I Wish
Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: May 11, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
80
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Washington PostMark JenkinsMay 31, 2012
The vignettes are linked as much by theme as story, yet they're carefully structured and delicately balanced. Read full review
100
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanMay 10, 2012
Kore-eda does extraordinary work with his young cast, who deliver gentle, natural performances in a beautifully told story of heartbreak and hope. Deceptively modest and utterly lovely, it's one of the most magical films about childhood I have ever seen. Read full review
91
The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayMay 9, 2012
I Wish is still amply Kore-eda-esque, full of life, heart, and funny little details about daily existence, as it meanders its way toward moments of real profundity. Read full review
91
IndieWireEric KohnMay 7, 2012
I Wish embraces blissful ignorance, even celebrating its child characters' naivete. Read full review
90
SalonAndrew O'HehirMay 12, 2012
A wonderful adventure film that's no less thrilling for its modest scale, and a film whose emotional power and intelligence sneak up on you. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertMay 30, 2012
The brothers Maeda are pure gold; the film captures what feels like effortless joy in their lives, and it is never something they seem to be reaching for. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaMay 24, 2012
Kore-eda, deploying a Western pop score by the Japanese indie-rock band Quruli, just lets these kids be kids. Read full review
83
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerMay 12, 2012
The marvelous Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda shows a strong affinity for the humors and longings of childhood. It's an adult movie about children that feels made from the inside out. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJul 26, 2012
Along the way, Koichi and Ryunosuke grow up a little bit; Kore-eda isn't opposed to letting reality intrude on their lives. It's not sad, but more wistful -- the young actors make it so. They are delightful. So, too, is I Wish. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyMay 10, 2012
There is a lot of hope in the air in I Wish, but the film never feels sappy. The very appealing score by the Japanese indie-rock group Quruli brings a kind of upbeat energy that matches the clean, open style of director of photography Yutaka Yamazaki, a frequent Kore-eda collaborator. Read full review
80
The New York TimesManohla DargisMay 10, 2012
I Wish tends toward the vaporous and not just because of its volcano; but whenever its children are on screen, lighted up with joy or dimmed by hard adult truths, the film burns bright. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternMay 10, 2012
This wise and funny film, in Japanese with English subtitles, works small miracles in depicting the pivotal moment when kids turn from the wishfulness of childhood into shaping the world for themselves. Read full review
80
Village VoiceAlison WillmoreMay 8, 2012
I Wish makes us feel like we are watching these kids discover each new sensory pleasure of youth for the first time, or that we're experiencing it ourselves. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsJun 22, 2012
Like a train, I Wish is slow to build momentum, then it carries us away in a wondrous rush. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley MorrisMay 24, 2012
This is much too buoyant a movie for tragedy. But Koreeda's achievement is that he gives us children who might weigh more, emotionally, than their parents, yet they're still these little creatures learning how to wield and bear that weight. Read full review
75
NPRChris BenderevMay 11, 2012
When you're young, there's just so much to misunderstand about the world. And isn't that kind of what makes it such fun? Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinMay 7, 2012
Koreeda's compositions have a sympathetic detachment that Americans rarely value but is, for many Japanese, the whole point of art. That means you can contemplate the wonder in these glowing young faces without feeling as if you're on an intravenous drip of corn syrup. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungMay 5, 2012
A delightful and uplifting study of kids and families by Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda. Read full review
70
VarietyDennis HarveyMay 5, 2012
This tale of two elementary-school brothers plotting to end the physical separation their parents' divorce has forced on them effortlessly pulls off the naturalism and charm desired from material that might have easily curdled into calculated preciousness. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineMichael NordineMay 7, 2012
I Wish has a tough time balancing the heartfelt with the saccharine and too often feels slight. Read full review
60
Time OutKeith UhlichMay 8, 2012
Shots of the kids and their friends running around unfamiliar environments have the fantastical qualities of Spike Jonze's "Where the Wild Things Are," minus the forced whimsy. Read full review
60
Boxoffice MagazineSara Maria VizcarrondoMay 5, 2012
A coming of age story in which the children better the world for the adults, Kore-Eda's heart is in the right place. Read full review
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