Kitagawa Eriko may have once been hailed by TIME magazine as Japan's soap opera queen but her recent serials have not been well-received by a plugged-in generation inept at making meaningful connections. Lately, she seems to have gained better favor in crafting sentimental one-shot specials where her signature style provides enough emotional impact without falling into grating melodrama. Tsuki ni Inoru Pierrot is a good example of how her penchant to write unwieldy encounters between flawed, relatable characters is much suited to a short television format. Her brand of kismet gets more mileage this way.
In this special, the sale of a children's book entitled Tsuki ni Inoru Pierrot in an online auction provides the opportunity to bring two strangers together. Middle-aged receptionist, Tamai Shizuru (Tokiwa Takako), has surrendered herself to living a monotonous life, sharing a roof with her grandmother and mother. She's lonely and worn out, unable to imagine a life beyond their provincial town. But when a handwritten recipe is discovered wedged between the pages of the book she recently purchased, she decides to reach out to its previous owner, Tobuse Wataru (Tanihara Shosuke), supposing the same to be a keepsake. This thoughtful gesture sparks a personal correspondence between the two and they soon find themselves conversing about everything and anything under the sun. Shizuru is, of course, thrilled at the prospect of having someone to share her life with but she's uncertain of his feelings and equally unsure if the connection they have is real or just a passing fancy.
In this special, the sale of a children's book entitled Tsuki ni Inoru Pierrot in an online auction provides the opportunity to bring two strangers together. Middle-aged receptionist, Tamai Shizuru (Tokiwa Takako), has surrendered herself to living a monotonous life, sharing a roof with her grandmother and mother. She's lonely and worn out, unable to imagine a life beyond their provincial town. But when a handwritten recipe is discovered wedged between the pages of the book she recently purchased, she decides to reach out to its previous owner, Tobuse Wataru (Tanihara Shosuke), supposing the same to be a keepsake. This thoughtful gesture sparks a personal correspondence between the two and they soon find themselves conversing about everything and anything under the sun. Shizuru is, of course, thrilled at the prospect of having someone to share her life with but she's uncertain of his feelings and equally unsure if the connection they have is real or just a passing fancy.
Short, sweet, and brimming with hope, this drama special tugs at the heartstrings in the same manner as April Story highlighted the beginning of a new love. Kitagawa Eriko, however, provides a crucial difference in that while the latter featured a fresh-faced girl ready to explore the world, Tsuki ni Inoru Pierrot has, for a protagonist, an older woman who's known heartbreak and been made timid with age. What's interesting about this is that it's not just a love story or some tale about having the courage to take risks. It captures the dilemma and lethargy of a character bound by filial duty and increasingly put down by people around her who, unintentionally or not, have shamed her for being an old maid. Tangentially, the special also takes a swipe at how the elderly are seen as a burden to society and how ageing can be treated with a certain level of derision.
And while references to social ills and marginalized sectors have been a fixture in most of her dramas, what's consistent about Kitagawa's works is that her characters are always written to be all too human, portraying a sense of restlessness, if not having somehow lost their way. They're beautiful and broken, needy yet proud, and in this respect, Tsuki ni Inoru Pierrot's Shizuku is no different. Tokiwa Takako delivers a performance with a thorough understanding of the self-doubt and dedition that clutches at the heart of women of a certain age. She's extremely likable in this role, and there's a certain honesty and nuance in her acting that alerts viewers to Shizuku's past that made her retreat to a quiet life of drudgery. Tanihara Shosuke, on the other hand, plays the good guy to a tee. Receptive and kind, the fact that the leading man is a divorced father lends some dimension to the character but Shizuku's story is simply, better carved out. The best part of the show is the communication between the characters. It's a natural and free-flowing exchange of thoughts and feelings, personal and sweet without being utterly cloying. In a time when a dearth of emotional honesty is often supplemented by a display of histrionic outbursts in television and cinemas, this is indeed a rarity.
SACCHARINE GOODNESS
SHORT FEATURE
LIKABLE CHARACTERS
SUPERLATIVE PERFORMANCE BY TOKIWA TAKAKO
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