The Blue Bird (青い鳥) 16 years old

Higashigaoka Junior High School is in turmoil as one of the pupils, Noguchi, who had been bullied, attempted suicide last term. On the first day of the new term, a substitute teacher arrives to take the second year class. When the teacher, Murauchi (Hiroshi Abe), introduces himself, the pupils are surprised by his stutter. He has a speech impediment. Unable to speak eloquently, Murauchi faces his pupils with ‘words of truth’. His first instruction to the pupils is to return Noguchi’s desk and chair to the original place in the classroom. Every morning Murauchi greets the empty desk, “Good morning, Noguchi.” This causes a ripple beyond the classroom and among other teachers and parents, but Murauchi will not stop doing it. Eventually the day comes when Murauchi must leave.

Credits

The Blue Bird Cast

Name Character
Hiroshi Abe He was 44, now 60 years old as Mr. Murachi
Ayumi Ito She was 28, now 44 years old as Ms. Shimazaki
Hiroyuki Kishi He was 31, now 47 years old as Mr. Koizumi
Osamu Shigematu as Mr. Miyazaki
Hajime Inoue He was 47, now 63 years old as Mr. Ishino
Kanata Hongō He was 18, now 34 years old as Shinichi Sonobe

The Blue Bird Crew

Name Department
Kiyoshi Shigematsu as Novel. He was 45 (now 61) years old Writing
Yasuo Hasegawa as Screenplay. He was 55 (now 71) years old Writing
Kenzaburô Iida as Screenplay. Writing
Kenji Nakanishi as Director. He was 44 (now 60) years old Directing
The Blue Bird poster
The Blue Bird (16 years)

  • Release day: Saturday, November 29, 2008
  • Runtime: 105 minutes