Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes (1991)

Genres - Drama, War  |   Sub-Genres - Biography, Social History  |   Run Time - 30 min.  |   Countries - United States  |  
  • AllMovie Rating
    8
  • User Ratings (0)
  • Your Rating

Share on

Synopsis by Heather M. Fierst

Based on the book by Eleanor Coerr, this is the true story of Sadako Sasaki, a young Japanese girl stricken with leukemia after the bombing of Hiroshima. While in the hospital, Sadako learns about an ancient Japanese legend and begins folding paper cranes in the hope that when she completes 1,000 cranes, the gods would grant her wish to be well again. There is a statue of Sadako in Hiroshima's Peace Park which to this day is covered with paper cranes made by children from all over the world who believe in her message, "This is our cry, this is our prayer, peace in the world." Relating a terrible truth in a beautful manner, Sadako is brought to life by the soft pastel illustrations of Caldecott Medalist and children's author Ed Young and by Liv Ullmann's sweet and expressive narration. This award-winning movie by George Levenson is a true melding of art and film. Levenson also created How to Fold a Paper Crane, a companion video designed to illustrate how to create Sadako's origami birds.

Characteristics

Keywords

adolescence, bombing, drawing [art], girl, healing, Japan, leukemia, origami, secrets