The latest Japanese anime, based on the fictional account. Following the Japan's surrender during the World War II, the narration concentrates how the people are affected by the consequences of the war. The movie opens with the two elderly people heading towards their childhood village, recalling their memories. The entire movie was from the children's perspective of what they have seen.

The story of two young boys living in a remote island of the Japan. Who are obsessed with the toy trains and hopes see them in real one day. When Soviet invades the island and forced to live under their rule with coexist. The life remains unaffected, the children go to the school as usual, where these two boys meet the young Russian blonde girl and befriends. What comes after is the struggle that becomes a lot tougher by the days come and surviving becomes challenging.

It was not a top notch anime as I was expecting, but had a decent storyline and the characters. Still, it was a traditional presentation and so pleasant to watch. Somewhat it reminds the 'Grave of the Fireflies', but comparable with that, it was only the less emotionally appealing. The end really got me, I felt the depth. The strong conclusion was the movie's strength, otherwise I would have not liked the flick this much. Yet, I am not sure whether everybody going to like it or not, but still I suggest it only if you're convinced by other than my review too.

6½/10

A dramatic yet heart-warming story of cross-cultural friendship among children in the aftermath of WWII, presented by Tokyo-based award-winning animation studio Production I.G. Based on true events.

I thought the movie was good and emotional. Thats all there is to it.

Junpei and his little brother Kanta are growing up on a small, far- northerly island of Japan, near the east coast of Russia, during and after World War II. After the Japanese are defeated, Soviet soldiers and their families take over the island, forcing the Japanese inhabitants to live in barns and to get by on small rations of rice smuggled to them from their former military posts. At first, Junpei and his family resent the Russians, but then he and Kanta meet Tanya, the daughter of the Soviet commander who is living in what was once their home. Children being children, they soon are playing together, learning each other's language and maybe, just maybe, falling a little bit in love. But when Junpei's father is betrayed to the Soviets, Junpei blames Tanya, believing that she told her father a secret with which he had entrusted her. There are other possible suspects, but by the time Junpei learns the truth, he and all the other Japanese are being moved off the island into internment camps, far away from Tanya....

This is a really beautiful animated film, filled with both humour and loss, all told on a human scale where nobody is all-good and nobody is all-bad. One of the most affecting scenes involves the Japanese schoolchildren singing a folk song (in Japanese, of course) while in the next school room, Russian children are singing a Russian folk song; by the end of the scene, the Japanese kids are singing the Russian song and vice versa. Just one example of how this film shows the resilience of youth and the common humanity of everybody in the world. Perhaps my favourite film at Montreal's Fantasia Festival this year; a real gem.