Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window (2023)

• 114 min

7.9

You really are a good kid.

Directed by: Shinnosuke Yakuwa
Casting: Liliana Ohno, Koji Yakusho, Shun Oguri, Anne Watanabe, Karen Takizawa
Countries: Japan
Premiere: 2023-12-08
Status: Released

Tags: based on novel or book, elementary school, slice of life, school, based on memoir or autobiography, historical, autobiographical, physical disability, anime, freedom of expression, girlhood, war, children, unconventional schooling

This engaging series of childhood recollections tells of an unconventional school in Tokyo during World War II that combined learning with fun, freedom, and love. The school had old railroad cars for classrooms and was run by an extraordinary man – its founder and headmaster, Sōsaku Kobayashi – who deeply valued children's independence, and who was a firm believer in freedom of expression and activity.