THE inspirational story of Japan's, and the world's, first deaf-blind professor, and how he beat the odds with the help of his loving mother, is coming to video streaming service Tonton later this month.
The two-hour movie 'A Mother's Touch', directed by Junpei Matsumoto and which premiered in Japan two years ago, tells the true story of Professor Satoshi Fukushima, the first deaf-blind student to graduate from a Japanese university.
MOTHERS DAY SPECIAL
The film, which stars Taketo Tanaka as Satoshi and Koyuki Kato ('The Last Samurai') as the mother Reiko, was specially screened at Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) Mid Valley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur, in conjunction with Mothers Day.
The screening was organised by Media Prima Berhad and the Japan Foundation of Kuala Lumpur (JFKL) was part of the latter's ongoing Weekend Japanese Film Show initiative.
Present were the film's producer Yuki Takafumi and screenwriter Yokumaku Tomohiro.
Takafumi said the film focuses as much on Satoshi's mother as it does on Satoshi himself.
"It's not just the story of a young man who beat the odds and succeeded in life, but also of his resilient mother who never gave up on him, and who helped him develop a breakthrough in handicapped people's communication known as Finger Braille, which is now accepted worldwide."
BEYOND A DOCUMENTARY
Takafumi said work on the movie began in the autumn of 2019, after he came up with the idea of "going beyond a mere documentary".
"Viewers in Japan, and many parts of the world, prefer watching family dramas as they have characters who come to life with their dialogues.
"If it were a documentary, I doubt viewers would enjoy it that much," he said, adding that he had read Reiko's autobiography that focused on her efforts to cope with her son's condition.
"Filming took place around Tokyo, Kanagawa and Chiba from February to March 2020, and the three of us — the director, screenwriter and myself — spent many hours interviewing Satoshi and his mother so that we would get all our facts right."
Tomohiro said Satoshi was always friendly, humorous and down to earth.
"He was so delighted that his and more so, his mother's story was made into a movie.
"And the reason why we roped in Koyuki to play Reiko was because she is passionate about educating handicapped children — one of her sons is 'special' and that explains why she was so interested in coming on board our project," Tomohiro added.
HEROIC STRUGGLE
Takafumi said he hoped Malaysians would be inspired by the story of Reiko and Satoshi, making the film a Mothers Day special to cherish for posterity.
"We can be inspired by Satoshi's heroic struggle to beat his physical disabilities to 'fly high', but we will definitely be more inspired by Reiko's 200 per cent dedication to her special son, which put a lot of stress and strain on her relationship with her husband and her two older sons,
"'A Mother's Touch' also gives us another useful lesson in life — no man is an island, and we all need each other.
"That's why Reiko devoted all her time and energy to helping her son, and once he graduated he paid her back by dedicating his life to sharing his experience with all special people."
BREAKING BARRIERS
The film tells the story of Satoshi, whose sight begins to deteriorate from a very young age, putting an enormous emotional strain on Reiko and her husband, Masami (Hisashi Yoshizawa).
Despite numerous surgeries, Satoshi goes completely blind by the age of 9.
Satoshi's situation worsens at 18 when he starts to lose his hearing.
Fortunately, Reiko and Satoshi accidentally discover Finger Braille when she taps on her son's finger tips with her own, mimicking typing on a traditional Braille keyboard.
In 1983, at the age of 21, Satoshi gains entry into Tokyo Metropolitan University.
He later becomes an associate professor at Kanazawa University.
Since 2008, Satoshi has been a professor at the University of Tokyo's Research Centre for Advanced Science and Technology. He heads the Barrier-Free Laboratory, a unit consisting primarily of researchers with disabilities who conduct studies on making people and society more accessible to people with disabilities.
In 1996, Satoshi and Reiko are awarded the Yoshikawa Eiji Cultural Award.