Code Name Nagasaki (4 Stars)

This is a documentary filmed on the fly by the Norwegian director Fredrik S. Hana. His friend Marius expressed the wish to find his mother, so they decided to make a film about his search for her.

Marius' father went to work in Japan in 1980. He married a Japanese woman. He returned to Norway with her, where they had a son: Marius. A few years later his mother left the family and returned to Japan. Now 27 years have passed, and Marius wants to see her again. He knows nothing about her except for her name. He doesn't have any memories of her, because he was too young. The film documents his efforts, using a private detective to find her address, then spending six months taking an intensive course in Japanese before travelling to Japan.

The film is intense and emotional. At the beginning he doesn't even know if he'll be successful. His mother might be dead, or she might refuse to see him. Is there a happy ending? You'll have to watch the film to find out.

There are faults in the film. The main problem is that there's hardly any mention of Marius' father. Is he dead? That's my assumption. Didn't he ever make an attempt to find his wife? There are so many unanswered questions surrounding the father that could have been cleared up with 60 seconds of questioning inserted into the opening scenes.

It also bothers me that the photos of his mother are censored. Maybe this was required for the sake of discretion, but it spoils the enjoyment of the film. We don't want to see a woman with a blank face. Besides, the photos are 30 years old, so what harm would it do to see what she looked like?