AllMovie

A retired school principal estranged from his grown daughter and still grieving the recent death of his alcoholic wife finds new meaning in life by protecting a young girl whose careless mother leaves her open to the repulsively salacious advances of her abusive lover in director Eiji Okuda's tender road movie. His wife gone and his daughter still bitter about his poor parenting skills, recent retiree Matsutaro Yasuda (Ken Ogata) retreats to a crumbling apartment building in the Japanese countryside. Upon witnessing the neglect with which his new, loose living neighbor Mayumi (Saki Takaoka) treats her five year-old daughter Sachi (Hana Sugiura), Matsutaro determines to protect the innocent child at all costs. When Mayumi's violent boyfriend Koji (Tomokazu Ohashi) attempts to have his way with the frightened girl one night, stealthy Matsutaro knocks the pervert unconscious and spirits the young girl away to safety. Later, as aimless Japanese boy Wataru (Shota Matsuda) joins the pair on their curious journey, seasoned Detective Iwai (Eiji Okuda) vows to reunite mother and daughter even if it means bending the rules of standard police procedure.