Jesus

In Jesus, Hiroshi Okuyama's singular debutfilm, the titular son of God appears and hears the prayers of Yura, a ten year old boy. Yura has moved from Tokyo to the countryside with his parents, and starts attending mass at his new school, although he seems to never have heard of God or Jesus before.

Jesus appears before Yura as a ten centimeter tall figure dressed in robes, and the sight of this mini-saviour is guaranteed to make you smile in pure astonishment. Perhaps under the guidance of Jesus, Yura blossoms and becomes more outgoing, and he even befriends Kazuma, the most popular boy in school. Then one day, a fatal accident happens which puts Yura's faith to the test.

A well-crafted film, Jesus has much of the warmth and sense of humor that is so prevalent in the work of Japanese master Hirokazu Kore-eda. Moreover, it takes children's thoughts and feelings about life's greatest mysteries seriously, without ever becoming sentimental.

Hiroshi Okuyama (b. 1996) was born in Tokyo, and directed his first feature film Jesus during his graduation year in university. He now works in advertising. The film won the New Directors Award at the prestigious film festival San Sebastian in 2018.