade has worked in the Japanese film industry as an assistant director, and he brings understanding and immediacy to his keenly observed tale of teen turbulence. Featuring fine-tuned performances by stars-in-the-making Minori Hagiwara and Sayu Kubota and engaging, relatable central characters, Hello, Goodbye probes not only the hierarchies that dictate high-school life, but also the repercussions that echo beyond the classroom.
Unclassified: restricted to persons aged 15 and over unless accompanied by an adult. MIFF recommends this film as suitable for ages 13+
