Starring: Arashi Fukasawa, Takao Osawa, Yasuko Matsuyuki, Ryoko Kobayashi
Director: Keita Kohno
Category: I (Japanese)
With Helen the Baby Fox, Japanese filmmakers once again show how to make animal films that don't rely on Hollywood-style computer-assisted, voiced-by-stars anthropomorphism.
A mixture of delicate drama, lavish landscapes and heart-rending performances - including the endearing presence of the baby Hokkaido foxes - Helen the Baby Fox packs an emotional punch that harks back to Japanese classics from The Adventures of Chatran (1986) to Quill (2004).
Keita Kohno's directorial debut - based on a book by naturalist Minoru Taketazu - has more in common with Shining Boy and Little Randy. Whereas the latter charts a tearaway teenager's attempts to become a mahout, Helen the Baby Fox focuses on lonely schoolboy Taichi (Arashi Fukasawa) who tries to care for a deaf and blind fox (named for Helen Keller) he finds by the roadside.