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Kei Tanaka in And So the Baton Is Passed (2021)

Mei Nagano

Kei Tanaka

Koshi Mizukami

Hiroshi Hashimoto

Maiko Seo

Yuko Morimiya is a high school student and she lives with her stepfather Morimiya. Morimiya is her third father. Her mother, Rika, is a free spirited person and has remarried several times. She disappeared from Yuko&apos;s life at a ce...

Tetsu Maeda

Soshite, baton wa watasareta

Incoherence to the point of anger

&quot;And So the Baton Was Passed&quot; comes from a best-selling novel and sits squarely in a familiar Japanese melodrama tradition. I understand that these stories lean on symbolism rather than strict realism, and that ideas about family and emotional expression vary across cultures. I can accept all of that. Even so, the film still doesn&apos;t work. My frustration stemmed from the simple fact that the characters never behave in a way that makes sense, neither in real life nor within the internal logic of the story. Scenes run too long, motivations shift without explanation, and key emotional moments arrive without being earned. Instead of feeling moved, I found myself getting angry at the sheer incoherence of what was happening on screen.

Rika, in particular, is presented as a loving and transformative mother figure, yet her behaviour often borders on the psychotic. The film insists she is the emotional anchor of Yuko&apos;s life, but it never shows why. Other characters drift in and out with no proper development. The &quot;baton&quot; metaphor appears only at the very end and feels more like a slogan than a real theme. Visually, the film uses soft, glowing lighting to create warmth, but it ends up looking artificial and disconnected from the story&apos;s supposed emotional stakes. There is one reveal that is interesting but quickly collapses. At times the plotting veers into the comically absurd.

The one saving grace is Mei Nagano, who gives the film far more sincerity and emotional weight than the script deserves. She is capable of grounded, powerful work, as seen in &quot;My Broken Mariko&quot;, and she carries this film as much as any actor could.

I have not read the novel, but given its reputation, I can only assume the book develops these relationships with more internal logic and emotional depth. Anyone coming to the film as a fan of the source material is likely to be disappointed.

"And So the Baton Was Passed" comes from a best-selling novel and sits squarely in a familiar Japanese melodrama tradition. I understand that these stories lean on symbolism rather than strict realism, and that ideas about family and emotional expression vary across cultures. I can accept all of that. Even so, the film still doesn't work. My frustration stemmed from the simple fact that the characters never behave in a way that makes sense, neither in real life nor within the internal logic of the story. Scenes run too long, motivations shift without explanation, and key emotional moments arrive without being earned. Instead of feeling moved, I found myself getting angry at the sheer incoherence of what was happening on screen.

Rika, in particular, is presented as a loving and transformative mother figure, yet her behaviour often borders on the psychotic. The film insists she is the emotional anchor of Yuko's life, but it never shows why. Other characters drift in and out with no proper development. The "baton" metaphor appears only at the very end and feels more like a slogan than a real theme. Visually, the film uses soft, glowing lighting to create warmth, but it ends up looking artificial and disconnected from the story's supposed emotional stakes. There is one reveal that is interesting but quickly collapses. At times the plotting veers into the comically absurd.

The one saving grace is Mei Nagano, who gives the film far more sincerity and emotional weight than the script deserves. She is capable of grounded, powerful work, as seen in "My Broken Mariko", and she carries this film as much as any actor could.

I have not read the novel, but given its reputation, I can only assume the book develops these relationships with more internal logic and emotional depth. Anyone coming to the film as a fan of the source material is likely to be disappointed.

Yuko Morimiya is a high school student and she lives with her stepfather Morimiya. Morimiya is her third father. Her mother, Rika, is a free spirited person and has remarried several times. She disappeared from Yuko's life at a certain point. Even though Yuko and her stepfather are not blood related, she is fully loved by her him.

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Soshite, baton wa watasareta

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