Inspired by the 1948 U.S. film 3 Godfathers, this film centers around 3 homeless people who find a baby on Christmas Eve and their journey to reunite the baby with its parents.

Known for his fantastical works that blur the line between fiction and reality so effortlessly it leaves the audience in a dizzying sort of awe, fans of Satoshi Kon might find Tokyo Godfathers a bit subdued at first glance. However, where Kon amps up the realism in plot and animation style for this film his zaniness is still present in the assortment of “Christmas miracles” that happen throughout.

Taking place in the heart of a dazzling Tokyo lit up with Christmas lights, three homeless people (a gruff middle-aged man named Gin, a transgender woman named Hana, and a teenage runaway named Miyuki) find an abandoned baby in a dumpster on Christmas Eve. When plans to reunite the baby with their parents run awry, the audience is taken on a wild ride with fantastical coincidences that are somehow almost believable with that classic blurring of fiction and reality Kon is so famous for. With a hint of melodrama, an intense car chase towards the end of the film and a load of comedy throughout, this film has something for everyone. In the words of the late Robert Ebert: Tokyo Godfathers is a film that is “both harrowing and heartwarming.”

Screened in Japanese with English subtitles.

Satoshi Kon  |  Japan |  2003  |  92 minutes