The Blue Bird

1h 45min

Drama

Family

Higashigaoka Junior High School is in turmoil as one of the pupils, Noguchi, who had been bullied, attempted suicide last term. On the first day of the new term, a substitute teacher arrives to take the second year class. When the teacher, Murauchi (Hiroshi Abe), introduces himself, the pupils are surprised by his stutter. He has a speech impediment. Unable to speak eloquently, Murauchi faces his pupils with ‘words of truth’. His first instruction to the pupils is to return Noguchi’s desk and chair to the original place in the classroom. Every morning Murauchi greets the empty desk, “Good morning, Noguchi.” This causes a ripple beyond the classroom and among other teachers and parents, but Murauchi will not stop doing it. Eventually the day comes when Murauchi must leave.

Cast

Hiroshi Abe

Hiroshi Abe

Mr. Murachi
Kanata Hongo

Kanata Hongo

Shinichi Sonobe
Ayumi Ito

Ayumi Ito

Ms. Shimazaki
Hajime Inoue

Hajime Inoue

Mr. Ishino
Osamu Shigematu

Osamu Shigematu

Mr. Miyazaki
Hiroyuki Kishi

Hiroyuki Kishi

Mr. Koizumi
Taiga Nakano

Taiga Nakano

Inoue Takeshi
Tsugumi Shinohara

Tsugumi Shinohara

Takagi Sunae
Riho Takada

Riho Takada

Chiba Reika
Hiroto Itô

Hiroto Itô

Maekawa Shugo
Moe Karasawa

Moe Karasawa

Ozawa Eri
Yuko Araki

Yuko Araki

Katayama Mai
Moe Arai

Moe Arai

Hayakawa Yuka

Release date

29th Nov 2008

Status

Released

Spoken languages

日本語