Summer Stories

Summer. The heat-stressed suburbs of Tokyo. Thirty-year-old Natsuko is waiting for her older sister Makiko and twelve-year-old niece Midoriko to visit from Osaka. They haven't seen each other for a long time, and there is much to talk about, but their meeting will be nothing like what Natsuko imagines. Her sister is not interested in chatting or reminiscing—she is obsessed with the idea of breast augmentation surgery and intends to search for a clinic. In an effort to keep her from taking this step, her daughter has stopped talking to her mother and only communicates through brief note responses in a notebook. Midoriko herself is paralyzed by the fear of changes happening to her maturing body but is reluctant to speak about it with her family. Natsuko's life also isn't turning out as she had hoped: ten years ago, she came to Tokyo with the intention of becoming a writer, but she still hasn’t finished her first book... All three feel that the world has turned away from them. But during their short time together, they will realize: the most important thing is that they have each other.