Synopsis
Tokyo, July 2019. Steve is a comedy film director from the US. As fate would have it, he is sent to Japan with the task of making a documentary about 3.11(The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami). After interviewing people on the streets of Tokyo, Steve learns that for most folks, 3.11 is a distant memory. He decides to shift his attention to making a comedy film about ninjas. Steve us then faced with the reality on the ground in Northern Japan. He sees that people are still rebuilding from the disaster after all these years. Steve encounters a theatrical play depicting a 3.11 comedy. After witnessing smiles and positive reactions in the audience, he considers a comical angle to a 3.11 film. However, further research shows Steve the degree of suffering felt by people in 2011. This leaves him perplexed, searching for a clue that will tell him if a 3.11 comedy is even possible. Maki, a magazine reporter, offers to help promote Steve’s film which could garner him the support he needs. INSTEAD, her magazine publishes a slanderous article about Steve’s film production, dashing all of his hope. Steve finds himself lost in a foreign land with his film aspirations dwindling. Can he, an outsider, make a comedy film about The Great East Japan Earthquake?
Los Angeles, April 2011. Reiko is a Japanese singer who moved to Los Angeles after losing her son in the 3.11 disaster. One day, John (Alexander Hunter), the owner of the restaurant where she works, encourages her to sing on stage. Reiko blames the loss of her son to her singing career, and is tormented by guilt. She struggles with the idea of becoming a singer again. Her husband Kakimoto, who she left behind in Japan, often sends her letters. Reiko is still unable to face her husband, even after all these years due to the pain. One day at a friend's house party, she is approached by Steve, who knows about her loss. As they talk, she learns that he lost his wife in an earthquake but found a way to get through the pain. Eventually Reiko will open the letters from her husband...Will she be able to face her past and move forward with an open heart again?