Scottsdale International Film Festival 2008

More than anything else, the endlessly optimistic yet eternally unlucky Yukie Moirta wants to be happy… if only for a little bit. Unfulfilled in her daily work serving customers as a waitress in a noodle-bar where she’s the oblivious target of her boss’ misguided romantic attention, Yukie’s home life is further complicated by the unpredictable moods of her brawny live-in lover Isao Hayama. Hayama who spends his days gambling away the money he steals from his girlfriend’s wages is nonetheless adored by the faithful and loyal Yukie. Unfailingly calling him her “darling,” Yukie fondly recalls the way her lover had saved her from fellow members of his old Tokyo Yakuza street gang. Convinced that he’s a changed man and their love will set him straight, Yukie ignores the naysayers and fights the odds to earn her own slice of happiness in director Yukihiko Tsusumi’s adaptation of Japan’s wildly popular heartbreaking comic strip “Jigyaku no Uta,” from creator Yoshiie Goda. ~ Jen Johans