Momo e no tegami (2011)

	Also Known As: Lettre à Momo, Ein Brief an Momo
	Year of first release: 2011
	Director: Hiroyuki Okiura
	Actors: -
	Country: J
	Genre: Animation, Fantasy
	Conditions of visioning: 05.04.2016, Bluray, Japanese version with French subtitles
Synopsis: Momo and her mother arrive in a small fisher town in the island of Shio after her father died. The last things she did with him before his death was insulting him because he gives the priority to work rather than to family. There she meets some other kids and tries to live like them. But it is difficult for a Tokyo kid to feel like a village kid. She sees some beings as well: the flatulent lizard Kawa, the childlike Mame and their hulking ogre leader Iwa. With them she will experience adventures.
Review: As in many Japanese animes the main character is a child, here a girl, discovering a new world, here a town. Momo's feeling toward her father are depicted with a very sensible view. To compensate this sadness and find also a kind of salvation, her life is pushed aside by three hilarious characters. And they are really funny. Two of them look like adults but behave like kids making silly things in town, mostly stealing food and eating in secret.  This mix of real story and banalisation of extraordinary beings makes it like the Magic realism of García Márquez that I really like. These characters look like from Chihiro by Miyazaki, and therefore their appearance as monster does not reduce the kindness and naivety they radiate. In a very psychological way, Momo discovers herself via these funny inhabitants and manages to go over the loss of her father. A nice Japanese tale for kids but also adults as the discovery of oneself takes often a long long time.  More steps in Momo's way or more originality could have increase the rating of that already good movie.
Rating: 6 /10