Miwa Nishikawa – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

CHILDREN UNTOLD (TIFF 2026) – Review by Beth Accomando

September 18, 2026September 20, 2026 Beth Accomando Ami Koyae, Children Untold, japanese films, Miwa Nishikawa, post world war II, TIFF 2026, us firebombing 1945, war orphans

In Children Untold, filmmaker Miwa Nishikawa focuses her attention on postwar Japan and a 12-year-old orphan Kotoko who’s trying to survive after the devastating March, 1945, US firebombing of Tokyo. The film relentlessly depicts horrific conditions. Kotoko faces tragedy, hardship and bad luck at every turn. The only relief from grief and loss comes from brief interludes of music and the friendship she forms with orphan boys. Children Untold is deeply compassionate and urges us to look at Kotoko’s story not as something from the past but rather as a reminder of how war and its aftermath continues to impact innocent victims like children today.

Festivals Reviews

UNDER THE OPEN SKY (TIFF20) – Review by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

September 8, 2020June 25, 2021 Alexandra Heller-Nicholas 0 Comments japanese films, koji Yakusho, Miwa Nishikawa, TIFF, toronto international film festival

This film is unambiguous in its status as a social issues melodrama, with all the pros and cons that combination implies. But at its heart is Koji Yakusho’s moving performance. Under the Open Sky may not be the most original film of the year, but it is undeniably touching, due in large part to the combination of director Miwa Nishikawa and actor Kôji Yakusho’s empathy for complex characters.