This
film is based on the true story of one mother
who changed the Japanese road traffic law
in 2001 after collecting over 375,000 signatures
for a petition and making an appeal to the
Diet.
In 2000, just before starting his first
semester at university, her son Rei (which
also means 'Zero' in Japanese) was run over
by a car. The drunk driver was sentenced
to a mere 5 years in prison, even though
two boys were left dead and it was already
the third serious car accident he caused.
Still, this was the maximum penalty under
the Japanese law at that time.
The only thing that keeps the heroine going
day in day out is her intense imagination
as an artist and as a mother. Sometimes,
in her purity, she goes too far and becomes
too selfish, isolating herself. But then
she again manages to move people without
words.
This spring, the mother graduated from Waseda,
one of the most prestigious universities
in Japan. Not only did she enjoy student
life at the same university her son went
to, she worked very hard for 3 years to pass
the difficult entrance examination in the
same way other Japanese students do. Using
the books and notes her son left behind,
she just couldn't give up. |
