Original subtitles

"The 2011 East Japan earthquake and tsunami disaster killed 15,897."

2,532 people remain missing.

"Haru, from Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture, was 9."

"She lost her parents and brother to a tsunami."

"Now she lives with her aunt in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture."

Breakfast’s ready.

Haru!

School starts today?

Yeah.

Any talk about after graduation?

No? I wonder when they’ll do that.

Old Mrs Sato took a bad fall.

That’s not good.

I hope she’s all right.

She was walking the dog.

He’s pretty old, too.

Do you have textbook money?

You’re sure?

Yeah.

Thanks.

Thanks.

"Isn’t this soup a bit thin? You don’t think so?"

It’s good.

This coming long weekend...

"I’m thinking of going to Otsuchi. Want to come?"

Me?

They’ve rebuilt the downtown.

Finally. It’s been eight years.

We should go.

Aunt Hiroko...

I guess not, huh?

Aunt Hiroko?

Yes?

Off you go.

Think about it.

Bye.

Morning, Haru.

Good morning.

Off you go.

See you.

Take care.

Here we go.

VOICES IN THE WIND

Aunt Hiroko?

Aunt Hiroko?

Aunt Hiroko?

Aunt Hiroko!

Good morning. Are you awake?

"She’s resting comfortably now. You can go in."

Can you get up?

Aunt Hiroko...

"“Danger of Landslides No Entry”"

Dad...

Mom...

I want to see you.

Dad!

Mom!

Why do I lose everything?!

I want to see you!

Why?!

I hate this!

I hate it!

Why?!

Everything.

I lose everything.

Hey.

Hey.

What’s wrong?

Are you OK?

Can you get up?

What happened?

Are you OK?

Can you stand up?

Up you get.

Are you OK?

Come in and rest.

Come on.

I live here.

I’d take you home if you’d say where.

It’s just me and my mother.

Step up.

Come in.

Wash your hands.

They’re dirty.

Do it there.

You’re not a baby!

Use this.

"You scared me. I thought you were dead."

Sit there.

Here.

Here.

So where did you come from?

I’ll take you home later.

So now what?

This should do.

You’re awake?

We have company.

My mother.

There.

Ayako! You’ve come home!

That’s not Ayako.

Welcome home!

Welcome home!

Sorry. She’s a bit senile.

Ayako!

I’m sorry.

I’m sorry, Ayako!

Let go.

Let her go!

It’s all right.

So you can talk?

"Sorry about this. She’ll let go when dinner comes."

Ayako was my younger sister.

She died more than ten years ago.

My dad went soon after that.

That’s when Mom started going senile.

My wife took our kids and left.

That was my fault, though.

Wait... I’m driving you home.

"This was always a quiet place. Earthquakes and big typhoons..."

never bothered us.

"But all that rain last year caused a landslide."

The whole place got swept away.

The houses beside us, too.

It just happened to miss us.

We were lucky.

"Life’s just a matter of luck, I guess."

But to live...

you have to eat.

Eat and dump, eat and dump.

Who are you?

My name’s Haru.

‘Haru’.

Where are you from?

Otsuchi.

‘Otsuchi’?

Where’s Otsuchi?

Have you got family here?

When I was six...

a great big bomb fell on Hiroshima.

The atom bomb.

"I was still a little girl, so I didn’t understand."

"My uncle’s wife was from Hiroshima city."

They went to see how her family was.

To Hiroshima.

My uncle came back...

with the funeral bone-box.

I didn’t know what it was.

"I wanted to see what people’s bones looked like."

‘Show me, show me, ’ I said.

"‘It’s just bones, ’ he said. There’s nothing to see.’"

But I kept pestering him.

"He opened the box and let me look into the urn."

Eat up.

"But there were no bones like what I’d wanted to see."

Just one little school uniform button.

I was so disappointed.

"There were no bones. Just a school button."

What I wanted to see was bones.

"But when I think about the ones who were bombed..."

Maybe I was just a child...

but I was saying horrible things.

I’m still ashamed.

Go on, eat.

"My family was washed away by a tsunami."

That Otsuchi?

Up in Iwate.

That Otsuchi?

"Anyway, you’re alive. You have to eat."

Eat.

Go on.

You too, Mom. Wake up and eat.

Go on.

Go on, eat!

You’re sure you’re all right alone?

My sister Ayako committed suicide.

"When I saw you there, you had the same look."

Stay alive.

Yes.

Here.

The ones left alive have to eat.

Go on.

See you.

Thank you.

She’s asleep.

"She’s a minor. We should take her to the police."

Why?

"Someone’s got to have custody. She needs an adult."

That’s why we picked her up.

We could be in over our heads.

You said she needs an adult.

"What if there’s real trouble and now we’re mixed up in it?"

"We need to talk to someone who understands this kind of thing."

Shall we bring her home?

What?!

For now.

We can’t do that. No way.

"You were fast asleep. We didn’t want to wake you."

"What do you want to do? We’re turning off soon."

Can we drop you near here?

"I’m hungry. Let’s get something to eat."

Already?

I’m eating for two, you know.

‘Haru’, was it? You come, too.

There.

Yeah, yeah.

Whoops! Sorry.

"Be careful! I’m pregnant, remember."

"Do your parents know you’re out here like this?"

Probably not.

Why?

‘Why’?

It’d be strange if they didn’t.

"Hitch-hiking in a school uniform, that’s not normal."

It’s dangerous.

Let’s just eat.

"No! It’s dangerous. I mean, what if..."

Dangerous how?

It’s fine to just run away...

"but there’s a lot of weird people out there."

"We could be kidnappers for all she knows."

But we’re not, are we.

No.

"But there are people like that, is what I’m saying."

"But she has enough sense to know that we’re not."

I guess, if you say so.

Eat.

With you alone, she shouldn’t get in.

You know that, right?

Hey!

She saw me driving, and got in.

Whatever.

‘He’s OK.’

You sound like a cop.

Eat before it gets cold.

Go on, Haru.

Whatever.

Thank you.

Go on.

Eat up.

Give her some.

Sorry. Help yourself.

My brother’s not very polite.

Pass me your plate.

You ran away from home yourself.

Me?

Yes.

Even worse.

I was a kid, not even as old as you.

Oh, thanks.

It all looks so good!

Thank you.

Over here.

Thank you.

Don’t be shy, Haru. Eat.

Look at this fried rice!

I love this.

Wait wait wait!

Picture?

No, I don’t want to take a picture!

Lots of women do.

‘You, too?!’ I thought.

Stop it. It hurts to laugh.

Give some to Haru, I mean.

Want some rice?

To post?

Here.

He just started eating!

Yeah, that’s right.

You don’t do social media?

Not at all!

Thank you.

Let’s eat.

It’s good.

It is?

Runaways get hungry.

Yeah.

But I wasn’t a ‘runaway’.

It looked that way.

How?

"She suddenly left home, and didn’t come back."

In your teens.

"I didn’t think of it as running away from home."

"I just couldn’t stand being there any more."

So you think.

"You didn’t think it was running away, but I sure did."

Ow!

You OK?

You made me laugh too hard.

You ate too much.

Ow! Now it really hurts.

OK?

Yes, I am.

Just sometimes I get cramps.

Want to lie down?

Maybe a bit.

Are you all right?

Go into the sitting room.

Could we do that? Thank you.

Come and lie down.

Sorry. You finish here.

Keep eating.

Thank you.

I’ll give Mom a call.

OK, thanks.

Are you all right?

Yes, thanks.

"It’s moving. Do you want to feel it?"

Just a minute...

You felt it?

It moved.

Haru’s saying hello.

"Amazing, huh? That means she’s awake."

It’s a girl.

"Isn’t it amazing how we can just make another person?"

"It’s like there’s a whole little universe inside of you."

It’s a person, Haru.

It starts out like a little sea slug.

She’s moving.

"She’s a girl. She won’t have a father..."

but I’m having her anyway.

I’m 43 now.

"Everyone says I shouldn’t because I’m too old."

But my heart tells me to have her.

Someday I want us to sing together.

There she goes again.

What about you? Will you have one?

Do you want a baby?

OK?

Well?

All right, then. This is goodbye.

Feel her again.

‘We’ll see you.’

Wait.

Give me your wallet.

It’s OK.

Haru...

call us when you get home.

Text me a picture.

I will.

Good.

Here’s ¥5,000.

Thank you.

Pay me back.

This is how to find me.

Stay in touch.

Take care.

See you.

Thank you.

Here we go.

Bye.

Evening.

You’re alone?

You’re in high school?

"We’ve got a car. We’ll drive you home, OK?"

Hey, are you hungry?

You got this?

I got it.

It’s OK. Get in the car.

Don’t be shy!

What would you like?

Get in.

Stop it!

Hey, wait!

Wait!

Hello?

There’s no one there.

Let’s hang out.

Let go!

Come on!

Just to hang out.

Hello? Open the door, please!

Let’s eat.

Hey!

What would you like?

What’s going on?

Why? She’s with us.

Butt out!

Hey!

What? It’s none of your business.

Get in.

What the fuck?!

I’ll remember you!

You’re under-age.

"I’ll drop you somewhere. This has nothing to do with me."

Where do you live?

Far.

Like, where?

Iwate.

Do you realize where you are?

Seriously?

Here.

Have that.

Thank you.

Are you going to Fukushima?

Fukushima?

"Oh, my license plate. No, I’m not."

Where’s your house?

Don’t have one. This is my house.

Where in Iwate?

Otsuchi.

Otsuchi?

That place was hit hard, too.

You’re going home?

"I’m going through Tokyo to Saitama. I’ll drop you somewhere."

Eat.

Come in with me. It won’t take long.

Hello.

Come in.

A cup of chai and...

A drink?

Ginger ale.

Sit down.

Excuse me...

Do you know this man?

‘Mehmet’.

I think he comes here.

I feel like I’ve seen him.

I don’t know him by name.

No.

Never seen him.

Me, neither.

Excuse me, but do you know this man?

No.

Here you go.

Hi.

This OK?

"Yeah, that’s fine. They can do that right away."

Excuse me.

This man...

That’s Mehmet.

You know him?

Yes.

I’d like to see him.

How do you know him?

After the disaster...

"he helped us out in Fukushima as a volunteer."

Yeah, he went up there.

As a volunteer.

You can’t see him now.

Immigration took him into custody.

Why?

No real reason.

"They just picked him up and took him in."

How long ago?

A year.

He’s still in there?

Yeah.

His family, his wife and his children...

they live near here.

But you can’t see him for a while.

No way.

When does he get out?

No idea.

"It’s Immigration that’s got him. There’s no limit."

"One year, two, three... no one can say."

Nope.

How’s his family doing?

Well, they live near here.

"He’s the breadwinner. He’s got kids."

"They’re going to school, and everything."

We can call them if you’d like.

Shall I call them?

Yes.

Call them.

Dried peppers.

Pumpkin, and zucchini.

How do you make this?

This is different, isn’t it.

No, this one. OK?

This one has sesame.

You make this?

Mom did.

This is beef.

I met Mehmet...

after the earthquake.

He volunteered.

Yes.

Where is he now?

"He’s being held in custody as a refugee."

"He’s claimed refugee status, and he’s being held in custody."

Until when?

I don’t know.

There’s no release date.

"There’s glass between them when they meet."

"After more than a year, she finally managed to see him..."

in a room without a glass divider.

So he was able to hold his children.

"Why does Immigration have to torment us like this?"

What have we done?

"Why do they have to divide families like this?"

Maybe the Kurds should be independent.

"If we had our own country, everyone could go home."

If we had our own home.

Everyone who wanted could go there.

"There’s no need for us to suffer this way."

"It’s all right if we don’t have a country of our own..."

but I want to live in our culture.

This is my family.

Mother, father, little brother?

Your brother’s so cute!

How old?

He’s really cute.

"They were swept away in a tsunami. They haven’t been found."

The ones in 2011?

I was in elementary school then.

"I was coming back from school with my older sister."

The grown-ups were all upset.

"We’d never been in an earthquake, so we weren’t."

"But I hate to think of all the people who were hurt by that."

"The worst thing that happened to us was yogurt spilled all over our fridge."

It was worse for a lot of people.

He’s cute.

"He looks like your mother, doesn’t he."

Yeah.

He does.

"I go to the hospital to interpret for my mom’s relatives."

"With the Turks and Kurds, the women don’t work."

"They’re not in school, they don’t speak Japanese, so they need an interpreter."

"At the hospital I saw nurses and doctors having trouble."

I really had the feeling...

"that maybe I could become a nurse and help these people."

What are you doing after high school?

I haven’t decided.

Then let’s both do our best.

Sorry to bother you.

No problem.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Drop in if you’re back this way.

Thank you.

See you again.

Take care.

Can I see that picture you showed her?

Thanks.

They died in a tsunami?

They haven’t been found.

Where are you going?

Fukushima.

All right?

Yes.

"I was working over there. I was here when it happened."

Here?

The nuclear plant.

Whose house is this?

Mine.

I’m home.

I’m home! Hello!

Hayato...

Move, Haru.

We’re home!

Throw it here, Hayato.

Hi, Haru.

Haru, you’re back.

Here goes.

Mitsuyo...

Wasabi.

"Sorry! ‘Mitsuyo, wasabi.’ Listen to how he talks to me!"

Have some wasabi.

I already put some on.

These chopsticks are too slippery.

I’ll put some grooves in them.

You eat too much salt.

Good.

Just a little, OK?

That’s enough.

"I’ll bring tea. Would you like some tea?"

Tea?

Not tea! Don’t be silly.

Sake.

Sake.

Beer?

Not beer. Beer’s just a starter.

Dad!

Just bring me some sake.

You’ve just started eating!

This all goes with sake!

There’s dumplings.

Bring them later.

Just a bit.

Half.

"You just want to drink because Morio’s here."

Yeah, but anyway...

have you seen around here?

"They’ve fixed things up a lot, but still..."

it’s hard going.

"This is where they had the nuclear accident."

Me, too.

"So a lot of the people from around here..."

they’re still gone.

So now there’s no one around.

Most of them haven’t come back.

"The ones who’ve decided to live here, like me..."

"were the ones who came back and wanted to live..."

in the place they were born.

I decided to live here...

"but most of the houses around here are empty."

It was only old folks who came back.

What about Mr Sato next door?

"Kiyoshi? His son’s family moved to Yokohama."

"They told me something that shocked me."

"They had a daughter in Grade 1. They put her in school there."

In school in Yokohama.

"When she introduced herself, she said she’d come from Fukushima."

"And when she said that, one of the other kids raised his hand..."

and asked if you could catch radiation.

"Like it was contagious! Can you believe that?"

"If you’re from Fukushima, everyone’s always asking..."

if the radiation’s OK.

Like they can catch radiation from you...

and they’ll get sick, too!

"They don’t know a damn thing about it."

"Like they don’t see anything wrong with bullying Fukushima kids."

That made me really mad.

"Why do Fukushima kids get that, what do you call it?"

‘Discrimination’?

From children.

Yes, from children!

Yeah, but you know...

"when the reactor melted down, everyone was asking why."

"Tepco, the power company, didn’t say anything."

"Everyone says that outsiders, reporters and so on..."

knew about it before Tepco did.

About the meltdown.

They didn’t tell us anything.

Nope.

But do you feel guilty about it?

Like it was your fault?

I feel bad about it.

It was no fault of yours.

Don’t think like that.

"If you just blame yourself like that, you’ll never stick at any job."

"You’ll just keep bouncing around like you are now."

He has his own ideas about that.

That’s all very well...

"but isn’t it about time you settled back down?"

"Even if he came back here, there’s no work, Dad."

Yeah.

You’re fine while you’re young.

"You can go to the city and work, have fun, whatever you like."

But you know, as you get older...

"you want to come back to where you were born and raised..."

and just take everything easy.

Just relax and breathe that air.

Like I’m doing.

All the old folks are coming back.

That’s right.

"They were born here, and they want to die here."

"Wanting to die in the place you were born is a human..."

What do you call it?

It’s logical, a natural thing.

Good. Shake the water off.

"You’ve never had matsumae pickles before?"

‘Matsumae’?

Yes. You’ve never had them?

No.

Never? Really?

"We make them around here for New Year’s and so on."

Dad loves them.

Rinse that well.

I just...

dropped something.

"Don’t worry. I’ll just kick it out of the way and get it later."

"Yes, like that. Then shake it and put it in that bowl."

So what’s it like traveling with Morio?

"Does he talk to you? He doesn’t say much, does he."

Is it fun?

Morio had a wife and a little girl.

They died in the disaster.

"He was working at the power plant, so he was safe."

"The other two were in a car down by the ocean."

They haven’t been found.

"He’s been searching for them all this time."

"If his daughter were alive, she’d be in junior high."

I’d seen it before, when I was young.

"‘Policeman’s Diary’, filmed here in Fukushima."

It had Hisaya Morishige in it...

"and Rentaro Mikuni, when he was young."

People like that.

"The ‘Soma Folk Song’ played all the way through."

"I don’t know why, but tears came to my eyes."

Why?

‘Far away in the distance

‘The skies of Soma

‘Hey-ho, hey-ho

‘In tears...

"‘the young wife lights the fire for the bathwater"

‘Hey-ho, hey-ho

"‘It is more than the smoke from the fire..."

‘that makes her cry

‘Hey-ho, hey-ho’

"The fields and the paddies in that film..."

glittered in the light.

Those paddies...

that countryside, all shining.

Will it ever come back?

"Everyone’s walking around like nothing ever happened."

"Have you ever thought of killing yourself, Morio?"

Yes, I have.

And be with everyone again?

Yeah.

But I didn’t.

Why not?

Good question.

Haru...

if you die...

who’s going to remember your family?

You’ll all be gone.

Maybe I’ll come back home.

I’m tired of living in this thing.

And you have a house.

Full of civet shit.

It’ll be hard to clean up.

Do you know where your house was?

I think so.

Can I get out?

I want to walk.

Sure.

Hello?

Are you Asuka’s mom?

Yes.

I’m Haru.

I was friends with Asuka.

Haru?

Yes.

It’s you!

You’ve grown so big!

You came back?

Yes.

You did?

Today?

Yes.

Where are you living now?

Now I’m in Hiroshima...

living with my aunt.

The two of you?

Yes.

And you’re all grown up!

Really!

You’d be a high-school senior now.

Yes, you would be.

I’m sorry. That’s right.

Sorry.

You would be.

A senior now.

Sorry.

I’m sorry.

No, I’m sorry.

You surprised me.

I’m sorry.

It’s OK.

Um...

that day...

that day...

I was with Asuka all along.

"We were scared, holding onto each other’s hand."

But...

"while we were running away, I let go of her hand."

And then...

I didn’t know where she was any more.

I’m sorry.

If I’d just held on...

Haru...

I’m sorry.

Thank you.

Thank you for holding her hand.

I’m sorry.

I’m home.

I’m home.

I’m home.

Answer me!

Why won’t anyone answer me?!

I’ve come back home!

Where are you?!

I’m home.

I’m home.

I’m home.

Wait.

Go straight home.

Thank you. I’ll pay you back.

That’s OK.

Bye, Haru.

‘Haruka’.

"That’s my name. Written ‘fragrant spring’."

Bye, Haruka.

Thank you.

It’s OK.

You’ll be fine.

Um...

"does the train for Namiita Beach leave from this side?"

It’s that side.

Thank you.

Where are you going?

To the Wind Phone.

The ‘Wind Phone’?

It’s a phone booth.

It’s not hooked up...

but you can talk to the dead on it.

You can talk to the dead?

I read about it in a book.

Can I ask who you want to talk to?

My father.

He was killed in a car crash last year.

So I really want to talk to him.

Can I come with you?

Sure.

Thanks.

"Does your mother know you’re here, by the way?"

"I asked her, but she said she didn’t want to come..."

so I left without telling her.

"She’ll be worried. Shouldn’t you phone her?"

But she’ll be mad.

That’s all right. You’re already here.

She’ll just be worried.

Hello, Mom?

Sorry.

"Right now I’m at a place called Namiita Beach."

Sorry.

I’m heading for the Wind Phone.

"I’ll be coming home after I talk to Dad."

Sorry. I’m really sorry.

Is this the right road?

I think so.

Show me.

It’s right, isn’t it?

This way.

That way?

Yes.

There.

There it is.

Go ahead.

Hello?

Dad?

Mom?

Hayato?

It’s Haru.

How are you?

I’ve turned 17, you know.

I’m a senior.

"I thought back then I’d be more grown up at 17."

All of you...

where are you now?

Where are you?

Me...

I came here all the way...

from Hiroshima.

Aunt Hiroko got sick...

so I left her house...

by myself...

and came back to Otsuchi.

I’ve met a lot of people on this trip.

A lot of people have helped me.

I’ve tried my best all these years.

Everyone...

everyone’s alive.

And I’m alive.

Because I’m alive...

I remember you all.

"I went back to the house a little while ago."

‘I’m home, ’ I said...

"but no one would say ‘welcome’ back to me."

I felt so sad.

"A place I remember with all of you there..."

Why did it all...

have to be swept away?

Why did you leave me all alone?

Why did you leave me all alone?

Why am I the only one...

who has to be alone?

"I’ve felt so miserable going through day after day..."

all this time...

"being the only one who’s getting any older."

It’s horrible.

I want to see you.

I want to see you.

"Are you all somewhere out in the ocean?"

Or are you up in the sky?

Is the ocean beautiful?

Are there a lot of fish?

Someday...

I’ll come to meet you.

I’ll come to meet you all.

But...

until then...

I’m going to live.

I’m going to stay alive.

"When I come to meet you I’ll be a really old lady."

Look forward to it.

Bye now.

"The ‘Wind Phone’ stands on a hill in Namiita, Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture."

"Since the 2011 earthquake and tsunamis more than 30,000 people have come..."

"to speak their hearts to those who are no longer here."

"English Subtitles Ian MacDougall"