Part of the 2024 season: Unforgettable

The Lump in My Heart

Atsui muna sawagi, あつい胸さわぎ

Director MATSUMURA Shingo

Cast YOSHIDA Mizuki, TOKIWA Takako, OKUDAIRA Daiken, MAEDA Atsuko

2023, 92 min, English subtitles

Akiko (TOKIWA Takako) is a single mother living with her teenage daughter Chinatsu (YOSHIDA Mizuki). An aspiring novelist admitted to the university of her dreams, Chinatsu has been tasked with writing a piece on the topic of “memories of first love.” For Chinatsu, the memories of her first love with childhood friend Kohki (OKUDAIRA Daiken) are bittersweet, tainted by what he said to her in middle school; however, a reunion with Kohki begins to bring the two closer again, leaving Chinatsu with a feeling in her chest that she decides to focus on in her writing.

Meanwhile, Akiko finds a notice in Chinatsu’s room stating that Chinatsu is to be retested for breast cancer, and her concerns grow.

Adapted from YOKOYAMA Takuya’s stage play of the same title, The Lump in My Heart explores the sensitive emotions of an adolescent, depicting the bonds of a mother-daughter relationship in the face of adversity while also engaging with the unusual but important topic of early-onset cancer.

©2023atsuimunasawagi production committee

 

小説家を目指す大学生の千夏は初恋についての課題に取り組むうち、幼いころの片思いの思い出がよみがえっていた。一方で、千夏の母親である昭子は千夏の部屋で乳がんの再検査の通知を見つける。娘の身を案じた昭子は本人以上にネガティブになっていくが……。若年性乳がんと恋愛をテーマに、母娘の揺れ動く切実な想いを繊細さとユーモアで描いたドラマ。

(Special thanks to Eikoku News Digest)

Past screenings