Comments on: ID this Japanese film with origami and snow

Question: ID this Japanese film with origami and snow

aberrant — Fri, 31 Dec 2004 09:38:01 -0800

ObscureMovieFilter: DagMaggot's question jarred a memory I have of a film I saw several years in a row in grade school (late '70s). It was a Japanese film in which a boy loses his mother to some disease (possibly cancer)? As I recall, the mother used to entertain her son by folding origami, and I remember a scene with lots of snow. I also don't remember much, if any, dialog.

It's not a lot to go on, but that's all I remember, and I haven't been able to find it since. Pointers appreciated.

By: aedra

aedra — Fri, 31 Dec 2004 22:10:48 -0800

It's not "Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes" is it? Author: Elanor Coerr.

By: aberrant

aberrant — Sat, 01 Jan 2005 10:25:08 -0800

Aedra, that doesn't sound like the right story, but it sure does look interesting. Thanks for passing it along.

By: dhartung

dhartung — Sat, 01 Jan 2005 22:26:09 -0800

Here is the Sadako Film Project (which is true, if that's not clear); it dates from 1991, though Sadako died in 1955, so there may have been other adaptations. There's also this lovely poem and artwork.

It didn't turn up in this origami in the media page, either. In any case, the crane is a symbol of hope and it would be traditional to invoke the crane for a dying relative -- though not necessarily in origami.

The snow, though, sounds like Tree of Cranes -- except that's also 1991. Hmmm.