Looking for Anne

Hi it's time to write again. I rarely write about a movie, or rather hardly or never did. But last Saturday I stumbled upon one on Sundance a movie called "Looking for Anne" mid way through. Checked on its summary and decided to sit through till the end. We both (my wife and I)ended teary eyed...which is rare. As the movie was already half way through, so I was trying to know and do some background checking on the story. Things like where is this PEI (Prince Edward Island), who wrote the book "Anne of Green Gables", and Rose of Peace etc.

I initially thought it was somewhere near Vancouver but later to find out its near New Foundland. The scenery was beautifully set, the light house and farmhouses, but best of all is the story. A story of a young Japanese girl Anri who just lost her grandmother before their planned trip to PEI to find a Canadian WW2 POW veteran of Japanese camp. She sets out to find her grandmothers 'first love' bound by the book Anne of Green Gables and the Rose of Peace given to her grandmother at the end of the war by Gilbert.

The whirlwind search ended when the whole island helped to find the missing soldier by playing Anri's parting farewell speech on the local radio. Only to find later that Gilbert the war veteran had died near the Light house with a roses blooming on his grave. A rose hybrid he created and named "Beautiful Shizuka", Anri's grandmothers name. She found him at last.

You simply got to see this, I can't describe it better. After some searches the film had won the best film at Singapore film festival too. A great humanity stuff, of which Sundance is famous for...bravo Testimonials

Fast Facts About Looking For Anne


Starring: Honoka, Daniel Pilon, Rosanna, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Johnny Sa, Mahiru Konno, Ai Takabe Screenplay By: Kikyo Gonpin Directed By: Takako Miyahira Produced By: Yuri Yoshimura-Gagnon, Samuel Gagnon Language: 60 percent English, 40 percent Japanese with subtitles Film Funded By: The Canadian federal government, Quebec and P.E.I.'s provincial governments and Japanese sponsors

"It's a beautifully small film that teeters perfectly on the right side of the line between emotionally true and mushy." ~~ Hour.ca

Hamid