Chinatsu lives with her mother Akiko in an old house in a port town. Aiming to be a novelist, Chinatsu studies at an art college and reunites her secret crush Kohki. Her hopes grow for her future dream and for love, but one day, something is found in her breast....

©2023映画『あつい胸さわぎ』製作委員会

Director: Shingo MATSUMURA
Cast: Mizuki YOSHIDA, Takako TOKIWA, Atsuko MAEDA, Daiken OKUDAIRA, Masaki MIURA, Himi SATO, Rii ISHIHARA
Distributor: AEON ENTERTAINMENT / SDP

2022 / Japan / 93min.

 

The Lump in My Heart is an adaptation of the same-named acclaimed play written and directed by Takuya Yokoyama of the theater unit iaku. The film, directed by the Shanghai International Film Festival Asian New Talent Award nominee  Shingo Matsumura and written by Izumi Takahashi, nominee  of the Japan Academy Film Prize for Best Screenplay with The Devil’s Path (13), delicately and humorously depicts the swaying emotions of a mother and daughter dealing with early-onset breast cancer and romance. The casting of Takako Tokiwa, who plays the mother, was a must for the director. Mizuki Yoshida from “Dragon Zakura” (21) plays the protagonist Chinatsu, realistically expressing the 18-year-old’s unstable emotions. Daiken Okudaira, who raked in awards with his acting in Mother (20), plays her romantic counterpart. Atsuko Maeda gives a convincing performance. Irreplaceable film actor Masaki Miura and actor/musician Himi Sato play important supporting roles, as does Rii Ishihara, who is also credited as producer.